SIZE(1)

🎀 SIZE(1) 🎀

okay so bestie, welcome to size, section 1 of the GNU Development Tools manual 💅 this one's a certified baddie — it tells you how chunky your binaries are. no cap.

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✨ NAME ✨

size — list section sizes and total size of binary files 🦋

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

size [-A|-B|-G|--format=compatibility]
     [--help]
     [-d|-o|-x|--radix=number]
     [--common]
     [-t|--totals]
     [--target=bfdname] [-V|--version]
     [-f]
     [objfile...]

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

The GNU size utility lists the section sizes and the total size for each of the binary files objfile on its argument list. By default, one line of output is generated for each file, or for each module if the file is an archive. it's giving receipts for your object files, honestly 🔥

objfile... are the files to be examined. If none are specified, the file a.out will be used instead. yes, it just assumes a.out like it knows you 🙈 iconic behaviour.

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✨ OPTIONS ✨

The command-line options have the following meanings:

• -A, -B, -G, --format=compatibility — pick your format era 💅

Using one of these options, you can choose whether the output from GNU size resembles output from System V size (using -A, or --format=sysv), or Berkeley size (using -B, or --format=berkeley). The default is the one-line format similar to Berkeley's. Alternatively, you can choose the GNU format output (using -G, or --format=gnu) — this is similar to Berkeley's output format, but sizes are counted differently. the way it just. has three whole personalities 🫶

Here is an example of the Berkeley (default) format of output from size:

$ size --format=Berkeley ranlib size
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
 294880   81920   11592  388392   5ed28 ranlib
 294880   81920   11888  388688   5ee50 size

The Berkeley style output counts read only data in the "text" column, not in the "data" column, and the "dec" and "hex" columns both display the sum of the "text", "data", and "bss" columns in decimal and hexadecimal respectively. so like, it shows you the total twice, in two different bases, because it can 🌈

The GNU format counts read only data in the "data" column, not the "text" column, and only displays the sum of the "text", "data", and "bss" columns once, in the "total" column. The --radix option can be used to change the number base for all columns. Here is the same data displayed with GNU conventions:

$ size --format=GNU ranlib size
      text       data        bss      total filename
    279880      96920      11592     388392 ranlib
    279880      96920      11888     388688 size

This is the same data, but displayed closer to System V conventions:

$ size --format=SysV ranlib size
ranlib  :
section         size         addr
.text         294880         8192
.data          81920       303104
.bss           11592       385024
Total         388392

size  :
section         size         addr
.text         294880         8192
.data          81920       303104
.bss           11888       385024
Total         388688

like, same girl, three outfits. obsessed 😭

• --help, -h, -H, -? — show a summary of acceptable arguments and options. the -? one is lowkey so real of it 💀
• -d, -o, -x, --radix=number — choose your number base, bestie ✨

Using one of these options, you can control whether the size of each section is given in decimal (-d, or --radix=10); octal (-o, or --radix=8); or hexadecimal (-x, or --radix=16). In --radix=number, only the three values (8, 10, 16) are supported. The total size is always given in two radices; decimal and hexadecimal for -d or -x output, or octal and hexadecimal if you're using -o. so no matter what you pick, the total still shows up in two bases, periodt 💅

• --common — print total size of common symbols in each file. When using Berkeley or GNU format these are included in the bss size. it's giving extra credit 🎀
• -t, --totals — show totals of all objects listed (Berkeley or GNU format mode only — SysV girlies, this one's not for you 😔).
• --target=bfdname — specify that the object-code format for objfile is bfdname. This option may not be necessary; size can automatically recognize many formats. it's smart like that 🧚
• -v, -V, --version — display the version number of size. slay, know your roots 👑
• -f — ignored. This option is used by other versions of the size program, but it is not supported by the GNU Binutils version. it literally does nothing — it's just there so old scripts don't throw hands 💀
• @file — read 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.

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 recursive bestie, files within files within files 🌀

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

ar(1), objdump(1), readelf(1), and the Info entries for binutils. the whole squad 🫶

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💜 COPYRIGHT 💜

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".

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okay that's the whole page, bestie 💖 this one's from binutils-2.46.1, dated 2026-09-07, and it was a whole serve. go check your binary sizes, you're gonna do great 🎀✨🦋