GNU build system

The GNU build system, also called the GNU Autotools is a suite of tools produced by the GNU project that assist in making packages portable to many UNIX-like systems. It is part of GNU toolchain.

It comprises

• GNU Autoconf
• GNU Automake
• GNU Libtool

Other related tools include

• GNU make
• GNU gettext

• The pkg-config tool used in several GNOME packages
• GNU Compiler Collection

The GNU build system is widely used in many free software and open source packages. While the tools comprising the GNU build system themselves are GPL-ed free software, there are no restrictions in using them in making non-free software portable.