diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f3d26df..4416848 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ configure
 .libs/
 Makefile.in
 aclocal.m4
-autogen.sh
 autom4te.cache/
 config.log
 config.status
diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index e333428..9980084 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ tests_LDFLAGS = -static
 TESTS = tests
 endif
 
-EXTRA_DIST = nasm_lt.sh
+EXTRA_DIST = autogen.sh nasm_lt.sh
 
 #x86_64 only
 if USE_ASM
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4151314..419f28c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -41,9 +41,7 @@ Build steps
 
 libsecp256k1 is built using autotools:
 
-    $ aclocal
-    $ autoreconf --install
-    $ automake
+    $ ./autogen.sh  # not necessary when building from release tarballs
     $ ./configure
     $ make
     $ sudo make install  # optional
diff --git a/autogen.sh b/autogen.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..4e7cc05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/autogen.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+autoreconf -if