---
name: "automake-1.9"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "automake1.9"
version: "1.9.6+nogfdl-4"
release: "Debian 7 (Wheezy)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/automake-1.9"
---

# automake-1.9(1)

automatically create Makefile.in's from Makefile.am's

## NAME

automake - automatically create Makefile.in's from Makefile.am's

## SYNOPSIS

**automake** \[ **-a** \| **--add-missing** \] \[ **--amdir=**DIR \] \[ **--build-dir=**DIR \] \[ **-c** \| **--copy** \] \[ **--cygnus** \] \[ **-f** \| **--force-missing** \] \[ **--foreign** \] \[ **--gnits** \] \[ **--gnu** \] \[ **--help** \] \[ **-i** \| **--ignore-deps** \] \[ **--include-deps** \] \[ **--no-force** \] \[ **-o** DIR \] \[ **--output-dir=**DIR \] \[ **--srcdir-name=**DIR \] \[ **-v** \| **--verbose** \] \[ **--version** \] \[ **--Werror** \| **--Wno-error** \]

## DESCRIPTION

To create all the  **Makefile.in**s for a package, run the  **automake** program in the top level directory, with no arguments.   **automake** will automatically find each appropriate  **Makefile.am** (by scanning **configure.in**) and generate the corresponding  **Makefile.in**. Note that  **automake** has a rather simplistic view of what constitutes a package; it assumes that a package has only one **configure.in**, at the top.  If your package has multiple  **configure.in**s, then you must run **automake** in each directory holding a  **configure.in**.

You can optionally give  **automake** an argument;  **.am** is appended to the argument and the result is used as the name of the input file.  This feature is generally only used to automatically rebuild an out-of-date **Makefile.in**. Note that  *automake* must always be run from the topmost directory of a project, even if being used to regenerate the **Makefile.in** in some subdirectory.  This is necessary because  *automake* must scan  **configure.in**, and because  *automake* uses the knowledge that a  **Makefile.in** is in a subdirectory to change its behavior in some cases.

*automake* accepts the following options:

- **-a**

  - **--add-missing**

  Automake requires certain common files to exist in certain situations; for instance  **config.guess** is required if **configure.in** runs  **AC\_CANONICAL\_HOST**. Automake is distributed with several of these files; this option will cause the missing ones to be automatically added to the package, whenever possible.  In general if Automake tells you a file is missing, try using this option. By default Automake tries to make a symbolic link pointing to its own copy of the missing file; this can be changed with **--copy**.

- **--libdir=DIR**

  Look for Automake data files in directory DIR instead of in the installation directory.  This is typically used for debugging.

- **-c**

  - **--copy**

  When used with **--add-missing**, causes installed files to be copied. The default is to make a symbolic link.

- **--cygnus**

  Causes the generated  **Makefile.in**s to follow Cygnus rules, instead of GNU or Gnits rules.

- **-f**

  - **--force-missing**

  When used with **--add-missing**, causes standard files to be rebuilt even if they already exist in the source tree. This involves removing the file from the source tree before creating the new symlink (or, with **--copy**, copying the new file).

- **--foreign**

  Set the global strictness to  **foreign**.

- **--gnits**

  Set the global strictness to  **gnits**.

- **--gnu**

  Set the global strictness to  **gnu**. This is the default strictness.

- **--help**

  Print a summary of the command line options and exit.

- **-i**

  - **--ignore-deps**

  This disables the dependency tracking feature.

- **--include-deps**

  This enables the dependency tracking feature. This feature is enabled by default. This option is provided for historical reasons only and probably should not be used.

- **--no-force**

  Ordinarily  **automake** creates all  **Makefile.in**s mentioned in **configure.in**. This option causes it to only update those **Makefile.in**s which are out of date with respect to one of their dependents.

- **-o DIR**

  - **--output-dir=DIR**

  Put the generated  **Makefile.in** in the directory DIR.  Ordinarily each  **Makefile.in** is created in the directory of the corresponding  **Makefile.am**. This option is used when making distributions.

- **-v**

  - **--verbose**

  Cause Automake to print information about which files are being read or created.

- **--version**

  Print the version number of Automake and exit.

- **--Werror**

  - **--Wno-error**

  **--Werror** will cause all warnings issued by *automake* to become errors. Errors affect the exit status of *automake*, while warnings do not. **--Wno-error**, the default, causes warning to be treated as warnings only.

## SEE ALSO

[**aclocal**(1)](/aclocal/1.md), and the Texinfo documentation for automake

## AUTHORS

Automake was written primarily by David Mackenzie and Tom Tromey. This manpage written by Ben Pfaff \<pfaffben@pilot.msu.edu\> for the Debian GNU/Linux **automake** package.