Task Runners
2 open source tools compared. Sorted by stars — scroll down for our analysis.
| Tool | Stars | Velocity | Language | License | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Just Just a command runner | 32.4k | +184/wk | Rust | — | 67 |
 Task Fast cross-platform build tool | 15.2k | +64/wk | Go | MIT License | 77 |
Our Analysis
Just is a command runner that does exactly one thing well — run your project's commands. No build system, no dependency graph, no DAG. Write recipes in a Justfile, run them with "just build" or "just test." It's Make minus everything that makes Make terrible. If your Makefile is just a list of shell commands with phony targets, Just is the honest version of what you're doing. Make is the incumbent but its tab sensitivity and implicit rules are hostile. Task (go-task) uses YAML instead. npm scripts work for JavaScript but not cross-language. Mage is Go-only. Best for any project that needs a simple, cross-platform way to document and run common commands. The Justfile doubles as project documentation — new developers read it to understand the workflow. The catch: it's intentionally limited. No dependency tracking, no incremental builds, no caching. If you actually need a build system (C/C++, large monorepos), Make or Bazel is the right tool. The CC0 license is maximally permissive but some corporate legal teams are confused by it. And the syntax, while simple, is yet another DSL to learn.
Task is what Make should have been if it were invented today. A YAML-based task runner written in Go — no tabs-vs-spaces drama, no arcane syntax, just list your commands and run them. Cross-platform, fast, and the Taskfile.yml is readable by humans. If you're using Makefiles for project automation and hating every minute of it, Task is the drop-in replacement. Make is everywhere but its syntax is hostile. Just (casey/just) is the other modern alternative — similar philosophy, different syntax (its own DSL). npm scripts work but don't scale beyond simple commands. Mage is Go-specific. Best for any project that needs a task runner and doesn't want to learn Make's footguns. The dependency system, watch mode, and dotenv support cover 90% of automation needs. The catch: it's YAML, and YAML has its own footguns (indentation, type coercion). For complex build logic, you'll miss having a real programming language (which is where Mage or custom scripts win). And if your team already knows Make, the migration cost might not be worth it.