diff --git a/test/autogen.sh b/test/autogen.sh
index 988d41760..f1716a597 100755
--- a/test/autogen.sh
+++ b/test/autogen.sh
@@ -1,11 +1,9 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
+set -e
+
 cp acinclude.m4 aclocal.m4
 
-if test "$AUTOCONF"x = x; then
-  AUTOCONF=autoconf
-fi
-
-$AUTOCONF || exit 1
+"${AUTOCONF:-autoconf}"
 rm aclocal.m4
 rm -rf autom4te.cache