Default target

When running make without arguments, it will run the first command in the file.

help:
	@echo 'Welcome!'

install:
	@echo 'Installing deps...'

Running without an argument execute the first.

$ make
Welcome!

Traditionally, a Makefile will have an all or default command.

The target word can be anything must be setup first in the file in order to be the default when running without arguments.

default: install

help:
	@echo 'Welcome!'

install:
	@echo 'Installing deps...'

Running without an argument execute the first - here, the default option.

$ make
Installing deps...

The GNU docs recommend all but the default makes more sense to me. The all can be useful if there are many steps to run while default I would setup as one command.

default: install

all: install build test

Alternatively use .DEFAULT_GOAL

e.g.

.DEFAULT_GOAL = build

dev: deps serve
build: deps site

See the docs