diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index c3b0311..d54ec9a 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -15,6 +15,16 @@ CFLAGS += -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 -fvisibility=hidden
 LDFLAGS = -pthread -Wl,-z,relro,-z,now -pie
 LIBS = -lssl -lcrypto -lmagic -lnghttp2 -lz
 
+# Use pkg-config for dependencies if available
+PKG_CONFIG := $(shell command -v pkg-config 2>/dev/null)
+ifdef PKG_CONFIG
+  PKG_CFLAGS := $(shell pkg-config --cflags-only-I libssl libnghttp2 2>/dev/null)
+  PKG_LIBS := $(shell pkg-config --libs openssl libnghttp2 2>/dev/null)
+  ifneq ($(PKG_LIBS),)
+    LIBS = $(PKG_LIBS) -lmagic -lz
+  endif
+endif
+
 # Source files and object files
 SRCS = src/server.c src/config_parser.c src/server_config.c src/websocket.c src/http2.c src/performance.c src/logging.c
 DEST = src/bin/
@@ -24,8 +34,8 @@ TARGET = server
 # Header files
 HEADERS = src/server_config.h src/websocket.h src/http2.h src/performance.h src/logging.h
 
-# Include directories
-INCLUDES =
+# Include directories - add common paths where libmagic headers might be
+INCLUDES = $(PKG_CFLAGS) -I/usr/include -I/usr/local/include
 
 # Count total number of source files
 TOTAL_FILES := $(words $(SRCS))