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title: Make Variables
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<h1 id="make-variables">"Make" Variables</h1>

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<div class="toc">
  <ul>
    <li><a href="#use">Use</a></li>
    <li><a href="#predefined_variables">Predefined variables</a></li>
    <li><a href="#predefined_genrule_variables">Predefined genrule variables</a></li>
    <li><a href="#predefined_label_variables">Predefined source/output path variables</a></li>
    <li><a href="#custom_variables">Custom variables</a></li>
  </ul>
</div>
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<p>
  "Make" variables are a special class of expandable string variables available
  to attributes marked as <i>"Subject to 'Make variable' substitution"</i>.
</p>

<p>
  These can be used, for example, to inject specific toolchain paths into
  user-constructed build actions.
</p>

<p>
  Bazel provides both <i>predefined</i> variables, which are available to all
  rules, and <i>custom</i> variables, which are defined in dependency rules and
  only available to rules that depend on them.
</p>

<p>
  The reason for the term "Make" is historical: the syntax and semantics of
  these variables were originally intended to match <a
  href="https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/html_node/Using-Variables.html">GNU
  Make</a>.
</p>

<h2 id="use">Use</h2>

<p>
  Attributes marked as <i>"Subject to 'Make variable' substitution"</i> can
  reference the "Make" variable <code>FOO</code> as follows:
</p>

<p>
<code>my_attr = "prefix $(FOO) suffix"</code>
</p>

<p>
  In other words, any substring matching <code>$(FOO)</code> gets expanded
  to <code>FOO</code>'s value. If that value is <code>"bar"</code>, the final
  string becomes:
</p>

<p>
<code>my_attr = "prefix bar suffix"</code>
</p>

<p>
  If <code>FOO</code> doesn't correspond to a variable known to the consuming
  rule, Bazel fails with an error.
</p>


<p>
  "Make" variables whose names are non-letter symbols, such as
  <code>@</code>, can also be referenced using only a dollar sign, without
  the parentheses. For example:
</p>

<p>
<code>my_attr = "prefix $@ suffix"</code>
</p>

<p>
  To write <code>$</code> as a a string literal (i.e. to prevent variable
  expansion), write <code>$$</code>.
</p>

<h2 id="predefined_variables">Predefined variables</h2>

<p>
  Predefined "Make" variables can be referenced by any attribute marked as
  <i>"Subject to 'Make variable' substitution"</i> on any rule.
</p>

<p>
  To see the list of these variables and their values for a given set of build
  options, run
</p>

<p><code>bazel info --show_make_env [build options]</code></p>

<p>
  and look at the top output lines with capital letters.
</p>

<p><strong>Toolchain option variables</strong></p>

<ul><!--  keep alphabetically sorted  -->
  <li><code>COMPILATION_MODE</code>:
    <code>fastbuild</code>, <code>dbg</code>, or <code>opt</code>. (<a
  href="https://docs.bazel.build/versions/main/user-manual.html#flag--compilation_mode">more
  details</a>)
  </li>
</ul>

<p><strong>Path variables</strong></p>

<ul><!--  keep alphabetically sorted  -->
  <li>
    <p>
      <code>BINDIR</code>: The base of the generated binary tree for the target
       architecture.
    </p>

    <p>
      Note that a different tree may be used for programs that run during the
      build on the host architecture, to support cross-compiling.
    </p>

    <p>
      If you want to run a tool from within a <code>genrule</code>, the
      recommended way to get its path is <code>$(<a
      href="#predefined_label_variables">execpath</a> toolname)</code>,
      where <i>toolname</i> must be listed in the <code>genrule</code>'s
      <code><a
      href="$expander.expandRef("genrule.tools")">tools</a></code> attribute.
    </p>
  </li>

  <li><code>GENDIR</code>:
    The base of the generated code tree for the target architecture.
  </li>
</ul>

<p><strong>Machine architecture variables</strong></p>

<ul><!--  keep alphabetically sorted  -->
  <li> <code>TARGET_CPU</code>:
    The target architecture's CPU, e.g. <code>k8</code>. </li>
</ul>

<h2 id="predefined_genrule_variables">Predefined genrule variables</h2>

<p>
  The following are specially available to <code>genrule</code>'s
  <code><a href="$expander.expandRef("genrule.cmd")">cmd</a></code> attribute and are
  generally important for making that attribute work.
</p>

<ul><!--  keep alphabetically sorted  -->
  <li><code>OUTS</code>: The <code>genrule</code>'s <code><a
  href="$expander.expandRef("genrule.outs")">outs</a></code> list. If you have
  only one output file, you can also use <code>$@</code>.</li>
  <li>
    <code>SRCS</code>: The <code>genrule</code>'s <code><a
    href="$expander.expandRef("genrule.srcs")">srcs</a></code> list (or more
    precisely: the path names of the files corresponding to labels in the
    <code><a href="$expander.expandRef("genrule.srcs")">srcs</a></code> list).
    If you have only one source file, you can also use <code>$&lt;</code>.
  </li>

