I think you're doing it wrong, dzil build creates the "distribution" directory you then cd into the created directory. That's where you run perl ./Makefile.PL that's generated (which I do sometimes for testing outside of dzil test). If you're coming along with your own Build.PL or Makefile.PL you're going to need to do hoop jumping, but it's possible to use these. Best bet is to start with a new module for practice, then slowly port your existing module over to use Dist::Zilla. update: your install instructions in the GH repo use dzil to install the module - no this is not the correct way to use this tool. It's meant as a developer only tool and never a prereq for actually installing the module. This would be insane, Dist::Zilla is a huge honkin' mess and if that's required to actually use your module, you're not gonna have anyone using it at all. correction: sorry misread, but seems like you're doing something that's out of order. Sometimes I forget I am in the distro directory that's been created by dzil and I get all kinds of weird errors. Make sure you're in the right directory and using the tool as intended.