LLVM-NM(1)

✨ llvm-nm — list LLVM bitcode and object file's symbol table 💅

okay so bestie, this is the llvm-nm page from the LLVM manual set — it's the tool that spills the tea on every symbol in your binaries, and honestly it's giving main character energy. let's get into it 🫶

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

llvm-nm [options] [filenames...]

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

The llvm-nm utility lists the names of symbols from LLVM bitcode files, object files, and archives. Each symbol gets listed along with some simple info about where it came from — like a little receipt for every symbol, iykyk. If you don't specify a filename, a.out is used as the input ✨. And if you use - as a filename, llvm-nm will read a file from its standard input stream.

llvm-nm's default output format is the traditional BSD nm output format. Each such output record is made of an (optional) 8-digit hexadecimal address, then a type code character, then a name, for each symbol. One record per line, fields separated by spaces. When the address is omitted, it's replaced by 8 spaces — lowkey a little ghost 👻.

The supported type code characters are as follows. Where both lower and upper-case characters are listed for the same meaning, a lower-case character represents a local symbol, whilst an upper-case character represents a global (external) symbol:

• a, A — Absolute symbol.
• b, B — Uninitialized data (bss) object.
• C — Common symbol. Multiple definitions link together into one definition.
• d, D — Writable data object.
• i, I — COFF: .idata symbol or symbol in a section with IMAGE_SCN_LNK_INFO set.
• n — ELF: local symbol from non-alloc section. COFF: debug symbol.
• N — ELF: debug section symbol, or global symbol from non-alloc section.
• s, S — COFF: section symbol. Mach-O: absolute symbol or symbol from a section other than __TEXT_EXEC __text, __TEXT __text, __DATA __data, or __DATA __bss.
• r, R — Read-only data object.
• t, T — Code (text) object.
• u — ELF: GNU unique symbol.
• U — Named object is undefined in this file.
• v — ELF: Undefined weak object. It is not a link failure if the object is not defined.
• V — ELF: Defined weak object symbol. This definition will only be used if no regular definitions exist in a link. If multiple weak definitions and no regular definitions exist, one of the weak definitions will be used.
• w — Undefined weak symbol other than an ELF object symbol. It is not a link failure if the symbol is not defined.
• W — Defined weak symbol other than an ELF object symbol. This definition will only be used if no regular definitions exist in a link. If multiple weak definitions and no regular definitions exist, one of the weak definitions will be used.
• - — Mach-O: N_STAB symbol.
• ? — Something unrecognizable. (we've all been there 💀)

Because LLVM bitcode files typically contain objects that are not considered to have addresses until they are linked into an executable image or dynamically compiled "just-in-time", llvm-nm does not print an address for any symbol in an LLVM bitcode file — even symbols which are defined in the bitcode file. no address for you, bestie, not yet anyway 🎀

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🦋 OPTIONS 🦋

• -B — Use BSD output format. Alias for --format=bsd.
• -X — Specify the type of XCOFF object file, ELF object file, or IR object file input from command line or from archive files that llvm-nm should examine. The mode must be one of the following:
  • 32 — Process only 32-bit object files.
  • 64 — Process only 64-bit object files.
  • 32_64 — Process both 32-bit and 64-bit object files.
  • any — Process all the supported object files.

On AIX OS, the default is to process 32-bit object files only and to ignore 64-bit objects. The can be changed by setting the OBJECT_MODE environment variable. For example, OBJECT_MODE=64 causes llvm-nm to process 64-bit objects and ignore 32-bit objects. The -X flag overrides the OBJECT_MODE variable.

On other operating systems, the default is to process all object files: the OBJECT_MODE environment variable is not supported.

• --debug-syms, -a — Show all symbols, even those usually suppressed.
• --defined-only, -U — Print only symbols defined in this file.
• --demangle, -C — Demangle symbol names.
• --dynamic, -D — Display dynamic symbols instead of normal symbols.
• --export-symbols — Print sorted symbols with their visibility (if applicable), with duplicates removed.
• --extern-only, -g — Print only symbols whose definitions are external; that is, accessible from other files.
• --format=<format>, -f — Select an output format; format may be sysv, posix, darwin, bsd or just-symbols. The default is bsd.
• --help, -h — Print a summary of command-line options and their meanings.
• -j — Print just the symbol names. Alias for --format=just-symbols.
• --line-numbers, -l — Use debugging information to print the filenames and line numbers where symbols are defined. Undefined symbols have the location of their first relocation printed instead.
• -m — Use Darwin format. Alias for --format=darwin.
• --no-demangle — Don't demangle symbol names. This is the default.
• --no-llvm-bc — Disable the LLVM bitcode reader.
• --no-sort, -p — Show symbols in the order encountered.
• --no-weak, -W — Don't print weak symbols.
• --numeric-sort, -n, -v — Sort symbols by address.
• --portability, -P — Use POSIX.2 output format. Alias for --format=posix.
• --print-armap — Print the archive symbol table, in addition to the symbols.
• --print-file-name, -A, -o — Precede each symbol with the file it came from.
• --print-size, -S — Show symbol size as well as address (not applicable for Mach-O).
• --quiet — Suppress 'no symbols' diagnostic.
• --radix=<RADIX>, -t — Specify the radix of the symbol address(es). Values accepted are d (decimal), x (hexadecimal) and o (octal).
• --reverse-sort, -r — Sort symbols in reverse order.
• --size-sort — Sort symbols by size.
• --special-syms — Do not filter special symbols from the output.
• --undefined-only, -u — Print only undefined symbols.
• --version, -V — Display the version of the llvm-nm executable, then exit. Does not stack with other commands.
• @<FILE> — Read command-line options from response file <FILE>.

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🍓 MACH-O SPECIFIC OPTIONS 🍓

• --add-dyldinfo — Add symbols from the dyldinfo, if they are not already in the symbol table. This is the default.
• --add-inlinedinfo — Add symbols from the inlined libraries, TBD file inputs only.
• --arch=<arch1[,arch2,...]> — Dump the symbols from the specified architecture(s).
• --dyldinfo-only — Dump only symbols from the dyldinfo.
• --no-dyldinfo — Do not add any symbols from the dyldinfo.
• -s <segment> <section> — Dump only symbols from this segment and section name.
• -x — Print symbol entry in hex.

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🧚 XCOFF SPECIFIC OPTIONS 🧚

• --no-rsrc — Exclude resource file symbols (__rsrc) from export symbol list.

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💀 BUGS 💀

• llvm-nm does not support the full set of arguments that GNU nm does. (not me having a smaller flag closet than GNU 😭)

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⭐ EXIT STATUS ⭐

llvm-nm exits with an exit code of zero. that's it. slay, no drama, always zero 💅

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

llvm-ar(1), llvm-objdump(1), llvm-readelf(1), llvm-readobj(1)

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👑 AUTHOR 👑

Maintained by the LLVM Team (https://llvm.org/).

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🎀 COPYRIGHT 🎀

2003-2025, LLVM Project

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k that's the whole page bestie, go read some symbol tables, the vibes are immaculate 🦋✨

mwah 💋 — this lil page is from LLVM version 19, dated 2025-01-17, and it's brought to you by the LLVM Project (2003-2025). go forth and nm responsibly 🫶