Autoconf
| Autoconf | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Original author | David Mackenzie |
| Developer | GNU Project |
| Release | 1991 |
| Stable release | 2.73 
/ 20 March 2026 |
| Written in | Perl |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Type | Programming tool |
| License | GNU GPL |
| Website | www |
| Repository | |
GNU Autoconf is a software development tool for generating a configure script that in turn generates files for building a codebase and for packaging or installing the resulting files. Autoconf is part of the GNU Build System – along with Automake, Libtool, Autoheader and other tools.
Autoconf is agnostic about the programming language of the codebase to build. None-the-less, it is primarily used with C, C++, Fortran, Erlang, or Objective-C.
A configure script configures a software package for installation on a particular target system. After running a series of tests on the target system, the configure script generates header files and a makefile from templates, thus customizing the software package for the target system.