STRIP(1)

📦
version 2.44 · 7 versions
, in debian trixie

💅 STRIP(1) — GNU Development Tools

okay bestie, listen up, because this one is the glow-up page for your object files 💖 this is strip, from the GNU Development Tools era, and she is here to make your binaries lose weight. no cap.

✨ NAME ✨

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

🌸 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]
      [--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]
      [-v |--verbose] [-V|--version]
      [--help] [--info]
      objfile...

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

GNU strip discards all symbols from object files objfile. literally all of them, she's ruthless. the list of object files may include archives, and bestie, at least one object file must be given — she's not gonna guess, okay?

and here's the thing that trips people up: strip modifies the files named in its argument, rather than writing modified copies under different names. so like, she's editing in place. no backup, no copy, no undo. 🫶 please be normal about that.

👑 OPTIONS 👑

  • -F bfdname
  • --target=bfdname — treat the original objfile as a file with the object code format bfdname, and rewrite it in the same format. in-and-out, same fit, slay.
  • --help — show a summary of the options to strip and exit. your little cheat sheet 💅
  • --info — display a list showing all architectures and object formats available. it's giving "let me show you around".
  • -I bfdname
  • --input-target=bfdname — treat the original objfile as a file with the object code format bfdname. input side only, bestie.
  • -O bfdname
  • --output-target=bfdname — replace objfile with a file in the output format bfdname. output side only. glow-up transformation ✨
  • -R sectionname
  • --remove-section=sectionname — remove any section named sectionname from the output file, in addition to whatever sections would otherwise be removed. this option may be given more than once. > note that using this option inappropriately may make the output file unusable. 😭 like, actually broken. the wildcard character * may be given at the end of sectionname. if so, then any section starting with sectionname will be removed.

and okay this part is iconic: 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 the "not this one bestie" button 🎀

  • --keep-section=sectionpattern — when removing sections from the output file, keep sections that match sectionpattern. protective energy fr fr.
  • --remove-relocations=sectionpattern — remove 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. wildcard characters are accepted in sectionpattern. for example:
--remove-relocations=.text.*

will remove the relocations for all sections matching the patter .text.*. (yes, "patter" — that's what she said, we're not fixing it, periodt.)

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. same ! trick, different day 💜

  • --strip-section-headers — strip section headers. this option is specific to ELF files. implies --strip-all and --merge-notes. so she does the extra stuff automatically, no need to ask twice 🌈
  • -s
  • --strip-all — remove all symbols. every last one. nothing left but vibes 💀
  • -g
  • -S
  • -d
  • --strip-debug — remove debugging symbols only. the gentle option. a little trim, not a full shave 🎀
  • --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. (yes bestie, go read the other page, iykyk 📖)
  • --strip-unneeded — remove all symbols that are not needed for relocation processing in addition to debugging symbols and sections stripped by --strip-debug. she's thorough 👑
  • -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 that one" flag 🫶
  • -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. so it's opt-out-ish, depending on what else you're doing ✨
  • -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. so like, you can stack her with the other strip flags, just not with -K. noted 📝
  • -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, no group project 🙈
  • -p
  • --preserve-dates — preserve the access and modification dates of the file. she's respectful of timestamps 💖
  • -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.

  • -w
  • --wildcard — permit regular expressions in *symbolname*s 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". the ! again, she loves it 💅

  • -x
  • --discard-all — remove non-global symbols. local girlies, you're out 🍓
  • -X
  • --discard-locals — remove compiler-generated local symbols. (these usually start with L or ..) yep, those ones. the compiler's little leftovers 🧚
  • --keep-section-symbols — when stripping a file, perhaps with --strip-debug or --strip-unneeded, retain any symbols specifying section names, which would otherwise get stripped. keeping the receipts 🎀
  • --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. same energy, different symbols 📁
  • --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 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.

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 don't get creative.
  • -V
  • --version — show the version number for strip. she'll tell you exactly which era of herself you're talking to ⭐
  • -v
  • --verbose — verbose output: list all object files modified. in the case of archives, strip -v lists all members of the archive. she's narrating the whole thing, main character energy 👑
  • @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. 🔁✨

🫶 SEE ALSO 🫶

the Info entries for binutils.

okay that's part one bestie, there's more coming so don't go anywhere 💖

okay bestie, legal era, but make it cute 🎀

Copyright (c) 1991-2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

so like, you're granted permission 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 — no cap, it's giving generous 💅

the fine print though, and you KNOW we read the fine print:

  • no Invariant Sections
  • no Front-Cover Texts
  • no Back-Cover Texts

and if you want the whole entire license text, there's a copy of it chilling in the section entitled GNU Free Documentation License. it's right there, go look, it's not hiding 🦋

fr fr, this is the boring-but-iconic part — read it anyway, bestie, because copyright is not the vibe to be sloppy about 👑

and that's the whole page, periodt ✨ we did it. this masterpiece is from binutils-2.44 and it was dated 2025-03-28. go forth and strip responsibly, my love 🫶💖🌸

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