Makedown – A Markdown powered Makefile alternative

In plain words

Makedown is a tool that lets developers organize shell scripts in markdown files instead of traditional Makefiles or package.json scripts. It supports multiple scripting languages including bash, Python, JavaScript, and others, allowing users to mix languages as needed for different commands. Documentation and explanations can be written alongside code in the same markdown file, with proper syntax highlighting in most editors.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

Organise your shell scripts within executable markdown files - tzador/makedown

makedown (aka Makefile + Markdown) is motivated by developers need to define multiple scripts in one file next to their documentation, and have a handy way to run them from terminal. Makefile s are great for this, but are lucking some of the makedown features, such as syntax highlighting, hierarchical scanning of .md files with embedded documentation. There are also package.json scripts in node.js world, but users are forced to write script commands in one line. It is implemented in Python for portability reasons, since most Unix-like systems already have a Python interpreter installed. We also have have a Discord server for quick discussions and sharing ideas or feedback. # my_scripts.md…from github.com

In the maker’s words, at launch

`makedown` allows you to organise your shell scripts in one or several markdown files, by mix and matching different scripting languages for various commands and needs. zsh/bash/sh, python, javascript or anything else available on your system. Handy for replacing one-line-based package.json scripts or…

• EM
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