ELFEDIT(1)

📦
version 2.47 · 3 versions
, in arch rolling

💅 elfedit(1) — GNU Development Tools 🧚

okay so bestie, this is the elfedit page from the GNU Development Tools manual, and honestly? it's giving surgery-for-ELF-files. let's go ✨

🌸 NAME 🌸

elfedit — update ELF header and program property of ELF files 💖

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

elfedit [--input-mach=machine]
        [--input-type=type]
        [--input-osabi=osabi]
        [--input-abiversion=version]
        --output-mach=machine
        --output-type=type
        --output-osabi=osabi
        --output-abiversion=version
        --enable-x86-feature=feature
        --disable-x86-feature=feature
        [-v|--version]
        [-h|--help]
        elffile...

like, look at her. no notes. 🫶

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so elfedit updates the ELF header and the program property of ELF files — but only the ones whose ELF machine type and file type match what you asked for. the options are literally the whole control panel: they decide how and which fields in the ELF header and program property get updated. no cap.

elffile... are the ELF files to be updated. 32-bit and 64-bit ELF files are supported, and so are archives containing ELF files. iconic behavior honestly 🌈

✨ OPTIONS ✨

the long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are equivalent. and this part is important: at least one of the --output-mach, --output-type, --output-osabi, --output-abiversion, --enable-x86-feature and --disable-x86-feature options must be given. like, you gotta actually pick something to change, bestie 💀

  • --input-mach=machine — sets the matching input ELF machine type to machine. if --input-mach isn't specified, it will match any ELF machine types (slutty of it, honestly).

the supported ELF machine types are i386, IAMCU, L1OM, K1OM and x86-64. 🎀

  • --output-mach=machine — changes the ELF machine type in the ELF header to machine. the supported ELF machine types are the same as --input-mach.
  • --input-type=type — sets the matching input ELF file type to type. if --input-type isn't specified, it will match any ELF file types.

the supported ELF file types are rel, exec and dyn. 🦋

  • --output-type=type — changes the ELF file type in the ELF header to type. the supported ELF types are the same as --input-type.
  • --input-osabi=osabi — sets the matching input ELF file OSABI to osabi. if --input-osabi isn't specified, it will match any ELF OSABIs.

the supported ELF OSABIs are none, HPUX, NetBSD, GNU, Linux (alias for GNU), Solaris, AIX, Irix, FreeBSD, TRU64, Modesto, OpenBSD, OpenVMS, NSK, AROS and FenixOS. that's a whole friend group right there 💜

  • --output-osabi=osabi — changes the ELF OSABI in the ELF header to osabi. the supported ELF OSABI are the same as --input-osabi.
  • --input-abiversion=version — sets the matching input ELF file ABIVERSION to version. version must be between 0 and 255. if --input-abiversion isn't specified, it will match any ELF ABIVERSIONs.
  • --output-abiversion=version — changes the ELF ABIVERSION in the ELF header to version. version must be between 0 and 255. same range, no exceptions, periodt 📏
  • --enable-x86-feature=feature — sets the feature bit in program property in exec or dyn ELF files with machine types of i386 or x86-64. the supported features are ibt, shstk, lam_u48 and lam_u57. 🔥
  • --disable-x86-feature=feature — clears the feature bit in program property in exec or dyn ELF files with machine types of i386 or x86-64. the supported features are the same as --enable-x86-feature.
bestie, note this one: --enable-x86-feature and --disable-x86-feature are available only on hosts with mmap support. if your host doesn't have it, these two are just not the vibe, they don't exist for you 😭
  • -v, --version — displays the version number of elfedit. (not the program, the number. she's humble.)
  • -h, --help — displays the command-line options understood by elfedit. your little map 🗺️
  • @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. (she said "fine, I'll just be a weird filename then" 🙈)

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. inception but make it CLI 🌀

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

readelf(1), and the Info entries for binutils. go read those too, bestie, iykyk 📚

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".

and that's the whole page, bestie 🫶 binutils-2.47, dated 2026-09-30, ELFEDIT(1) era — she's grown, she's thriving, and she's still out here editing ELF headers. slay 💅✨

📦 where this page comes from