GNU Binutils
DeveloperGNU Project
Stable release
2.47[1] Edit this on Wikidata / 26 July 2026
TypeProgramming tools
LicenseGNU GPLv3-or-later
Websitewww.gnu.org/software/binutils/
Repository

The GNU Binary Utilities, or binutils, is a collection of programming tools maintained by the GNU Project for working with executable code including assembly, linking and many other development operations.

The tools are originally from Cygnus Solutions.

The tools are typically used along with other GNU tools such as GNU Compiler Collection, and the GNU Debugger.

Tools

As of 26 July 2026[2] the tools include:
addr2line convert address to file and line
ar create, modify, and extract from archives
as assembler popularly known as GAS (GNU Assembler)
c++filt demangling filter for C++ symbols
dlltool creation of Windows dynamic-link libraries
elfedit allows alteration of ELF format files
gold alternative linker for ELF files
gprof profiler
gprofng collects and displays application performance data
ld linker
nlmconv object file conversion to a NetWare Loadable Module
nm list symbols exported by object files
objcopy copy object files, possibly making changes
objdump dump information about object files
ranlib generate indices for archives (for compatibility; same as ar -s)
readelf display contents of ELF files
size list section sizes and total size of binary files
strings list printable strings
strip remove symbols from object files
windmc generates Windows message resources
windres compiler for Windows resource files

elfutils

Ulrich Drepper wrote elfutils, to partially replace GNU Binutils, purely for Linux and with support only for ELF and DWARF. It distributes three libraries with it for programmatic access.[3][4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Nick Clifton (26 July 2026). "Release 2.47 of the GNU Binutils is now available". Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  2. ^ "Binutils". GNU Project. Archived from the original on 26 July 2026. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  3. ^ elfutils home
  4. ^ elfutils at Drepper's home