AUTORECONF(1)

📦
version 2.73 · 6 versions
, in alpine 3.24, arch rolling, nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable, ubuntu stonking

💖 AUTORECONF(1) 💖

okay bestie, welcome to the User Commands section, we're talking about autoreconf and honestly? she's the mom friend of the GNU Build System.

✨ NAME ✨

autoreconf — update generated configuration files 🎀

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

autoreconf [OPTION]... [DIRECTORY]...

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So basically autoreconf runs autoconf for you, and when it's needed it also pulls in aclocal, autoheader, automake, autopoint (which used to be called gettextize, iykyk), libtoolize, intltoolize, and gtkdocize — all so it can regenerate the GNU Build System files in the DIRECTORIES you give it, plus all their subdirectories. If you don't name any directories, it just defaults to . 🫶

By default she's lowkey chill about it: she only remakes the files that are older than their sources. But listen — if you install new versions of the GNU Build System, you can make autoreconf remake all the files by handing her the --force option. that's the glow-up button 💅

⭐ Operation modes: ⭐

  • -h, --help — print this help, then exit
  • -V, --version — print version number, then exit
  • -v, --verbose — verbosely report processing (she will tell you everything, and honestly? love that for her)
  • -d, --debug — don't remove temporary files
  • -f, --force — consider all generated and standard files obsolete
  • -R, --replace-handwritten — replace files that could be generated but appear to have been written by hand (only config.h.in at present)
  • -i, --install — copy missing standard auxiliary files
  • --no-recursive — don't rebuild sub-packages
  • -s, --symlink — with -i, install symbolic links instead of copies
  • -x, --exclude=CMDS — don't run any of the commands in CMDS (comma-separated list)
  • -m, --make — when applicable, re-run ./configure && make
  • -W, --warnings=CATEGORY — report the warnings falling in CATEGORY (comma-separated list accepted)

🌈 Warning categories are: 🌈

  • cross — cross compilation issues
  • gnu — GNU coding standards (default in gnu and gnits modes)
  • obsolete — obsolete features or constructions (default)
  • override — user redefinitions of Automake rules or variables
  • portability — portability issues (default in gnu and gnits modes)
  • portability-recursive — nested Make variables (default with -Wportability)
  • extra-portability — extra portability issues related to obscure tools
  • syntax — dubious syntactic constructs (default)
  • unsupported — unsupported or incomplete features (default)

💜 -W also understands: 💜

  • all — turn on all the warnings
  • none — turn off all the warnings
  • no-CATEGORY — turn off warnings in CATEGORY
  • error — treat all enabled warnings as errors

🧚 Library directories: 🧚

  • -B, --prepend-include=DIR — prepend directory DIR to search path
  • -I, --include=DIR — append directory DIR to search path

The environment variables AUTOCONF, ACLOCAL, AUTOHEADER, AUTOM4TE, AUTOMAKE, AUTOPOINT, GTKDOCIZE, INTLTOOLIZE, LIBTOOLIZE, M4, MAKE, and WARNINGS are honored. yes ma'am, she sees them all 👑

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Written by David J. MacKenzie and Akim Demaille. legends fr fr.

💀 REPORTING BUGS 💀

Report bugs to bug-autoconf@gnu.org, or via Savannah: https://savannah.gnu.org/support/?group=autoconf.

found a bug? tell the devs, don't suffer in silence bestie 😭

Copyright © 2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+/Autoconf: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>, <https://gnu.org/licenses/exceptions.html>

This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

no cap, that NO WARRANTY is in all caps for a reason 💅

🌟 SEE ALSO 🌟

autoconf(1), automake(1), autoreconf(1), autoupdate(1), autoheader(1), autoscan(1), config.guess(1), config.sub(1), ifnames(1), libtool(1).

The full documentation for Autoconf is maintained as a Texinfo manual. To read the manual locally, use the command

info autoconf

You can also consult the Web version of the manual at https://gnu.org/software/autoconf/manual/.

and that's the whole vibe check 🫶 this was GNU Autoconf 2.73, dated March 2026 — go forth and autoreconf your little heart out, you're the main character of your build system now ✨💖

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