It seems the VERBOSE variable is documented in only two places in automake.texi, and neither place gives examples:
In Parallel Test Harness If the variable @samp{VERBOSE} is set, this file is output after the summary. In Overview of Custom Test Drivers Support: use of @code{VERBOSE} environment variable to get verbose output on testsuite failures; (Incidentally, it seems that both uses should either be @samp or @code, not one of each. :) As the long thread starting at http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/automake/2015-05/msg00008.html shows, this has occasionally lead to confusion. It feels natural to set VERBOSE = 1 in a Makefile.am, either on its own or as part of [AM_]TESTS_ENVIRONMENT, but this does not work. Thus I suggest (1) adding "environment" before "variable" in Parallel Test Harness, and (2) adding a few more words: This is typically set on the command line, as in @samp{make VERBOSE=1 check}. It does not work to set @code{VERBOSE} in @code{Makefile.am} or as part of @code{AM_TESTS_ENVIRONMENT} or @code{TESTS_ENVIRONMENT}. At least that would give more of a clue as to usage. I don't see a need to get into GNU make "export VERBOSE=1" features, etc.; "environment" is the key fact. Alternatively, allowing VERBOSE=1 to be set as part of [AM_]TESTS_ENVIRONMENT seems feasible. Those envvars are in am__check_pre, which is expanded before any $(LOG_DRIVER) call. So expanding it before the of test of $$VERBOSE seems like it should suffice. That is, deep in the $(TEST_SUITE_LOG) target, the line test x"$$VERBOSE" = x || cat $(TEST_SUITE_LOG); \ could become $(am__check_pre) test x"$$VERBOSE" = x || cat $(TEST_SUITE_LOG); \ When I tried it (by editing the generated Makefile), it seemed to work ok. (Perhaps it would be better to do it at the beginning of $(TEST_SUITE_LOG), but that's a judgement call I can't make.) Happy hacking, Karl