[PATCH 1/1] perf build: fix "argument list too long" in second location

Markus Mayer
2026-04-09T22:14:46Z

Turns out that displaying "RM $^" via quiet_cmd_rm can also upset the
shell and cause it to display "argument list too long".

Trying to quote $^ doesn't help.

In the end, *not* displaying the (potentially long) list of files is
probably the right thing to do for a "quiet" message, anyway. Instead,
let's display a count of how many files were removed. There is always
V=1 if more detail is required.

TEST linux/tools/perf/pmu-events/metric_test.log
RM ...634 orphan file(s)...
LD linux/tools/perf/util/perf-util-in.o

Also move the comment regarding xargs before the rule, so it doesn't
show up in the build output.

Signed-off-by: Markus Mayer <mmayer@broadcom.com>
---
tools/perf/pmu-events/Build | 4 ++--
1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/perf/pmu-events/Build b/tools/perf/pmu-events/Build
index dc5f94862a3b..dc1df2d57ddc 100644
--- a/tools/perf/pmu-events/Build
+++ b/tools/perf/pmu-events/Build
@@ -211,10 +211,10 @@ ifneq ($(strip $(ORPHAN_FILES)),)

# Message for $(call echo-cmd,rm). Generally cleaning files isn't part
# of a build step.
-quiet_cmd_rm = RM $^
+quiet_cmd_rm = RM ...$(words $^) orphan file(s)...

+# The list of files can be long. Use xargs to prevent issues.
prune_orphans: $(ORPHAN_FILES)
- # The list of files can be long. Use xargs to prevent issues.
$(Q)$(call echo-cmd,rm)echo "$^" | xargs rm -f

JEVENTS_DEPS += prune_orphans
--
2.53.0