To use GNU "Auto" tools (AutoConf/AutoMake/LibTool), run /bin/sh build/gnuauto/setup.sh from the top-level Tidy directory. This script will copy the appropriate Makefile.am files into each source directory, along with configure.in. If the script was successful you should now be able to build in the usual way: $ ./configure --prefix=/usr $ make $ make install to get a list of configure options type: ./configure --help Alternatively, you should be able to build outside of the source tree. e.g.: $ mkdir ../build-tidy $ cd ../build-tidy $ ../tidy/configure --prefix=/usr $ make $ make install