How do I check if file exists in Makefile so I can delete it?

Question

In the clean section of my Makefile I am trying to check if the file exists before deleting permanently. I use this code but I receive errors.

What\'s w

Answer 1

The second top answer mentions ifeq, however, it fails to mention that these must be on the same level as the name of the target, e.g., to download a file only if it doesn't currently exist, the following code could be used:

download:
ifeq (,$(wildcard ./glob.c))
    curl … -o glob.c
endif

# THIS DOES NOT WORK!
download:
    ifeq (,$(wildcard ./glob.c))
        curl … -o glob.c
    endif

Answer 2

I was trying:

[ -f $(PROGRAM) ] && cp -f $(PROGRAM) $(INSTALLDIR)

And the positive case worked but my ubuntu bash shell calls this TRUE and breaks on the copy:

[ -f  ] && cp -f  /home/user/proto/../bin/
cp: missing destination file operand after '/home/user/proto/../bin/'

After getting this error, I google how to check if a file exists in make, and this is the answer...

Answer 3

Or just put it on one line, as make likes it:

if [ -a myApp ]; then rm myApp; fi;

Answer 4

It's strange to see so many people using shell scripting for this. I was looking for a way to use native makefile syntax, because I'm writing this outside of any target. You can use the wildcard function to check if file exists:

 ifeq ($(UNAME),Darwin)
     SHELL := /opt/local/bin/bash
     OS_X  := true
 else ifneq (,$(wildcard /etc/redhat-release))
     OS_RHEL := true
 else
     OS_DEB  := true
     SHELL := /bin/bash
 endif 

Update:

I found a way which is really working for me:

ifneq ("$(wildcard $(PATH_TO_FILE))","")
    FILE_EXISTS = 1
else
    FILE_EXISTS = 0
endif

Answer 5

One line solution:

   [ -f ./myfile ] && echo exists

One line solution with error action:

   [ -f ./myfile ] && echo exists || echo not exists

Example used in my make clean directives:

clean:
    @[ -f ./myfile ] && rm myfile || true

And make clean always works without any error messages!

Answer 6

FILE1 = /usr/bin/perl
FILE2 = /nofile

ifeq ($(shell test -e $(FILE1) && echo -n yes),yes)
    RESULT1=$(FILE1) exists.
else
    RESULT1=$(FILE1) does not exist.
endif

ifeq ($(shell test -e $(FILE2) && echo -n yes),yes)
    RESULT2=$(FILE2) exists.
else
    RESULT2=$(FILE2) does not exist.
endif

all:
    @echo $(RESULT1)
    @echo $(RESULT2)

execution results:

bash> make
/usr/bin/perl exists.
/nofile does not exist.