tooldir=/usr: Normally, the tooldir (the directory where the executables from binutils end up) is set to $(exec_prefix)/$(target_alias) which expands into, for example, /usr/i686-pc-linux-gnu. Since we only build for our own system, we don't need this target specific directory in /usr. That setup would be used if the system was used to cross-compile (for example compiling a package on the Intel machine that generates code that can be executed on Apple PowerPC machines). make tooldir=/usr install-info: This will install binutils' info pages. cp ../binutils-&binutils-version;/include/libiberty.h /usr/include: The libiberty.h header file is needed in order for certain software to compile.