AUTOUPDATE(1)

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

💖 AUTOUPDATE — the autoupdate(1) glow-up 💖

okay bestie, so you know how your configure.ac is out here looking like it's from 2009 and giving major throwback energy? yeah. this is the tool that gives it the makeover. it's a User Command, and it lives in section 1 of the manual, iykyk. ✨

🌸 NAME 🌸

autoupdate — Update a configure.ac to a newer Autoconf

like literally, it takes your dusty old template file and drags it into the current era. no cap. 👑

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

autoupdate [OPTION]... [TEMPLATE-FILE]...

that's it. that's the whole thing. you pass options, you pass template files, the magic happens. 🪄

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

so here's the tea: autoupdate updates each TEMPLATE-FILE — if you give it any — or else it goes looking for configure.ac, and if that's not there, it falls back to configure.in. either way, it rewrites them to match the syntax of the current version of Autoconf. 🌈

⚠️ and listen, the original files get backed up. so don't panic, but also don't be weird about it.

✨ Operation modes: ✨

  • -h, --help — prints the help text, then dips out. exit stage left. 💨
  • -V, --version — prints the version number, then exits. little flex, honestly. 🎀
  • -v, --verbose — verbosely reports processing. it will tell you what it's doing. main character energy, honestly. 🗣️
  • -d, --debug — doesn't remove temporary files. great for when you're in your detective era. 🔍
  • -f, --force — considers all files obsolete. all of them. no mercy, periodt. 💀

📚 Library directories: 📚

  • -B, --prepend-include=DIR — prepends directory DIR to the search path. it goes first, like the girl who always gets to the function early. 🫶
  • -I, --include=DIR — appends directory DIR to the search path. it goes at the end, but it still showed up. 🧚

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Written by David J. MacKenzie and Akim Demaille.

absolute legends. we stan. 💖

🐛 REPORTING BUGS 🐛

found a bug? don't just scream about it in the group chat, bestie — report it to bug-autoconf@gnu.org, or slide into Savannah: https://savannah.gnu.org/support/?group=autoconf.

they literally want to hear from you. 🫶

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 warranty. like, none. at all. the extent permitted by law is the only limit. so yeah, read that part again fr fr. 💅

🌟 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, and it's the autoupdate(1) page, so go forth and modernize your build system. slay, hydrate, and back up your files. mwah! 💖✨🎀
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