Copy GNU make output of C/C++ projects into below box make: Entering directory '/tmp/helloworld/' g++ -g -O -Wall -fPIC -std=c++11 -I../include -c ../src/foo.cpp g++ -g -O -Wall -fPIC -std=c++11 -I../include -c ../src/bar.cxx g++ -g -O -Wall -fPIC -std=c++11 -I../include -c ../src/baz.cc gcc -g -O -Wall -fPIC -std=c++11 -I../include -c ../src/aaa.c g++ -g -O -Wall -fPIC -std=c++11 -o helloworld foo.o bar.o make: Leaving directory '/tmp/helloworld/'

Generate compile_commands.json from GNU make output online

Stuck in getting a compile_commands.json out of a C/C++ project using GNU make as the build tool? Copy the make output and paste above and download it, that's it. 😱

To get the output right and efficient, I recommend building projects by the command make clean && make -nw, which will print the directories. It also works perfectly with projects like Redis, which hides the build details from the terminal using ANSI escape code.

Happy playing GNU make C/C++ projects with Emacs/VSCode/CLion/clang-tidy/Sourcetrail etc!

🔊I'm considering making this as a API service for $5/mo, so that you can just pipe the output into a curl command. Email me 🥷if you're interested.

Additional resources about compilation database:

• C/C++ extension FAQ (including compile_commands.json) | VSCode
• CLion 2018.2 EAP: open project from Compilation Database | JetBrains Blog
• Compilation databases for Clang-based tools | Eli Bendersky's website
• Sourcetrail - Documentation
• JSON Compilation Database Format Specification | Clang 12 documentation