diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a4baaa090..d8e15b591 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -67,11 +67,13 @@ i18n: yarn-install
 	# generate .ts file containing all translations
 	$(gulp) po2js
 
+# Some commands are only available when ./configure has been run
 
 ifndef prefix
-.PHONY: install
-install:
+.PHONY: warn-noprefix install
+warn-noprefix:
 	@echo "no prefix configured, did you run ./configure?"
+install: warn-noprefix
 else
 .PHONY: install
 install: tsc
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index ede3a9164..57a8b9537 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -57,7 +57,10 @@ while true; do
     esac
 done
 
-echo "prefix=$prefix" >config.mk
+cat << EOF > config.mk
+# this file is autogenerated by ./configure
+prefix=$prefix
+EOF
 
 node_version=$(node --version)
 if [ ! "$?" -eq 0 ]; then