/configure:justfile

Check and configure project Justfile against project standards.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when...	Use another approach when...
Setting up a new Justfile for a project	Project already uses Make exclusively and migration is not desired — use `/configure:makefile`
Auditing existing Justfile for missing standard recipes	Writing complex custom recipes — use `justfile-expert` skill
Migrating from Makefile to Justfile	Project has no task runner needs (single-file scripts)
Ensuring Justfile follows team conventions (groups, comments, settings)	Debugging a specific recipe failure — use direct `just` commands
Running CI/CD compliance checks on project task runners	Only need to list available recipes — run `just --list` directly

Context

Project root: !pwd
Justfile: !find . -maxdepth 1 \( -name 'justfile' -o -name 'Justfile' \)
Makefile: !find . -maxdepth 1 -name 'Makefile'
Package files: !find . -maxdepth 1 \( -name 'package.json' -o -name 'pyproject.toml' -o -name 'Cargo.toml' -o -name 'go.mod' \)
Docker files: !find . -maxdepth 1 \( -name 'Dockerfile' -o -name 'docker-compose.yml' \)
Env file: !find . -maxdepth 1 -name '.env'
Project standards: !find . -maxdepth 1 -name '.project-standards.yaml'

Parameters

Parse from command arguments:

--check-only: Report compliance status without modifications (CI/CD mode)
--fix: Apply fixes automatically without prompting

Execution

Execute this Justfile compliance check:

Step 1: Detect Justfile and project type

Check for justfile or Justfile in project root
If exists, read and analyze current recipes and settings
Detect project type from file indicators:

Indicator	Project Type
`pyproject.toml` or `requirements.txt`	Python
`package.json`	Node.js
`Cargo.toml`	Rust
`go.mod`	Go
None of the above	Generic

Step 2: Analyze required and optional recipes

Check for required recipes:

Recipe	Purpose	Severity
`default`	Alias to help (first recipe)	FAIL if missing
`help`	Display available recipes	FAIL if missing
`test`	Run test suite	FAIL if missing
`lint`	Run linters	FAIL if missing
`build`	Build project artifacts	WARN if missing
`clean`	Remove temporary files	WARN if missing

Check for context-dependent recipes:

Recipe	When Required	Severity
`format`	If project uses auto-formatters	WARN
`start`	If project has runnable service	INFO
`stop`	If project has background service	INFO
`dev`	If project supports watch mode	INFO

Step 3: Check compliance settings

Validate Justfile settings:

Check	Standard	Severity
File exists	justfile present	FAIL if missing
Default recipe	First recipe is `default`	WARN if missing
Dotenv loading	`set dotenv-load` present	INFO
Help recipe	Lists all recipes	FAIL if missing
Language-specific	Commands match project type	FAIL if mismatched
Recipe descriptions	What `just --list` actually renders is usable	WARN if any are fragments

Check what --list RENDERS, not whether a comment exists. just shows one line per recipe, and with no [doc("...")] attribute that line is the last line of the comment block above the recipe. A block that ends in an example or a wrapped clause — the normal way to write one — therefore lists as a fragment, while the recipe looks fully documented in the file.

Prefer the deterministic check over eyeballing it. It reports only recipes whose rendered line is a fragment, so a justfile using one-line comments correctly comes back clean:

python3 "$TOOLS_PLUGIN/scripts/just-recipe-help.py" --audit

That script ships with a different plugin — tools-plugin, whose justfile-expert skill documents the --list contract behind it — so there is no path from here that is guaranteed to resolve. Locate it with find ~/.claude/plugins -name just-recipe-help.py, or fall back to the manual check: for each recipe whose comment block is more than one line, read its last line alone and add a [doc("one line")] wherever that line is an example, an indented sub-item, or a clause continuing the line above.

Step 4: Generate compliance report

Print a formatted compliance report:

Justfile Compliance Report
==============================
Project Type: python (detected)
Justfile: Found

Recipe Status:
  default ✅ PASS
  help    ✅ PASS (just --list)
  test    ✅ PASS (uv run pytest)
  lint    ✅ PASS (uv run ruff check)
  build   ✅ PASS (docker build)
  clean   ✅ PASS
  format  ✅ PASS (uv run ruff format)
  start   ⚠️  INFO (not applicable)
  stop    ⚠️  INFO (not applicable)
  dev     ✅ PASS (uv run uvicorn --reload)

Settings Status:
  dotenv-load         ✅ PASS
  positional-arguments ℹ️  INFO (not set)

Descriptions (what `just --list` renders):
  4 recipes list a fragment rather than a description
    caption-audit   last line continues a sentence from the line above
    comfy-matrix    last line is a command example

Missing Recipes: none
Issues: 0 found

If --check-only, stop here.

Step 5: Create or update Justfile (if --fix or user confirms)

If --fix flag or user confirms:

Missing Justfile: Create from standard template based on project type
Missing recipes: Add recipes with appropriate commands
Missing settings: Add set dotenv-load if .env exists
Missing help: Add help recipe with just --list

Use language-specific commands from the template section in REFERENCE.md.

Step 6: Update standards tracking

Update .project-standards.yaml:

components:
  justfile: "2025.1"

Agentic Optimizations

Context	Command
Quick compliance check	`/configure:justfile --check-only`
Auto-fix all issues	`/configure:justfile --fix`
List existing recipes	`just --list`
Verify specific recipe exists	`just --summary`
Check Justfile syntax	`just --evaluate 2>&1`
Audit what `--list` renders	`just-recipe-help.py --audit` (ships with `tools-plugin`)
Read one recipe's notes + flags	`just-recipe-help.py <recipe>`

Flags

Flag	Description
`--check-only`	Report status without offering fixes
`--fix`	Apply fixes automatically

Examples

# Check current Justfile compliance
/configure:justfile --check-only

# Create/update Justfile for Python project
/configure:justfile --fix

# Check compliance and prompt for fixes
/configure:justfile

configure-justfile