diff --git a/autogen.sh b/autogen.sh
index aee4beba2..4de97bf8e 100755
--- a/autogen.sh
+++ b/autogen.sh
@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@ cd "$srcdir"
 autoreconf --force -v --install || exit 1
 cd "$ORIGDIR" || exit $?
 
+git config --local --get format.subjectPrefix ||
+    git config --local format.subjectPrefix "PATCH xserver"
+
 if test -z "$NOCONFIGURE"; then
     exec "$srcdir"/configure "$@"
 fi