diff --git a/Makefile.common b/Makefile.common
index ce80d530..a1b1ca40 100644
--- a/Makefile.common
+++ b/Makefile.common
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ endif
 %: common-% ;
 
 .PHONY: common-all
-common-all: precheck style check_license lint unused build test
+common-all: precheck style check_license lint yamllint unused build test
 
 .PHONY: common-style
 common-style:
@@ -198,6 +198,15 @@ else
 endif
 endif
 
+.PHONY: common-yamllint
+common-yamllint:
+	@echo ">> running yamllint on all YAML files in the repository"
+ifeq (, $(shell which yamllint))
+	@echo "yamllint not installed so skipping"
+else
+	yamllint .
+endif
+
 # For backward-compatibility.
 .PHONY: common-staticcheck
 common-staticcheck: lint