  <li>
    <code>&lt;</code>: <code>SRCS</code>, if it is a single file. Else triggers
    a build error.
  </li>
  <li>
    <code>@</code>: <code>OUTS</code>, if it is a single file. Else triggers a
    build error.
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      <code>RULEDIR</code>: The output directory of the rule, that is, the
      directory corresponding to the name of the package containing the rule
      under the <code>genfiles</code> or the <code>bin</code> tree.
    </p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>
      <b>WARNING:</b> The Make variable <code>RULEDIR</code> should be used
      instead because it has simpler semantics and behaves in the same way
      regardless of the number of output files of the rule.
    </p>
    <p>
      <code>@D</code>: The output directory.  If there is only one file name in
      <a
      href="$expander.expandRef("genrule.outs")">outs</a></code>, this expands
      to the directory containing that file.  If there are multiple files, this
      instead expands to the package's root directory in the
      <code>genfiles</code> tree, <i>even if all generated files belong to the
      same subdirectory</i>!
      <!-- (as a consequence of the "middleman" implementation) -->
    </p>
    <p>
      If the genrule needs to generate temporary intermediate files (perhaps as
      a result of using some other tool like a compiler), it should attempt to
      write them to <code>@D</code> (although <code>/tmp</code> will also
      be writable) and remove them before finishing.
    </p>
    <p>
      Especially avoid writing to directories containing inputs. They may be on
      read-only filesystems. Even if not, doing so would trash the source tree.
    </p>
  </li>
</ul>


<h2 id="predefined_label_variables">Predefined source/output path variables</h2>
<p>
  The predefined variables <code>execpath</code>, <code>execpaths</code>,
  <code>rootpath</code>, <code>rootpaths</code>, <code>location</code>, and
  <code>locations</code> take label parameters (e.g. <code>$(execpath
  //foo:bar)</code>) and substitute the file paths denoted by that label.
</p>
<p>

  For source files, this is the path relative to your workspace root.
  For files that are outputs of rules, this is the file's <i>output path</i>
  (see the explanation of <i>output files</i> below).
</p>

<p><a href="https://github.com/bazelbuild/examples/tree/main/make-variables">
  See an example of predefined variables</a>.</p>

<ul>
  <li>
    <p>
      <code>execpath</code>:  Denotes the path beneath the

      <a href="../output_directories.html">execroot</a>
    where Bazel runs build actions.
    </p>
    <p>
      In the above example, Bazel runs all build actions in the directory linked
      by the <code>bazel-myproject</code> symlink in your workspace root. The
      source file <code>empty.source</code> is linked at the path
      <code>bazel-myproject/testapp/empty.source</code>. So its exec path (which
      is the subpath below the root) is <code>testapp/empty.source</code>. This
      is the path build actions can use to find the file.
    </p>
    <p>
      Output files are staged similarly, but are also prefixed with the subpath
      <code>bazel-out/cpu-compilation_mode/bin</code> (or for certain outputs:
      <code>bazel-out/cpu-compilation_mode/genfiles</code>, or for the outputs
      of host tools: <code>bazel-out/host/bin</code>). In the above example,
      <code>//testapp:app</code> is a host tool because it appears in
      <code>show_app_output</code>'s <code><a
      href="$expander.expandRef("genrule.tools")">tools</a></code> attribute.
      So its output file <code>app</code> is written to
      <code>bazel-myproject/bazel-out/host/bin/testapp/app</code>. The exec path
      is thus <code>bazel-out/host/bin/testapp/app</code>. This extra prefix
      makes it possible to build the same rule for, say, two different CPUs in
      the same build without the results clobbering each other.
    </p>
    <p>
      The label passed to this variable must represent exactly one file. For
      labels representing source files, this is automatically true. For labels
      representing rules, the rule must generate exactly one output. If this is
      false or the label is malformed, the build fails with an error.
    </p>
  </li>

  <li>
    <p>
      <code>rootpath</code>: Denotes the runfiles path that a built binary can
      use to find its dependencies at runtime.
    </p>
    <p>
      This is the same as <code>execpath</code> but strips the output prefixes
      described above. In the above example this means both
      <code>empty.source</code> and <code>app</code> use pure workspace-relative
      paths: <code>testapp/empty.source</code> and <code>testapp/app</code>.
    </p>
    <p>
      This has the same "one output only" requirements as <code>execpath</code>.
    </p>
  </li>

  <li>
    <code>location</code>: A synonym for either <code>execpath</code> or
    <code>rootpath</code>, depending on the attribute being expanded. This is
    legacy pre-Starlark behavior and not recommended unless you really know what
    it does for a particular rule. See <a
    href="https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel/issues/2475#issuecomment-339318016">#2475</a>
    for details.
  </li>
</ul>

<p>
  <code>execpaths</code>, <code>rootpaths</code>, and <code>locations</code> are
  the plural variations of <code>execpath</code>, <code>rootpath</code>, and
  <code>location</code>, respectively. They support labels producing multiple
  outputs, in which case each output is listed separated by a space. Zero-output
  rules and malformed labels produce build errors.
</p>

