[PATCH v2 2/5] docs: sphinx-pre-install: check GNU Make version
From: Chen Miao
Date: Mon Aug 10 2026 - 11:00:06 EST
The kernel documentation build requires GNU Make 4.0 or newer, but the
Sphinx dependency checker only verifies that a make executable exists.
This lets incompatible make implementations pass the check and fail
later during the build.
Check the GNU Make version on all supported systems. Prefer a compatible
gmake command, which is how Homebrew provides GNU Make on macOS, and
fall back to make. Document the requirement and the macOS gmake
invocation.
Signed-off-by: Chen Miao <chenmiao.ku@xxxxxxxxx>
---
Documentation/doc-guide/sphinx.rst | 4 ++-
tools/docs/sphinx-pre-install | 41 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
2 files changed, 43 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
diff --git a/Documentation/doc-guide/sphinx.rst b/Documentation/doc-guide/sphinx.rst
index 1e105542a..4fb716e77 100644
--- a/Documentation/doc-guide/sphinx.rst
+++ b/Documentation/doc-guide/sphinx.rst
@@ -147,7 +147,9 @@ documentation. After installing MacTeX, restart the terminal or run
``eval "$(/usr/libexec/path_helper)"`` so its command-line tools are visible.
The default virtualenv mode is recommended on macOS because PyYAML is
installed from ``Documentation/sphinx/requirements.txt`` rather than from a
-Homebrew formula.
+Homebrew formula. The script also checks for GNU Make 4.0 or newer; when
+Homebrew provides it as ``gmake``, use ``gmake htmldocs`` instead of
+``make htmldocs``.
Installing Sphinx Minimal Version
---------------------------------
diff --git a/tools/docs/sphinx-pre-install b/tools/docs/sphinx-pre-install
index 1b9d77ec3..54f36c3b8 100755
--- a/tools/docs/sphinx-pre-install
+++ b/tools/docs/sphinx-pre-install
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ from kdoc.python_version import PythonVersion
RECOMMENDED_VERSION = PythonVersion("3.4.3").version
MIN_PYTHON_VERSION = PythonVersion("3.7").version
+MIN_MAKE_VERSION = PythonVersion("4.0").version
class DepManager:
@@ -308,6 +309,44 @@ class MissingCheckers(AncillaryMethods):
return None
+ def get_make_version(self, cmd):
+ """Get the GNU Make version, or None if cmd is not GNU Make."""
+ if not cmd:
+ return None
+
+ try:
+ result = self.run(
+ [cmd, "--version"],
+ capture_output=True,
+ text=True,
+ check=True,
+ )
+ except (OSError, subprocess.CalledProcessError):
+ return None
+
+ match = re.search(
+ r"^GNU Make\s+([0-9]+(?:\.[0-9]+)*)", result.stdout, re.MULTILINE
+ )
+ if not match:
+ return None
+
+ return PythonVersion.parse_version(match.group(1))
+
+ def check_make(self):
+ """Check for GNU Make 4.0 or newer."""
+ candidates = (
+ os.environ.get("MAKE"),
+ self.which("gmake"),
+ self.which("make"),
+ )
+
+ for make in candidates:
+ version = self.get_make_version(make)
+ if version and version >= MIN_MAKE_VERSION:
+ return
+
+ self.deps.add_package("make", DepManager.SYSTEM_MANDATORY)
+
def check_perl_module(self, prog, dtype):
"""
Does perl have a dependency? Is it available?
@@ -1559,7 +1598,7 @@ class SphinxDependencyChecker(MissingCheckers):
# Check for needed programs/tools
self.check_perl_module("Pod::Usage", DepManager.SYSTEM_MANDATORY)
- self.check_program("make", DepManager.SYSTEM_MANDATORY)
+ self.check_make()
self.check_program("which", DepManager.SYSTEM_MANDATORY)
self.check_program("dot", DepManager.SYSTEM_OPTIONAL)
--
2.50.1 (Apple Git-155)