How to Install Make (Mac • Windows • Linux)

macOS

Option A — Fastest (Xcode Command Line Tools)

xcode-select --install
make --version

This installs Apple’s make (BSD). It’s fine for our Makefile.

Option B — GNU make via Homebrew (optional)

brew install make
gmake --version

Homebrew installs it as gmake. If you want make to point to GNU make:

echo 'alias make=gmake' >> ~/.zshrc && source ~/.zshrc

Windows

Pick one of these:

Option A — WSL (recommended)

  1. Enable WSL and install Ubuntu:
wsl --install
# reboot when prompted
  1. In the Ubuntu terminal:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y build-essential
make --version

Option B — Chocolatey (native)

Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
choco install make -y
make --version

Option C — Scoop (native)

iwr -useb get.scoop.sh | iex
scoop install make
make --version

Option D — MSYS2 (native)

  1. Install MSYS2, then in “MSYS2 MSYS” terminal:
pacman -Syu
pacman -S make
make --version

If you use Git Bash, prefer MSYS2 or WSL—Git Bash alone does not include make.

Linux

  • Debian/Ubuntu

    sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y build-essential
make --version

  • Fedora

    sudo dnf install -y make gcc
make --version

  • Arch

    sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel
make --version