<p>
  All referenced labels must appear in the consuming rule's <code>srcs</code>,
  output files, or <code>deps</code>. Otherwise the build fails. C++ rules can
  also reference labels in <code><a
  href="$expander.expandRef("cc_binary.data")">data</a></code>.
</p>

<p>
  Labels don't have to be in canonical form: <code>foo</code>, <code>:foo</code>
  and <code>//somepkg:foo</code> are all fine.
</p>

<h2 id="custom_variables">Custom variables</h2>

<p>
  Custom "Make" variables can be referenced by any attribute marked as
  <i>"Subject to 'Make variable' substitution"</i>, but only on rules that
  depend on other rules that <i>define</i> these variables.
</p>

<p>
  As best practice all variables should be custom unless there's a really good
  reason to bake them into core Bazel. This saves Bazel from having to load
  potentially expensive dependencies to supply variables consuming rules may not
  care about.
</p>

<p><strong>C++ toolchain variables</strong></p>
<p>
  The following are defined in C++ toolchain rules and available to any rule
  that sets <code>toolchains =
  ["@bazel_tools//tools/cpp:current_cc_toolchain"]</code> (or
  <code>"@bazel_tools//tools/cpp:current_cc_host_toolchain"</code>
  for the host toolchain equivalent). Some rules, like <code><a
  href="$expander.expandRef("java_binary")">java_binary</a></code>, implicitly
  include the C++ toolchain in their rule definition. They inherit these variables
  automatically.
</p>

<p>
  The built-in C++ rules are much more sophisticated than "run the compiler on
  it". In order to support compilation modes as diverse as *SAN, ThinLTO,
  with/without modules, and carefully optimized binaries at the same time as
  fast running tests on multiple platforms, the built-in rules go to great
  lengths to ensure the correct inputs, outputs, and command-line flags are set
  on each of potentially multiple internally generated actions.
</p>

<p>
  These variables are a fallback mechanism to be used by language experts in
  rare cases. If you are tempted to use them, please <a
  href="https://bazel.build/support.html">contact the Bazel devs</a> first.
</p>

<ul><!--  keep alphabetically sorted  -->
  <li><code>ABI</code>: The C++ ABI version. </li>

  <li> <code>AR</code>: The "ar" command from crosstool. </li>
  <li class="harmful"> <code>C_COMPILER</code>:
    The C/C++ compiler identifier, e.g. <code>llvm</code>.
  </li>
  <li class="harmful">
    <p><code>CC</code>: The C and C++ compiler command.</p>
    <p>
      We strongly recommended always using <code>CC_FLAGS</code> in
      combination with <code>CC</code>. Fail to do so at your own risk.
    </p>
  </li>
  <li class="harmful"><code>CC_FLAGS</code>: A minimal set of flags for the C/C++
    compiler to be usable by genrules. In particular, this contains flags to
    select the correct architecture if <code>CC</code> supports multiple
    architectures.
  </li>

  <li> <code>NM</code>: The "nm" command from crosstool. </li>
  <li> <code>OBJCOPY</code>: The objcopy command from the same suite as the C/C++
    compiler. </li>

  <li> <code>STRIP</code>: The strip command from the same suite as the C/C++
    compiler.</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>Java toolchain variables</strong></p>

<p>
  The following are defined in Java toolchain rules and available to any rule
  that sets <code>toolchains =
["@bazel_tools//tools/jdk:current_java_runtime"]</code> (or
  <code>"@bazel_tools//tools/jdk:current_host_java_runtime"</code>
  for the host toolchain equivalent).
</p>

<p>
  Most of the tools in the JDK should not be used directly. The built-in Java
  rules use much more sophisticated approaches to Java compilation and packaging
  than upstream tools can express, such as interface Jars, header interface
  Jars, and highly optimized Jar packaging and merging implementations.
</p>

<p>
  These variables are a fallback mechanism to be used by language experts in
  rare cases. If you are tempted to use them, please <a
  href="https://bazel.build/support.html">contact the Bazel devs</a> first.
</p>

<ul><!--  keep alphabetically sorted  -->
  <li class="harmful"> <code>JAVA</code>: The "java" command (a Java virtual
    machine). Avoid this, and use a <code><a
    href="$expander.expandRef("java_binary")">java_binary</a></code> rule
    instead where possible. May be a relative path. If you must change
    directories before invoking <code>java</code>, you need to capture the
    working directory before changing it.
  </li>

  <li class="harmful"><code>JAVABASE</code>: The base directory containing the
    Java utilities. May be a relative path. It will have a "bin"
    subdirectory.
  </li>
</ul>

<p><strong>Starlark-defined variables</strong></p>

<p>
  Rule and <a href="../toolchains.html">toolchain</a> writers can define
  completely custom variables by returning a <a
  href="../skylark/lib/TemplateVariableInfo.html">TemplateVariableInfo</a>
  provider. Any rules depending on these through the
  <code>toolchains</code> attribute can then read their values:
</p>

<p><a href="https://github.com/bazelbuild/examples/tree/main/make-variables">
  See an example of Starlark-defined variables</a>.</p>

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