STRIP(1)

📦 version 2.47, in arch rolling

🎀 STRIP(1) 🎀

okay so bestie, welcome to STRIP(1), the GNU Development Tools girlie who is literally about to declutter your object files 💅✨

✨ NAME ✨

strip — discard symbols and other data from object files 🗑️💖

like, she takes the extra stuff out. symbols, other data, all of it. gone. slay.

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

here's the whole vibe, no cap, every single flag laid out exactly:

       strip [-F bfdname |--target=bfdname]
             [-I bfdname |--input-target=bfdname]
             [-O bfdname |--output-target=bfdname]
             [-s|--strip-all]
             [-S|-g|-d|--strip-debug]
             [--strip-dwo]
             [-K symbolname|--keep-symbol=symbolname]
             [-M|--merge-notes][--no-merge-notes]
             [-N symbolname |--strip-symbol=symbolname]
             [-w|--wildcard]
             [-x|--discard-all] [-X |--discard-locals]
             [-R sectionname |--remove-section=sectionname]
             [--keep-section=sectionpattern]
             [--remove-relocations=sectionpattern]
             [--strip-section-headers]
             [-o file] [-p|--preserve-dates]
             [-D|--enable-deterministic-archives]
             [-U|--disable-deterministic-archives]
             [--keep-section-symbols]
             [--keep-file-symbols]
             [--only-keep-debug]
             [--plugin name]
             [-v |--verbose] [-V|--version]
             [--help] [--info]
             objfile...

and like — yes, that's a lot. don't panic. we'll get to each one, i promise 🫶

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so GNU strip discards all symbols from object files objfile. that's the whole job. she's the friend who comes over and is like "bestie. this closet. we're fixing it." 🧹💜

the list of object files can include archives — yep, archives count, they're valid, they're welcome.

but here's the thing that actually matters:

at least one object file must be given. 🚨 like, you gotta give her something to strip. no objfile, no service.

and now the part where you need to sit down, because this is the one that gets people 😭

strip modifies the files named in its argument, rather than writing modified copies under different names.

read that again. fr fr.

⚠️ she edits in place. the original file is not kept. there is no objfile.bak waiting for you. if you wanted a copy, that's on you to make before you run her. please make the copy. for me. 🥺💅

it's giving main character energy with zero backup plan, and honestly? iconic of her. terrifying for you. 🎀

(and like, this is only the beginning — there is SO much more where this came from 👀)

✨ OPTIONS ✨

okay bestie, this is the part where you pick your ✨power moves✨. every single flag is here, no cap 💅

  • -F bfdname, --target=bfdname — treat the original objfile as a file that's already in the object code format bfdname, then rewrite it in that same format. it's giving "same outfit, fresh energy" 🎀
  • --help — shows you a little summary of all the options strip has to offer, then dips out. your lil cheat sheet 💖
  • --info — displays a list of literally every architecture and object format that's available. the full menu, bestie 🦋
  • -I bfdname, --input-target=bfdname — tells strip your original objfile is in the object code format bfdname. setting the vibe for what goes IN 🌸
  • -O bfdname, --output-target=bfdname — replaces objfile with a file in the output format bfdname. what comes OUT, iconic ✨
  • -R sectionname, --remove-section=sectionname — yeets any section named sectionname from the output file, on top of whatever sections were already gonna get removed anyway. this option may be given more than once, she's flexible like that 💅
⚠️ heads up: using this option inappropriately may make the output file unusable. not a vibe. be careful fr fr 💀

the wildcard character * may be given at the end of sectionname. if so, then any section starting with sectionname will be removed. slay.

also!! if the first character of sectionpattern is the exclamation point (!) then matching sections will not be removed, even if an earlier use of --remove-section on the same command line would otherwise remove it. for example:

          --remove-section=.text.* --remove-section=!.text.foo

will remove all sections matching the pattern '.text.*', but will not remove the section '.text.foo'. the ! is lowkey a bodyguard 😭🫶

