Yes. Like make, it lets you define tasks with dependencies and targets, and rebuild only if one of them have changed.

But I prefer it because:

- it runs anywhere you have python.

- it uses a clean syntax, and the parser is great at telling you about errors since it's python.

- you get access to python's stdlib: string formatting, maths, etc.

- you get access to python's ecosystem. Want to deal with timezone, hashing, crypto ? Sure you can.

- you get access to python's tooling (debugger, formatter, linter).

- you can still just use bash if you want. Easy things stay easy.