diff --git a/autogen.sh b/autogen.sh
index 69a20dc46..3f3810d80 100755
--- a/autogen.sh
+++ b/autogen.sh
@@ -13,4 +13,6 @@ if [ -z ${LIBTOOLIZE} ] && GLIBTOOLIZE="$(command -v glibtoolize)"; then
   LIBTOOLIZE="${GLIBTOOLIZE}"
   export LIBTOOLIZE
 fi
+which autoreconf >/dev/null || \
+  (echo "configuration failed, please install autoconf first" && exit 1)
 autoreconf --install --force --warnings=all