Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install automake with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper

Tool for generating GNU Standards-compliant Makefiles. Version 1.18.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-18.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install automake

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install automake

MacPorts ports tree · devel/automake/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add automake

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · automake · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install automake

Debian stable package indexes · automake · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install automake

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · automake · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#automake

nixpkgs package indexes · automake · source: raw.githubusercontent.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S automake

Arch Linux sync databases · automake · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install automake

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · automake · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

Tool for generating GNU Standards-compliant Makefiles

Commands and aliases

  • aclocal
  • aclocal-1.18
  • automake
  • automake-1.18

history

Project history and usage

GNU Automake is one of the core GNU Autotools. It generates portable, GNU Standards-oriented Makefile.in files from maintainer-written Makefile.am input, sitting between Autoconf's configure scripts and make's build execution.

Project history

Automake was written to reduce the burden of maintaining large, portable Makefile.in templates by hand. Its official manual history credits the early project to Tom Tromey and describes Automake as part of the GNU build system alongside Autoconf and Libtool.

The Automake manual frames the package around Makefile.am files, configure.ac, GNU Coding Standards conventions, and generated Makefile.in output. Over time it absorbed a large catalog of conventions for recursive builds, installed programs, libraries, tests, distribution tarballs, Texinfo, gettext, and portability checks.

Because Automake generates files consumed by configure and make, it became a maintainer-side tool in many projects: release tarballs often include generated Makefile.in files so end users do not need Automake, while developers building from VCS do.

Adoption history

Automake's adoption is tied to the spread of Autotools as the default build machinery for GNU packages and many non-GNU Unix projects. The batch input lists Automake in Homebrew, Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, Alpine, MacPorts, Nix, and openSUSE, reflecting how standard it is in development environments.

For package managers, Automake is both a direct package and a build dependency. Formulae and distro recipes often need specific automake/aclocal versions when regenerating build files, especially for projects that ship old Autotools metadata.

How it is used

Maintainers write Makefile.am files and a configure.ac script, run aclocal and automake as part of the autoreconf/bootstrap flow, and ship or build from generated Makefile.in files. Users normally encounter automake indirectly through autoreconf, ./configure, and make.

The official curation correctly treats Makefile.am and configure.ac as the package's relevant configuration/build-input files; Automake has no credentials file.

Why package nerds care

Automake is historically important because it standardized a huge amount of portable Unix build behavior into generated makefiles. Package nerds care because Autotools failures often reduce to Automake version expectations, missing m4 macros, stale generated files, or distribution tarball rules.

It is also a compatibility artifact: even projects migrating to Meson, CMake, or language-native build systems may carry old Automake releases in package histories and bootstrap scripts.

Timeline

  • 1990s: Automake emerges in the GNU build-system ecosystem to generate Makefile.in files from Makefile.am.
  • 2000s: Automake becomes a normal dependency for maintainers building GNU and Unix projects from source control.
  • 2020s: Automake remains packaged broadly as part of standard developer-tool stacks.

Related projects

  • GNU Autoconf generates configure scripts that pair with Automake-generated Makefile.in files.
  • GNU Libtool handles portable library-building concerns commonly used with Automake.
  • autoreconf orchestrates regeneration of Autotools files and often invokes aclocal and automake.

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

  • narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

  • metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 8 platform targets.
  • Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix
Makefile.amconfigure.ac

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
aclocalcliglobal executable
aclocal-1.18cliglobal executable
automakecliglobal executable
automake-1.18cliglobal executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08
manager version1.18.1
manager updated2026-06-18
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://www.gnu.org/software/automake/

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:automake
Version1.18.1
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/automake
Homepagehttps://www.gnu.org/software/automake/
Repositoryhttps://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/automake.git
Upstream docshttps://www.gnu.org/software/automake/manual/automake.html
LicenseGPL-2.0-or-later
Source archivehttps://ftpmirror.gnu.org/gnu/automake/automake-1.18.1.tar.xz
Last updated2026-06-18T14:23:12Z
Pulseupdated
Dependenciesautoconf
Bottleavailable (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sequoia, sonoma, tahoe, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Nameautomake
Version Scheme0
Revision1
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
URL Keys
  • stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Debian apt95%

automake 1:1.17-4

Tool for generating GNU Standards-compliant Makefiles

https://www.gnu.org/software/automake/

sudo apt install automake
  • Section: devel
  • Architecture: all
  • Source Package: automake-1.17
  • 2 dependencies
  • 3 provides
  • 2 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Automake
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: automake from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

automake

nix profile install nixpkgs#automake
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Automake
nixpkgs package indexes · raw.githubusercontent.com · nixpkgs package indexes: automake from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
Ubuntu apt95%

automake 1:1.16.5-1.3ubuntu1

Tool for generating GNU Standards-compliant Makefiles

https://www.gnu.org/software/automake/

sudo apt install automake
  • Section: devel
  • Architecture: all
  • Source Package: automake-1.16
  • 2 dependencies
  • 2 provides
  • 2 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Automake
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: automake from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
apk95%

automake 1.18.1-r1

GNU tool for automatically creating Makefiles

https://www.gnu.org/software/automake

sudo apk add automake
  • License: GPL-2.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: automake
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Automake
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: automake from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

automake-doc 1.18.1-r1

GNU tool for automatically creating Makefiles (documentation)

https://www.gnu.org/software/automake

sudo apk add automake-doc
  • License: GPL-2.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: automake
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Automake
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: automake-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
dnf95%

automake 1.18.1-4.fc44

A GNU tool for automatically creating Makefiles

http://www.gnu.org/software/automake/

sudo dnf install automake
  • License: GPL-2.0-or-later AND GPL-2.0-or-later WITH Autoconf-exception-generic AND GPL-3.0-or-later AND GPL-3.0-or-later WITH Autoconf-exception-generic-3.0 AND
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: noarch
  • Source Package: automake
  • 5 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Automake
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: automake from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
pacman95%

automake 1.18.1-1

A GNU tool for automatically creating Makefiles

https://www.gnu.org/software/automake

sudo pacman -S automake
  • License: GPL
  • Architecture: any
  • 2 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Automake
Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: automake from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/core/os/x86_64/core.db.tar.gz
zypper95%

automake 1.18.1-1.3

A Program for Automatically Generating GNU-Style Makefile.in Files

https://www.gnu.org/software/automake

sudo zypper install automake
  • License: GFDL-1.3-or-later AND GPL-2.0-or-later AND SUSE-Public-Domain AND MIT
  • Category: Development/Tools/Building
  • Architecture: noarch
  • Source Package: automake
  • 5 dependencies
  • 2 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Automake
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: automake from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
MacPorts95%

automake

sudo port install automake
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Automake
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: devel/automake/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

Related tools

  • autoconfRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • crosstool-ngPopular package that depends on this formula.
  • libbiPopular package that depends on this formula.

Same workflow

  • arm-linux-gnueabihf-binutilsShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, gnu.
  • arm-none-eabi-binutilsShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, gnu.
  • autogenShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, gnu.
  • bamShares av.db curated category or tags: build-system, cli, developer-tools.
  • binutilsShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, gnu.
  • bisonShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, gnu.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Used sources

  • Geiger risk classifier
  • Nucleus package database
  • av.db category and tag curation
  • cross-ecosystem install command graph
  • curated configuration and credential file locations
  • curated package history
  • external package-manager database matches
  • package relationship graph
  • package version freshness
  • package-page enrichment