Some caveats

Earlier, if you were awake, you noticed that I recommended the use of make before make dist or make distcheck. This practice ensures that all the generated files are newer than their inputs. It also solves some problems related to dependency tracking (see the chapter called Advanced GNU Automake Usage).

Note that currently Automake will allow you to make a distribution when maintainer mode is off, or when you do not have all the required maintainer tools. That is, you can make a subtly broken distribution if you are motivated or unlucky. This will be addressed in a future version of Automake.