diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index acd30d9471..337ce17d2e 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ AC_CONFIG_HEADERS([config.h])
 AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIR([m4])
 dnl Make automake keep quiet about wildcards & other GNUmake-isms
 AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([-Wno-portability])
+AM_MAINTAINER_MODE([enable])
 
 # Use the silent-rules feature when possible.
 m4_ifndef([AM_SILENT_RULES], [m4_define([AM_SILENT_RULES],[])])