I want to install autoconf
, automake
, m4
, etc… from the source on a Mac OS X 10.7.2 machine running Xcode 4.2.1. The problem is anything that I try and install I have to rely on autoconf
. Therefore, I am trying to install autoconf
I get:
configure.ac:30: require Automake 1.11, but have 1.10
I try to install automake
, the bootstrap reports:
configure.ac:20: error: Autoconf version 2.68 or higher is required
configure.ac:20: the top level
autom4te: /usr/bin/gm4 failed with exit status: 63
aclocal.tmp: error: autom4te failed with exit status: 63
Currently installed autoconf
version: autoconf (GNU Autoconf) 2.61
Currently installed automake
version: automake (GNU automake) 1.10
Best Answer
Update: Just use Homebrew to install these packages and move on with life.
Install Homebrew and just install the
autoconf
,automake
andlibtool
packages like this:When I wrote this answer about 3+ years ago, it was to correct a previous answer that was outdated, link-only and vague in explanation. At that time I preferred to use raw source compilation on macOS for a task like this rather than a package manager like Homebrew because I simply found Homebrew and MacPorts to be a tad immature back then.
Now I use Homebrew (aka
brew
) on macOS as regularly as I useapt-get
on Ubuntu andyum
on CentOS. I would recommend avoiding compiling anything from raw source code on macOS unless you really have no choice.Old answer content below for reference purposes.
I realize this question is about 3+ years old, but the accepted answer is a link only answer and that link is now dead. And the other answer is technically correct, but it still does not explain the actual hands-on process required to install the GNU versions of
autoconf
,automake
andlibtool
in Mac OS X.First, Xcode—since at least version 4.3 I believe—no longer includes the GNU versions of
autoconf
,automake
andlibtool
. This doesn’t mean you can’t install GNU tools on your own. And here is how.I’ve used this process on Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), 10.7 (Lion), 10.8 (Mountain Lion) and 10.9 (Mavericks) without issue.
Install Xcode and Xcode command line tools.
The first prerequisite is to have Xcode installed along with the Xcode command line tools as well. Chances are if you need
autoconf
,automake
andlibtool
installed, you already have Xcode and the command line tools installed, but just pointing that out for those who don’t have that setup yet.Now, onto the show! Just note that version numbers of downloads are based on what is current (as of April 2015) and works well as of the time of this post. Adjust to other versions if you need to:
Install
autoconf
2.69.Set the working directory to your home directory:
Get the source code and decompress it:
Go into the uncompressed source code directory:
Run the
configure
script on the source code:Now run
make
to compile it:Now install it:
Check the newly installed
autoconf
version to confirm all went well:Response should be something like this:
Install
automake
1.15.Set the working directory to your home directory:
Get the source code and decompress it:
Go into the uncompressed source code directory:
Run the
configure
script on the source code:Now run
make
to compile it:Now install it:
Check the newly installed
automake
version to confirm all went well:Response should be something like this:
Install
libtool
2.4.6.Set the working directory to your home directory:
Get the source code and decompress it:
Go into the uncompressed source code directory:
Run the
configure
script on the source code:Now run
make
to compile it:Now install it:
Check the newly installed
libtool
version—via theman
page—to confirm all went well:On the first page of the man page there should be something like this: