GNU Autotools is a build system that helps you distribute your code in a predictable and reliable way.

Build systems offer many benefits, including:

Standard and automate-able build process

hooks into packaging systems (RPM, DEB, Slackbuilds, Flatpak, Snap, and so on)

version reporting

build for various OSes

you get lots of code to handle every possible corner case, for free

with a single configuration, you can build your project as the developer, build it for packagers, and enable users to build it for themselves

Next up: how to use GNU Autotools