STRIP(1)

📦
version 2.35.1 · 2 versions
, in debian bookworm, ubuntu noble, ubuntu resolute

💖 STRIP(1) — GNU Development Tools 💖

okay bestie, gather round, because we're talking about strip, the GNU Development Tools icon that every linker-adjacent girlie needs in her life. no cap. 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

strip — discard symbols and other data from object files. yes, it's giving "make the binary skinnier". iconic. 💅

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

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]
      [-o file] [-p|--preserve-dates]
      [-D|--enable-deterministic-archives]
      [-U|--disable-deterministic-archives]
      [--keep-file-symbols]
      [--only-keep-debug]
      [-v |--verbose] [-V|--version]
      [--help] [--info]
      objfile...

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so, GNU strip? it discards all symbols from object files, and those object files are the objfile cuties you hand it. the list of object files can include archives too, no judgement. you have to give it at least one object file — an empty handoff is not the vibe. 🙈

and here's the part that matters: strip modifies the files named in its argument, rather than writing modified copies under different names. so it's editing your files in place, bestie. not making a lil copy on the side. be aware. 😭

💅 OPTIONS 💅

  • -F bfdname, --target=bfdname — treat the original objfile as a file with the object code format bfdname, and rewrite it in that same format. in-and-out, same fit. ✨
  • --help — show a summary of the options to strip and exit. the "girl help" button, but productive.
  • --info — display a list showing all architectures and object formats available. a whole menu of options, slay.
  • -I bfdname, --input-target=bfdname — treat the original objfile as a file with the object code format bfdname. that's the input vibe specifically.
  • -O bfdname, --output-target=bfdname — replace objfile with a file in the output format bfdname. and that one's the output vibe.
  • -R sectionname, --remove-section=sectionname — remove any section named sectionname from the output file, on top of whatever sections would otherwise be removed anyway. you can pass this one more than once.
⚠️ using this option inappropriately may make the output file unusable. like, actually broken. not cute. not slay. 💀

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

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 ✨not me✨ of section removal.

  • --keep-section=sectionpattern — when removing sections from the output file, keep sections that match sectionpattern. protection mode: activated. 🛡️
  • --remove-relocations=sectionpattern — remove relocations from the output file for any section matching sectionpattern. this one may be given more than once too.
⚠️ using this option inappropriately may make the output file unusable. same energy as above, still real.

wildcard characters are accepted in sectionpattern. for example:

          --remove-relocations=.text.*

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

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'. exclamation point stays undefeated. 👑

  • -s, --strip-all — remove all symbols. all of them. every last one. bye. 💀
  • -g, -S, -d, --strip-debug — remove debugging symbols only. a targeted lil edit, we love a specific queen.
  • --strip-dwo — remove 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 information. (iykyk 🫶)
  • --strip-unneeded — remove all symbols that are not needed for relocation processing. if it's not pulling its weight, it's gone.
  • -K symbolname, --keep-symbol=symbolname — when stripping symbols, keep symbol symbolname even if it would normally be stripped. this option may be given more than once. the "wait, not her" list. 💖
  • -M, --merge-notes, --no-merge-notes — for ELF files, attempt (or do not attempt) to reduce the size of any SHT_NOTE type sections by removing duplicate notes. the default is to attempt this reduction unless stripping debug or DWO information. 🔥
  • -N symbolname, --strip-symbol=symbolname — remove symbol symbolname from the source file. this option may be given more than once, and may be combined with strip options other than -K. pick a lane, girlie. 🌈
  • -o file — put the stripped output in file, rather than replacing the existing file. when this argument is used, only one objfile argument may be specified. one in, one out. periodt.
  • -p, --preserve-dates — preserve the access and modification dates of the file. timestamps: untouched, blessed, preserved. ⭐
  • -D, --enable-deterministic-archives — operate in deterministic mode. when copying archive members and writing the archive index, use zero for UIDs, GIDs, timestamps, and use consistent file modes for all files.

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.

this is the default unless binutils was configured with --enable-deterministic-archives. yes bestie, it's a whole dependency on how it was built. 😭

  • -w, --wildcard — permit 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. 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". messy? no. precise? yes. 💅

  • -x, --discard-all — remove non-global symbols. the quiet ones, gone.
  • -X, --discard-locals — remove compiler-generated local symbols. (these usually start with L or .) compiler girlies, your kids are being rehomed. 🙈
  • --keep-file-symbols — when stripping a file, perhaps with --strip-debug or --strip-unneeded, retain any symbols specifying source file names, which would otherwise get stripped. keep the receipts! 🧾
  • --only-keep-debug — strip a file, emptying the contents of any sections that would not 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. the vibes are archived even when the contents are not. ⭐

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 and the second 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 "objcopy --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. plot twist, but a welcome one. 🎀

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 no, you can't have a whole roster. 😭

  • -V, --version — show the version number for strip. the classic.
  • -v, --verbose — verbose output: list all object files modified. in the case of archives, strip -v lists all members of the archive. it's giving tell me everything. 💖
  • @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 files all the way down, bestie. 🌀

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

  • the Info entries for binutils.

Copyright (c) 1991-2020 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".

okay that's the whole page, you ate it, you're welcome. 🫶 this was binutils-2.35.1, dated 2022-11-21, and this whole STRIP(1) moment is signed off, sealed and slayed. mwah. 💋💖✨

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