AUTOCONF(1)

📦
version 2.52+20260412 · 5 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

✨ NAME ✨

ok bestie come CLOSE 💖 this is the autoconf manual page, and it's literally the thing that generates your configuration scripts. like, the whole ./configure moment? that's autoconf's child. no cap.

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

autoconf [OPTION] ... [TEMPLATE-FILE]

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

So here's the tea 🫖: autoconf generates a configuration script for you. If you hand it a TEMPLATE-FILE, it uses that. If you don't, it looks for configure.ac — and if that's not there, it goes looking for configure.in instead.

Where does the output go? Here's the rule, don't mix it up 👑: if you gave it a TEMPLATE-FILE, the output goes to standard output. If you didn't, it gets written into configure. that's it that's the whole vibe.

🎀 Operation modes 🎀

  • -h, --help — prints this help, then dips out. bye 💅
  • -V, --version — prints the version number, then exits. periodt.
  • -v, --verbose — verbosely reports the processing. she's chatty ✨
  • -d, --debug — doesn't remove temporary files. leaving the evidence behind, we love that 🙈
  • -o, --output=FILE — saves the output into FILE. (stdout is the default, fyi)
  • -W, --warnings=CATEGORY — reports the warnings falling in CATEGORY — and the default category is syntax

✨ OPTIONS ✨

  • --opt-functions — uses shell-functions to reduce repetition. DRY queen 👑

💜 Warning categories include: 💜

  • cross — cross compilation issues
  • obsolete — obsolete constructs (she's giving vintage, but like, not in a good way 😭)
  • syntax — dubious syntactic constructs
  • all — all the warnings
  • no-CATEGORY — turns off the warnings on CATEGORY
  • none — turns off all the warnings. silence, iconically 🤫
  • error — warnings are error

The environment variable WARNINGS is honored. yes, she reads her environment, main character energy 🌈

🍓 Library directories 🍓

  • -A, --autoconf-dir=ACDIR — where Autoconf's macro files live (rarely needed, so don't stress bestie)
  • -l, --localdir=DIR — the location of the aclocal.m4 file

🧚 Tracing 🧚

  • -t, --trace=MACRO — reports the list of calls to MACRO
  • -i, --initialization — also traces Autoconf's initialization process
lowkey important: in tracing mode, no configuration script is created. like, none. zero. the script simply does not manifest 💀

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Written by David J. MacKenzie. we stan a legend 🫶

😭 REPORTING BUGS 😭

Report bugs to <dickey@invisible-island.net>.

(be nice to the inbox bestie, that's someone's whole email 💖)

Copyright 2003-2024,2025 Thomas E. Dickey Copyright 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. (translation: she's free, she's open, she promises nothing legally, and that's just the deal ✨)

💜 SEE ALSO 💜

The full documentation for autoconf is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and autoconf programs are properly installed at your site, the command

info autoconf

should give you access to the complete manual. go read it, i'll wait 📖✨

ok that's the whole page, you ate that 🍽️💅 this was GNU Autoconf 2.52.20260412, dated April 2026, and yes the header still says AUTOCONF(1) because some things are sacred. mwah 💋

📦 where this page comes from