| --target | Treat the original objfile as a file with the object code format bfdname, and rewrite it in the same format. |
| --help | Show a summary of the options to strip and exit. |
| --info | Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available. |
| --input-target | Treat the original objfile as a file with the object code format bfdname. |
| --output-target | Replace objfile with a file in the output format bfdname. |
| --remove-section | 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'. |
| --keep-section | When removing sections from the output file, keep sections that match sectionpattern. |
| --remove-relocations | --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'. |
| --strip-section-headers | Strip section headers. This option is specific to ELF files. Implies --strip-all and --merge-notes. |
| --strip-all | Remove all symbols. |
| --strip-debug | Remove debugging symbols only. |
| --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. |
| --strip-unneeded | Remove all symbols that are not needed for relocation processing in addition to debugging symbols and sections stripped by --strip-debug. |
| --keep-symbol | When stripping symbols, keep symbol symbolname even if it would normally be stripped. This option may be given more than once. |
| --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. |
| --strip-symbol | 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. |
| -ofile | Put the stripped output in file, rather than replacing the existing file. When this argument is used, only one objfile argument may be specified. |
| --preserve-dates | Preserve the access and modification dates of the file. |
| --enable-deterministic-archives | If binutils was configured with --enable-deterministic-archives, then this mode is on by default. It can be disabled with the -U option, below. |
| --disable-deterministic-archives | This is the default unless binutils was configured with --enable-deterministic-archives. |
| --wildcard | -w -K !foo -K fo* would cause strip to only keep symbols that start with the letters "fo", but to discard the symbol "foo". |
| --discard-all | Remove non-global symbols. |
| --discard-locals | Remove compiler-generated local symbols. (These usually start with L or ..) |
| --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. |
| --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. |
| --only-keep-debug | 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... |
| --only-keep-debug | create a file containing the debugging info. |
| --strip-debug | stripped executable. |
| --add-gnu-debuglink | to add a link to the debugging info into the stripped executable. |
| --version | Show the version number for strip. |
| --verbose | Verbose output: list all object files modified. In the case of archives, strip -v lists all members of the archive. |
| @file | 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. |
NAME
strip - discard symbols and other data from object files
SYNOPSIS
strip [-Fbfdname |--target=bfdname] [-Ibfdname |--input-target=bfdname] [-Obfdname |--output-target=bfdname] [-s|--strip-all] [-S|-g|-d|--strip-debug] [--strip-dwo] [-Ksymbolname|--keep-symbol=symbolname] [-M|--merge-notes][--no-merge-notes] [-Nsymbolname |--strip-symbol=symbolname] [-w|--wildcard] [-x|--discard-all] [-X |--discard-locals] [-Rsectionname |--remove-section=sectionname] [--keep-section=sectionpattern] [--remove-relocations=sectionpattern] [--strip-section-headers] [-ofile] [-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. The list of object files may include archives. At least one object file must be given.
strip modifies the files named in its argument, rather than writing modified copies under different names.
OPTIONS
- -Fbfdname
- --target=bfdname
Treat the original objfile as a file with the object code format bfdname, and rewrite it in the same format.
- --help
Show a summary of the options to strip and exit.
- --info
Display a list showing all architectures and object formats available.
- -Ibfdname
- --input-target=bfdname
Treat the original objfile as a file with the object code format bfdname.
- -Obfdname
- --output-target=bfdname
Replace objfile with a file in the output format bfdname.
- -Rsectionname
- --remove-section=sectionname
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:
bash--remove-section=.text.* --remove-section=!.text.foowill remove all sections matching the pattern '.text.*', but will not remove the section '.text.foo'.
- --keep-section=sectionpattern
When removing sections from the output file, keep sections that match sectionpattern.
- --remove-relocations=sectionpattern
- bash
--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:
bash--remove-relocations=.text.* --remove-relocations=!.text.foowill remove all relocations for sections matching the pattern '.text.*', but will not remove relocations for the section '.text.foo'.
- --strip-section-headers
Strip section headers. This option is specific to ELF files. Implies --strip-all and --merge-notes.
- -s
- --strip-all
Remove all symbols.
- -g
- -S
- -d
- --strip-debug
Remove debugging symbols only.
- --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.
- --strip-unneeded
Remove all symbols that are not needed for relocation processing in addition to debugging symbols and sections stripped by --strip-debug.
- -Ksymbolname
- --keep-symbol=symbolname
When stripping symbols, keep symbol symbolname even if it would normally be stripped. This option may be given more than once.
- -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.
- -Nsymbolname
- --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.
- -ofile
Put the stripped output in file, rather than replacing the existing file. When this argument is used, only one objfile argument may be specified.
- -p
- --preserve-dates
Preserve the access and modification dates of the file.
- -D
- --enable-deterministic-archives
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
This is the default unless binutils was configured with --enable-deterministic-archives.
- -w
- --wildcard
- bash
-w -K !foo -K fo*would cause strip to only keep symbols that start with the letters "fo", but to discard the symbol "foo".
- -x
- --discard-all
Remove non-global symbols.
- -X
- --discard-locals
Remove compiler-generated local symbols. (These usually start with L or ..)
- --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.
- --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.
- --only-keep-debug
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...
- 1.<Run "objcopy --only-keep-debug foo foo.dbg" to>
create a file containing the debugging info.
- 1.<Run "objcopy --strip-debug foo" to create a>
stripped executable.
- 1.<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.>
- 1.<Copy "foo" to "foo.full">
- 1.<Run "strip --strip-debug foo">
- 1.<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.
- -V
- --version
Show the version number for strip.
- -v
- --verbose
Verbose output: list all object files modified. In the case of archives, strip -v lists all members of the archive.
- @file
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.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 1991-2025 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".