# just command runner

32 Hacker News commenters recommended just command runner and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Free command runner with make-like syntax, easier to read than Makefiles. Critics say it adds little over make.

## Why people recommend it

- Simpler, cleaner alternative to Makefiles (4 comments): "is an uncursed make (for task running purposes - it's not a general build system)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46911756)) "Justfiles,which are modernized Makefiles so you dont have 30 years of cruft" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47628476)) "Just uses make-like syntax, not yaml, which I view as a huge advantage." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46913204))
- Keeps project commands in one place (5 comments): "using justfiles instead of make. I have `just prerequisites`, `just lint`, `just build` in all of my projects." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48314551)) "A command runner like just does everything you need, and makes the tools available to humans." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46212956)) "give me a justfile with three or four commands that I run to do the things that I need to do" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47406130))
- Quick to learn (2 comments): "It's really easy to learn - about an afternoon to peruse the docs." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49162682)) "can learn in an afternoon" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49163925))
- Self-documenting, greppable command list (2 comments): "get a self-documenting list of all the tooling for the project" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48074375)) "Simple, greppable, self-documenting, works great" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48057086))

## What people warn about

- Adds little over make (2 comments): "Why they needed yet another task runner, when I am pretty sure make would have been fine, is beyond me." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46249232)) "the marginal improvement is not worth it for us" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50326629))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Task](https://hackerapproved.com/p/task.md): 7 recommend
- [comma by nix-community](https://hackerapproved.com/p/comma.md): 7 recommend
- [Make.ts](https://hackerapproved.com/p/make-ts.md): 5 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "just command runner", https://hackerapproved.com/p/just/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).