# What do tags and links refer to in src/sys/amd64/Makefile



## Stefan Andritoiu (Jun 6, 2015)

Hello,
I've just made some changes (added a ioctl request) to the src/sys/amd64/vmm/vmm_dev.c and src/sys/amd64/vmm/vmm_dev.h files, and wanted to test it. I tried to run the  src/sys/amd64/Makefile  and got:
make links or tags only

Can someone explain to me what links and tags are? And which one I need to make?


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## woodsb02 (Jun 13, 2015)

The answer lies within the file sys/amd64/Makefile.

If you just run the make(1) command, it defaults to using the first target specified in the Makefile (in this case the all target). The developers have left a helpful instruction for you in this case, prompting you that only the tags or links targets are valid. In other words you should only run `make tags` or `make links` in this directory.

What this essentially comes down to, is that you are not supposed to build the kernel by running `make` in this directory.

For more information on how to build the kernel, refer to the below handbook page:
https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/kernelconfig-building.html

Good luck!


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