diff --git a/make.go b/make.go
index 746f938d..ad5a9acc 100644
--- a/make.go
+++ b/make.go
@@ -276,19 +276,44 @@ func clean() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// trace is a helper fucntion that writes a command
+// run is a helper function that executes commands
+// and assigns stdout and stderr targets
+func run(command string, args ...string) error {
+	cmd := exec.Command(command, args...)
+
+	cmd.Stdout = os.Stdout
+	cmd.Stderr = os.Stderr
+
+	trace(cmd.Args)
+	err := cmd.Run()
+
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+// helper function to parse the git revision
+func rev() string {
+	cmd := exec.Command(
+		"git",
+		"rev-parse",
+		"--short",
+		"HEAD")
+
+	raw, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+
+	if err != nil {
+		return "HEAD"
+	}
+
+	return strings.Trim(string(raw), "\n")
+}
+
+// trace is a helper function that writes a command
 // to stdout similar to bash +x
 func trace(args []string) {
 	print("+ ")
 	println(strings.Join(args, " "))
 }
-
-// helper function to parse the git revision
-func rev() string {
-	cmd := exec.Command("git", "rev-parse", "--short", "HEAD")
-	raw, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
-	if err != nil {
-		return "HEAD"
-	}
-	return strings.Trim(string(raw), "\n")
-}