Or use https://pydoit.org and a virtualenv and be happy.
I've looked into pydoit multiple times and I would love to try it. There are a few reasons that make me go back to make (no pun intended!).
* It comes pre-installed on most UNIX operating systems. Yes, macOS ships an older version, but it works in most cases. This makes bootstrapping projects easier. * I like how simple it's to get started with a Makefile when you just need a few tasks. Although I admit, big Makefiles can become hard to maintain.
I've recently experimented with using Makefiles as an ETL orchestrator, and it's becoming quite messy. I believe pydoit is the perfect replacement candidate. I just haven't had time to try it.
Edit:
Another thing I like about Makefiles is that you can keep the "hackiness" of shell scripts, manipulate the environment [0], etc. I guess you can do the same with other tools, but I find it easier to reason about those useful "hacks" in Makefiles.
[0]: https://ricardoanderegg.com/posts/makefile-python-project-tr...
> doit is under active development. Version 0.36.0 released on 2022-04.
For the immense convenience it brings, the risk is very low.
I'm guessing it could stay that way for 10 years and still be perfectly usable.
> doit core features are quite stable. If there is no recent development, it does NOT mean the project is not being maintained... The project has 100% unit-test code coverage.
This is something that a dev should do when evaluating a new dependency even when it claims to support the version relevant to you. Sadly, many do not.