diff --git a/BSDmakefile b/BSDmakefile
index 227ee743a9efdd..b7000b0796e375 100644
--- a/BSDmakefile
+++ b/BSDmakefile
@@ -1,2 +1,8 @@
-all:
-	@echo "I need GNU make. Please run \`gmake\` instead."
+all: .DEFAULT
+.DEFAULT:
+	@which gmake > /dev/null 2>&1 ||\
+		(echo "GMake is required for io.js to build.\
+			Install and try again" && exit 1)
+	@gmake ${.MAKEFLAGS} ${.TARGETS}
+
+.PHONY: test