  • --keep-section=sectionpattern — when removing sections from the output file, keep the sections that match sectionpattern. protect them at all costs 🧚
  • --remove-relocations=sectionpattern — removes relocations from the output file for any section matching sectionpattern. this option may be given more than once. note that using this option inappropriately may make the output file unusable (again: 💀). wildcard characters are accepted in sectionpattern. for example:
          --remove-relocations=.text.*

will remove the relocations for all sections matching the pattern '.text.*'.

and yes, the ! trick works here too: if the first character of sectionpattern is the exclamation point (!) then matching sections will not have their relocation removed, even if an earlier use of --remove-relocations on the same command line would otherwise cause the relocations to be removed. for example:

          --remove-relocations=.text.* --remove-relocations=!.text.foo

will remove all relocations for sections matching the pattern '.text.*', but will not remove relocations for the section '.text.foo'. main character exemption, periodt 👑

  • --strip-section-headers — strips section headers. this one is ELF-specific, iykyk. implies --strip-all and --merge-notes. two-for-one deal 🎀
  • -s, --strip-all — remove all symbols. all of them. every last one. not a single crumb left 🍓
  • -g, -S, -d, --strip-debug — remove debugging symbols only. just the debug girlies, everyone else stays 🌸
  • --strip-dwo — removes the contents of all DWARF .dwo sections, leaving the remaining debugging sections and all symbols intact. see the description of this option in the objcopy section for more info, bestie ✨
  • --strip-unneeded — removes all symbols that aren't needed for relocation processing, on top of the debugging symbols and sections stripped by --strip-debug. she's thorough 💅
  • -K symbolname, --keep-symbol=symbolname — when stripping symbols, keep the symbol symbolname even if it would normally get stripped. this option may be given more than once. your faves are safe 🫶
  • -M, --merge-notes, --no-merge-notes — for ELF files, attempt (or don't attempt) to reduce the size of any SHT_NOTE type sections by removing duplicate notes. the default is to attempt this reduction — unless you're stripping debug or DWO information. note dedupe era ✨
  • -N symbolname, --strip-symbol=symbolname — removes the symbol symbolname from the source file. this option may be given more than once, and may be combined with strip options other than -K. gotta keep that in mind 😭
  • -o file — puts the stripped output in file, rather than replacing the existing file. when this argument is used, only one objfile argument may be specified. one at a time, bestie 💅
  • -p, --preserve-dates — preserves the access and modification dates of the file. time travel, but make it legal ⭐
  • -D, --enable-deterministic-archives — operates in deterministic mode. when copying archive members and writing the archive index, it uses zero for UIDs, GIDs, timestamps, and uses consistent file modes for all files. same energy every time 🦋

if binutils was configured with --enable-deterministic-archives, then this mode is on by default. it can be disabled with the -U option, below 👇

  • -U, --disable-deterministic-archives — do not operate in deterministic mode. this is the inverse of the -D option above: when copying archive members and writing the archive index, use their actual UID, GID, timestamp, and file mode values. chaotic, authentic, real 🌈

this is the default — unless binutils was configured with --enable-deterministic-archives.

  • -w, --wildcard — permits regular expressions in symbolnames used in other command line options. the question mark (?), asterisk (*), backslash (\) and square brackets ([]) operators can be used anywhere in the symbol name. and if the first character of the symbol name is the exclamation point (!) then the sense of the switch is reversed for that symbol. for example:
          -w -K !foo -K fo*

would cause strip to only keep symbols that start with the letters "fo", but to discard the symbol "foo". the ! said "not you bestie" 😭

