comment #8:

> full reasoning can be found at
> https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/groff/2022-03/msg00051.html.

Quoting Branden from this March 2022 message: "Savannah #61502 can be reopened and re-resolved with instructions and a pointer to the `git-version-gen` script."

But Branden may have later had second thoughts about this re-resolution: he set this bug to "Need Info" status on June 15, 2022 (with the mysteriously blank comment #10), but it's unclear what info is being sought.  The mailing-list discussion linked to in comment #12 happened in that same time frame, so that might be related.  Bruno's last post in the thread (http://lists.gnu.org/r/groff/2022-06/msg00090.html), from June 19, addresses some questions posed earlier, but there is no follow-up to this message.

Branden, when you get a chance, can you clarify what info, if any, is still needed to resolve this bug?

  Is is just an update to History according to
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/groff/2022-06/msg00225.html

Savannah seems to have eaten comment #10... Branden, did you save a copy of what you posted?

  Changes in am-files:

(CONFIG_HEADER is a variable set in " Makefile.in" but unused.)

1) "src/roff/nroff/nroff.am": target "nroff", adding dependency
"$(CONFIG_HEADER)" (as suggested in comment #1, and comment #7 pointing
out it being missing).

2) "Makefile.am": target "$(top_srcdir)/.version" adding dependency
"$(CONFIG_HEADER)".

  show a new line early in the output of "make ..." between
"lib/wctype.h" and "test-nroff":

  GEN      lib/wctype.h
echo 1.22.4.4268-b759b > ../.version-t && mv ../.version-t ../.version
  GEN      test-nroff
make  all-am

  Result: no test failure of
"src/roff/nroff/tests/verbose_option_works.sh"

comment #1:

> For the problem reported, once the above is done, adding
> a dependency on the .version file to the nroff target in
> nroff.am should do the trick.

This step was never done.  Was it deemed unnecessary, or was this an oversight?

I think I have it now.  "make distcheck" works fine.

diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index a6b016dc..9be78af9 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -922,8 +922,17 @@ SUFFIXES += .man
 # Version files - see script 'build-aux/git-gen-version'
 EXTRA_DIST += $(top_srcdir)/.version
 BUILT_SOURCES += $(top_srcdir)/.version
-$(top_srcdir)/.version:
-       echo $(VERSION) > $@-t && mv $@-t $@
+# Regenerate a temporary version string file on every build, but update
+# the real version file's mtime only if its contents change.
+.PHONY: .version.tree
+.version.tree:
+       test -f $(distdir)/.tarball-verion || echo $(VERSION) > $@
+$(top_srcdir)/.version: .version.tree
+       if ! test -f $(distdir)/.tarball-version; then \
+         test -f $@ || cp .version.tree $@; \
+         cmp -s .version.tree $@ || cp .version.tree $@; \
+       fi
+MOSTLYCLEANFILES += .version.tree
 dist-hook:
        echo $(VERSION) > $(distdir)/.tarball-version

I got it working.  Current patch.

diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index a6b016dc..eb01f935 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -922,8 +922,15 @@ SUFFIXES += .man
 # Version files - see script 'build-aux/git-gen-version'
 EXTRA_DIST += $(top_srcdir)/.version
 BUILT_SOURCES += $(top_srcdir)/.version
-$(top_srcdir)/.version:
-       echo $(VERSION) > $@-t && mv $@-t $@
+# Regenerate a temporary version string file on every build, but update
+# the real version file's mtime only if its contents change.
+.PHONY: $(top_srcdir)/.version.tmp
+$(top_srcdir)/.version.tmp:
+       echo $(VERSION) > $@
+$(top_srcdir)/.version: $(top_srcdir)/.version.tmp
+       test -f $@ || cp $@.tmp $@
+       cmp -s $@.tmp $@ || mv $@.tmp $@
+       $(RM) -f $@.tmp
 dist-hook:
        echo $(VERSION) > $(distdir)/.tarball-version

It appears that Makefile.am lets the .version file get incredibly stale.

Here's mine.

+version+
$ cat .version
1.22.4.rc2.3-bf01
-version-

Since it's not the mtime but the contents that matter, I think I will make a .PHONY target for the temporary .version-t and then use cmp and mv to replace .version with it if they differ.  This way .version-t will get updated on every build, but it'll only trigger an avalanche of dependency builds after actual commits (or rebases) change the version string.

For the problem reported, once the above is done, adding a dependency on the .version file to the nroff target in nroff.am should do the trick.