diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index ae8466c1..214754bf 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ m4_include([m4/libuv-extra-automake-flags.m4])
 m4_include([m4/as_case.m4])
 m4_include([m4/libuv-check-flags.m4])
 AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([-Wall -Werror foreign subdir-objects] UV_EXTRA_AUTOMAKE_FLAGS)
+AM_MAINTAINER_MODE([enable]) # pass --disable-maintainer-mode if autotools may be unavailable
 AC_CANONICAL_HOST
 AC_ENABLE_SHARED
 AC_ENABLE_STATIC