@ prefix when setting environment variable in Makefile

Question

Here is what I've got so far:

SPECS = $(shell find spec -iname "*_spec.js")

spec:
    @NODE_ENV=test \
    @NODE_PATH=lib \
    ./node_modules/.bin/expresso \
    $(TESTFLAGS) \
    $(SPECS)

cov:
    @TESTFLAGS=--cov $(MAKE) spec

.PHONY: spec cov

Output: /bin/sh: @NODE_PATH=lib: command not found

If I set one variable only it's working fine. What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

Use '@' only once. It is only needed at the very beginning of the string, but you have it twice. The line continuations are very literal, and your current code reads:

@NODE_ENV=test @NODE_PATH=lib ./node_modules/.bin/expresso $(TESTFLAGS) $(SPECS)

The '@' on NODE_PATH is getting passed to the shell, which you do not want.