diff --git a/autogen.sh b/autogen.sh
index c38006873..d9b6adc51 100755
--- a/autogen.sh
+++ b/autogen.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 #! /bin/sh
 set -e
 
+[ -d m4 ] || mkdir m4
+
 # variables
 if [ `uname -s` = "Darwin" ]; then
         LIBTOOLIZE=glibtoolize