NAME

       aclocal - automatically generate aclocal.m4 from configure.in

SYNOPSIS

       aclocal  [ --acdir=DIR ] [ --help ] [ -I DIR ] [ --output=FILE ] [ --verbose ] [ --version
       ]

DESCRIPTION

       Automake includes a number of Autoconf macros which can be used in your package;  some  of
       them  are  actually  required  by  Automake  in  certain situations.  These macros must be
       defined in your aclocal.m4; otherwise they will not be seen by autoconf.

       The aclocal program will automatically generate aclocal.m4 files based on the contents  of
       configure.in.   This  provides  a  convenient way to get Automake-provided macros, without
       having to search around.  Also, the aclocal mechanism  is  extensible  for  use  by  other
       packages.

       At  startup,  aclocal  scans all the .m4 files it can find, looking for macro definitions.
       Then it scans configure.in.  Any mention of one of the macros  found  in  the  first  step
       causes that macro, and any macros it in turn requires, to be put into aclocal.m4.

       The contents of acinclude.m4, if it exists, are also automatically included in aclocal.m4.
       This is useful for incorporating local macros into configure.

       aclocal accepts the following options:

       --acdir=DIR
              Look for the macro files in DIR instead of the  installation  directory.   This  is
              typically used for debugging.

       --help Print a summary of the command line options and exit.

       -I DIR Add the directory DIR to the list of directories searched for .m4 files.

       --output=FILE
              Cause the output to be put into FILE instead of aclocal.m4.

       --verbose
              Print the names of the files it examines.

       --version
              Print the version number of Automake and exit.

SEE ALSO

       automake(1), 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.

                                             Automake                                  ACLOCAL(1)