  • -x, --discard-all — removes non-global symbols. bye 💅
  • -X, --discard-locals — removes compiler-generated local symbols. (these usually start with L or .) yes, the compiler's lil inside jokes 🎀
  • --keep-section-symbols — when stripping a file, maybe with --strip-debug or --strip-unneeded, retains any symbols specifying section names, which would otherwise get stripped. saved from the purge 🫶
  • --keep-file-symbols — when stripping a file, maybe with --strip-debug or --strip-unneeded, retains any symbols specifying source file names, which would otherwise get stripped. also saved 🫶
  • --only-keep-debug — strips a file, emptying the contents of any sections that wouldn't be stripped by --strip-debug, and leaving the debugging sections intact. in ELF files, this preserves all the note sections in the output as well ✨
📌 note — the section headers of the stripped sections are preserved, including their sizes, but the contents of the section are discarded. the section headers are preserved so that other tools can match up the debuginfo file with the real executable, even if that executable has been relocated to a different address space. it's giving "keep the label, toss the contents" 🏷️

the intention is that this option will be used in conjunction with --add-gnu-debuglink to create a two part executable. one: a stripped binary which will occupy less space in RAM and in a distribution. two: a debugging information file which is only needed if debugging abilities are required. the suggested procedure to create these files is as follows:

  1. link the executable as normal. assuming that it is called "foo" then...
  2. run "objcopy --only-keep-debug foo foo.dbg" to create a file containing the debugging info.
  3. run "strip --strip-debug foo" to create a stripped executable.
  4. run "objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.dbg foo" to add a link to the debugging info into the stripped executable.
📌 note — the choice of ".dbg" as an extension for the debug info file is arbitrary. also the "--only-keep-debug" step is optional. you could instead do this:
  1. link the executable as normal.
  2. copy "foo" to "foo.full".
  3. run "strip --strip-debug foo".
  4. run "objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.full foo".

i.e., the file pointed to by the --add-gnu-debuglink can be the full executable. it does not have to be a file created by the --only-keep-debug switch. options, bestie, we love options 🌸

⚠️ note — this switch is only intended for use on fully linked files. it does not make sense to use it on object files where the debugging information may be incomplete. besides, the gnu_debuglink feature currently only supports the presence of one filename containing debugging information, not multiple filenames on a one-per-object-file basis. so like, don't 💀
  • --plugin name — loads the plugin called name to add support for extra target types. this option is only available if the toolchain has been built with plugin support enabled 🧚

if --plugin is not provided, but plugin support has been enabled, then strip iterates over the files in ${libdir}/bfd-plugins in alphabetic order, and the first plugin that claims the object in question is used. first come, first served ✨

📌 please note that this plugin search directory is not the one used by ld's -plugin option. in order to make strip use the linker plugin it must be copied into the ${libdir}/bfd-plugins directory. for GCC based compilations the linker plugin is called liblto_plugin.so.0.0.0. for Clang based compilations it is called LLVMgold.so. the GCC plugin is always backwards compatible with earlier versions, so it is sufficient to just copy the newest one. copy the newest, she's the moment 👑
  • -V, --version — shows the version number for strip. who are you? 💅
  • -v, --verbose — verbose output: lists all object files modified. in the case of archives, strip -v lists all members of the archive. she tells you everything 🗣️✨
  • @file — reads command-line options from file. the options read are inserted in place of the original @file option. if file does not exist, or cannot be read, then the option will be treated literally, and not removed. no ghosting, it just stays as-is 😭

options in file are separated by whitespace. a whitespace character may be included in an option by surrounding the entire option in either single or double quotes. any character (including a backslash) may be included by prefixing the character to be included with a backslash. the file may itself contain additional @file options; any such options will be processed recursively. it's files all the way down 🌀

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

the Info entries for binutils. go read them, bestie, they're right there 📚💖

Copyright (c) 1991-2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License". legal slay ⚖️✨

and that's the whole page, bestie!! 🫶 this diva of a manpage is from binutils-2.47, dated 2026-07-30, and it goes by STRIP(1) — go forth and strip responsibly, ily 💖💅✨

📦 where this page comes from