Make also supports a ton of other features that a lot of people don't use (or don't directly use) or understand.
It's possible to create makefile targets which say "Don't run this other target on my behalf, but if you're going to run it anyway then run it before me"; for example, don't try to create the build output directory every time you run this target, but if it does need to be created then create it first.
Every time I've tried to look for a clean, effective Makefile replacement there have either been obvious (to me) missing features that make anything but the most basic use cases tricky, or the system is so clearly designed to solve one specific problem (e.g. "compile a bunch of .c files into a binary") and as a result is unsuitable for most use cases that Makefiles would be good for.
It's possible to create makefile targets which say "Don't run this other target on my behalf, but if you're going to run it anyway then run it before me"; for example, don't try to create the build output directory every time you run this target, but if it does need to be created then create it first.
Every time I've tried to look for a clean, effective Makefile replacement there have either been obvious (to me) missing features that make anything but the most basic use cases tricky, or the system is so clearly designed to solve one specific problem (e.g. "compile a bunch of .c files into a binary") and as a result is unsuitable for most use cases that Makefiles would be good for.