AUTOCONF(1)

📦 version 2.13, in debian bookworm, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 AUTOCONF(1) 💖

okay bestie, listen — this is the manual page for autoconf2.13, from the General Commands Manual section. it makes the little scripts that make your source code go brrr. sit down, grab a snack, we're doing this together 🍓

✨ NAME ✨

autoconf2.13 — creates scripts to configure source code packages using templates

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

autoconf2.13 [ --help | -h ] [ --localdir=dir | -l dir ] [
--macrodir=dir | -m dir ] [ --version ]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So here's the tea ☕. You want a configure script, and you've got a configure.in file. Run autoconf2.13 with no arguments at all and it just… does it. it takes your configure.in and feeds it through the m4 macro processor, using the Autoconf macros, and out comes your config script. iconic behaviour honestly 💅

But wait, there's more. If you hand autoconf2.13 an argument, it reads that file instead of configure.in — and instead of writing to configure, it writes the configuration script straight to standard output. and if the argument you give it is -? it reads from standard input instead of configure.in, and writes the configuration script to standard output. very demure, very mindful 🎀

Now, the Autoconf macros live in several files. Some of them ship with Autoconf — autoconf2.13 reads those first. Then it goes looking for the optional file acsite.m4 in the directory that holds the distributed Autoconf macro files, and for the optional file aclocal.m4 in the current directory. Those two can hold your site's macros or the package's own Autoconf macro definitions — whatever you need 🫶

And here's the important bit: if a macro is defined in more than one of the files autoconf2.13 reads, then the last definition it reads overrides the earlier ones. last one wins, no cap.

autoconf2.13 accepts the following options:

👑 OPTIONS 👑

  • --help — prints a lil summary of the command line options, then exits. that's it, that's the whole thing ✨
  • -h — same energy as --help. summary of the command line options, then exit.
  • --localdir=DIR — look for the package file aclocal.m4 in directory DIR instead of in the current directory.
  • -l DIR — the short version of --localdir. looks for the package file aclocal.m4 in directory DIR instead of the current directory.
  • --macrodir=DIR — look for the installed macro files in directory DIR. you can also set the AC_MACRODIR environment variable to a directory — but heads up, this option overrides the environment variable. option wins, always 💅
  • -m DIR — the short version of --macrodir. look for the installed macro files in DIR. and yeah, same deal: you can set AC_MACRODIR to a directory, but this option overrides the environment variable.
  • --version — print the version number of Autoconf and exit. short, sweet, slays 💖

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

go read these next bestie, they're the whole friend group:

💜 AUTHORS 💜

This whole thing was written by David MacKenzie, with help from Franc,ois Pinard, Karl Berry, Richard Pixley, Ian Lance Taylor, Roland McGrath, Noah Friedman, David D. Zuhn, and many others. absolute legends, every single one 🌟

And this very manpage? written by Ben Pfaff <pfaffben@debian.org> for the Debian GNU/Linux autoconf2.13 package. give him his flowers 💐

aaaand that's the whole page babes 🎀 this one's from the Autoconf manual, so if you see it floating around in the wilds of your system's man pages, you'll know exactly who wrote it and why. go forth and configure, my main character 🦋✨👑

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