@c This file is part of the GNU gettext manual.
@c Copyright (C) 1995-2019 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@c See the file gettext.texi for copying conditions.

@pindex autopoint
@cindex @code{autopoint} program, usage
@example
autopoint [@var{option}]...
@end example

The @code{autopoint} program copies standard gettext infrastructure files
into a source package.  It extracts from a macro call of the form
@code{AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION(@var{version})}, found in the package's
@file{configure.in} or @file{configure.ac} file, the gettext version
used by the package, and copies the infrastructure files belonging to
this version into the package.

To extract the latest available infrastructure which satisfies a version
requirement, then you can use the form
@code{AM_GNU_GETTEXT_REQUIRE_VERSION(@var{version})} instead.  For
example, if gettext @value{ARCHIVE-VERSION} is installed on your system
and @code{0.19.1} is requested, then the infrastructure files of version
@value{ARCHIVE-VERSION} will be copied into a source package.

@subsubsection Options

@table @samp
@item -f
@itemx --force
@opindex -f@r{, @code{autopoint} option}
@opindex --force@r{, @code{autopoint} option}
Force overwriting of files that already exist.

@item -n
@itemx --dry-run
@opindex -d@r{, @code{autopoint} option}
@opindex --dry-run@r{, @code{autopoint} option}
Print modifications but don't perform them.  All file copying actions that
@code{autopoint} would normally execute are inhibited and instead only
listed on standard output.

@end table

@subsubsection Informative output

@table @samp
@item --help
@opindex --help@r{, @code{autopoint} option}
Display this help and exit.

@item --version
@opindex --version@r{, @code{autopoint} option}
Output version information and exit.

@end table

@code{autopoint} supports the GNU @code{gettext} versions from 0.10.35
to the current one, @value{ARCHIVE-VERSION}.  In order to apply
@code{autopoint} to a package using a @code{gettext} version newer than
@value{ARCHIVE-VERSION}, you need to install this same version of GNU
@code{gettext} at least.

In packages using GNU @code{automake}, an invocation of @code{autopoint}
should be followed by invocations of @code{aclocal} and then @code{autoconf}
and @code{autoheader}.  The reason is that @code{autopoint} installs some
autoconf macro files, which are used by @code{aclocal} to create
@file{aclocal.m4}, and the latter is used by @code{autoconf} to create the
package's @file{configure} script and by @code{autoheader} to create the
package's @file{config.h.in} include file template.

The name @samp{autopoint} is an abbreviation of @samp{auto-po-intl-m4};
in earlier versions, the tool copied or updated mostly files in the @file{po},
@file{intl}, @file{m4} directories.