autoreconf1

Update generated configuration files

Usage

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

Overview

Run 'autoconf' and, when needed, 'aclocal', 'autoheader', 'automake', 'autopoint' (formerly 'gettextize'), 'libtoolize', 'intltoolize', and 'gtkdocize' to regenerate the GNU Build System files in specified DIRECTORIES and their subdirectories (defaulting to '.').

By default, it only remakes those files that are older than their sources. If you install new versions of the GNU Build System, you can make 'autoreconf' remake all of the files by giving it the '--force' option.

Operation modes:

-h, --help: print this help, then exit

-V, --version: print version number, then exit

-v, --verbose: verbosely report processing

-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.

Releases

16 releases since Debian 2.0 (Hamm); the text changed 10 times.

--debug since Debian 9 (Stretch); --exclude since Arch Linux 2026-11-01; --force since Debian 9 (Stretch); --help since Debian 9 (Stretch); --include since Debian 9 (Stretch); --install since Debian 9 (Stretch); --make since Debian 9 (Stretch); --no-recursive since Debian 9 (Stretch); --prepend-include since Debian 9 (Stretch); --replace-handwritten since Arch Linux 2026-11-01; --symlink since Debian 9 (Stretch); --verbose since Debian 9 (Stretch); --version since Debian 9 (Stretch); --warnings since Debian 9 (Stretch); -B since Debian 9 (Stretch); -I since Debian 9 (Stretch); -R since Arch Linux 2026-11-01; -V since Debian 9 (Stretch); -W since Debian 9 (Stretch); -d since Debian 9 (Stretch); -f since Debian 9 (Stretch); -h since Debian 9 (Stretch); -i since Debian 9 (Stretch); -m since Debian 9 (Stretch); -s since Debian 9 (Stretch); -v since Debian 9 (Stretch); -x since Arch Linux 2026-11-01.

--autoconf-dir until Debian 3.0 (Woody); --cygnus until Debian 3.0 (Woody); --foreign until Debian 3.0 (Woody); --gnits until Debian 3.0 (Woody); --gnu until Debian 3.0 (Woody); --include-deps until Debian 3.0 (Woody); --localdir until Debian 3.0 (Woody); --m4dir until Debian 3.0 (Woody); --macrodir until Debian 2.2 (Potato); -l until Debian 2.2 (Potato).