Build Tool Basics: Make, npm Scripts, Gradle, and Vite Compared
Compare build tools: Make, npm scripts, Gradle, Vite, Webpack, and Turbo. Choose the right tool for your stack and understand the tradeoffs.
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Tags: developer-tools, build-tools, productivity
Build Tool Basics: Make, npm Scripts, Gradle, and Vite Compared Every project needs a way to run tasks: compile code, run tests, build for production, deploy. The choice of build tool shapes the developer experience, CI configuration, and how onboarding feels. This guide compares the four most common options and when to reach for each. Make Make is a build system from 1976. It's installed on every Unix system and has a clear mental model: targets, prerequisites, and recipes. When a target's prerequisites are newer than the target file, the recipe runs. Syntax: Strengths: Zero installation — available everywhere Dependency-aware incremental builds Language-agnostic — works for any stack The pattern gives you self-documenting tasks Weaknesses: Tab-vs-space gotcha catches everyone the first…
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