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<h2 class="chapter">15 readelf</h2>
<p><a name="index-ELF-file-information-147"></a><a name="index-readelf-148"></a>
<!-- man title readelf Displays information about ELF files. -->
<pre class="smallexample"> <!-- man begin SYNOPSIS readelf -->
readelf [<samp><span class="option">-a</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--all</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-h</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--file-header</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-l</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--program-headers</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--segments</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-S</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--section-headers</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--sections</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-g</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--section-groups</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-t</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--section-details</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-e</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--headers</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-s</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--syms</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--symbols</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">--dyn-syms</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-n</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--notes</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-r</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--relocs</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-u</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--unwind</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-d</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--dynamic</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-V</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--version-info</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-A</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--arch-specific</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-D</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--use-dynamic</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-x</span></samp> <number or name>|<samp><span class="option">--hex-dump=</span></samp><number or name>]
[<samp><span class="option">-p</span></samp> <number or name>|<samp><span class="option">--string-dump=</span></samp><number or name>]
[<samp><span class="option">-R</span></samp> <number or name>|<samp><span class="option">--relocated-dump=</span></samp><number or name>]
[<samp><span class="option">-z</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--decompress</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-c</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--archive-index</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-w[lLiaprmfFsoRt]</span></samp>|
<samp><span class="option">--debug-dump</span></samp>[=rawline,=decodedline,=info,=abbrev,=pubnames,=aranges,=macro,=frames,=frames-interp,=str,=loc,=Ranges,=pubtypes,=trace_info,=trace_abbrev,=trace_aranges,=gdb_index]]
[<samp><span class="option">--dwarf-depth=</span><var>n</var></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">--dwarf-start=</span><var>n</var></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-I</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--histogram</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-v</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--version</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-W</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--wide</span></samp>]
[<samp><span class="option">-H</span></samp>|<samp><span class="option">--help</span></samp>]
<var>elffile</var>...
<!-- man end -->
</pre>
<!-- man begin DESCRIPTION readelf -->
<p><samp><span class="command">readelf</span></samp> displays information about one or more ELF format object
files. The options control what particular information to display.
<p><var>elffile</var><small class="dots">...</small> are the object files to be examined. 32-bit and
64-bit ELF files are supported, as are archives containing ELF files.
<p>This program performs a similar function to <samp><span class="command">objdump</span></samp> but it
goes into more detail and it exists independently of the <span class="sc">bfd</span>
library, so if there is a bug in <span class="sc">bfd</span> then readelf will not be
affected.
<!-- man end -->
<!-- man begin OPTIONS readelf -->
<p>The long and short forms of options, shown here as alternatives, are
equivalent. At least one option besides ‘<samp><span class="samp">-v</span></samp>’ or ‘<samp><span class="samp">-H</span></samp>’ must be
given.
<dl>
<dt><samp><span class="env">-a</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--all</span></samp><dd>Equivalent to specifying <samp><span class="option">--file-header</span></samp>,
<samp><span class="option">--program-headers</span></samp>, <samp><span class="option">--sections</span></samp>, <samp><span class="option">--symbols</span></samp>,
<samp><span class="option">--relocs</span></samp>, <samp><span class="option">--dynamic</span></samp>, <samp><span class="option">--notes</span></samp> and
<samp><span class="option">--version-info</span></samp>.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-h</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--file-header</span></samp><dd><a name="index-ELF-file-header-information-149"></a>Displays the information contained in the ELF header at the start of the
file.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-l</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--program-headers</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--segments</span></samp><dd><a name="index-ELF-program-header-information-150"></a><a name="index-ELF-segment-information-151"></a>Displays the information contained in the file's segment headers, if it
has any.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-S</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--sections</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--section-headers</span></samp><dd><a name="index-ELF-section-information-152"></a>Displays the information contained in the file's section headers, if it
has any.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-g</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--section-groups</span></samp><dd><a name="index-ELF-section-group-information-153"></a>Displays the information contained in the file's section groups, if it
has any.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-t</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--section-details</span></samp><dd><a name="index-ELF-section-information-154"></a>Displays the detailed section information. Implies <samp><span class="option">-S</span></samp>.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-s</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--symbols</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--syms</span></samp><dd><a name="index-ELF-symbol-table-information-155"></a>Displays the entries in symbol table section of the file, if it has one.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">--dyn-syms</span></samp><dd><a name="index-ELF-dynamic-symbol-table-information-156"></a>Displays the entries in dynamic symbol table section of the file, if it
has one.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-e</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--headers</span></samp><dd>Display all the headers in the file. Equivalent to <samp><span class="option">-h -l -S</span></samp>.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-n</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--notes</span></samp><dd><a name="index-ELF-notes-157"></a>Displays the contents of the NOTE segments and/or sections, if any.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-r</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--relocs</span></samp><dd><a name="index-ELF-reloc-information-158"></a>Displays the contents of the file's relocation section, if it has one.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-u</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--unwind</span></samp><dd><a name="index-unwind-information-159"></a>Displays the contents of the file's unwind section, if it has one. Only
the unwind sections for IA64 ELF files, as well as ARM unwind tables
(<code>.ARM.exidx</code> / <code>.ARM.extab</code>) are currently supported.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-d</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--dynamic</span></samp><dd><a name="index-ELF-dynamic-section-information-160"></a>Displays the contents of the file's dynamic section, if it has one.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-V</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--version-info</span></samp><dd><a name="index-ELF-version-sections-information-161"></a>Displays the contents of the version sections in the file, it they
exist.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-A</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--arch-specific</span></samp><dd>Displays architecture-specific information in the file, if there
is any.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-D</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--use-dynamic</span></samp><dd>When displaying symbols, this option makes <samp><span class="command">readelf</span></samp> use the
symbol hash tables in the file's dynamic section, rather than the
symbol table sections.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-x <number or name></span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--hex-dump=<number or name></span></samp><dd>Displays the contents of the indicated section as a hexadecimal bytes.
A number identifies a particular section by index in the section table;
any other string identifies all sections with that name in the object file.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-R <number or name></span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--relocated-dump=<number or name></span></samp><dd>Displays the contents of the indicated section as a hexadecimal
bytes. A number identifies a particular section by index in the
section table; any other string identifies all sections with that name
in the object file. The contents of the section will be relocated
before they are displayed.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-p <number or name></span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--string-dump=<number or name></span></samp><dd>Displays the contents of the indicated section as printable strings.
A number identifies a particular section by index in the section table;
any other string identifies all sections with that name in the object file.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-z</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--decompress</span></samp><dd>Requests that the section(s) being dumped by <samp><span class="option">x</span></samp>, <samp><span class="option">R</span></samp> or
<samp><span class="option">p</span></samp> options are decompressed before being displayed. If the
section(s) are not compressed then they are displayed as is.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-c</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--archive-index</span></samp><dd><a name="index-Archive-file-symbol-index-information-162"></a>Displays the file symbol index information contained in the header part
of binary archives. Performs the same function as the <samp><span class="option">t</span></samp>
command to <samp><span class="command">ar</span></samp>, but without using the BFD library. See <a href="ar.html#ar">ar</a>.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-w[lLiaprmfFsoRt]</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--debug-dump[=rawline,=decodedline,=info,=abbrev,=pubnames,=aranges,=macro,=frames,=frames-interp,=str,=loc,=Ranges,=pubtypes,=trace_info,=trace_abbrev,=trace_aranges,=gdb_index]</span></samp><dd>Displays the contents of the debug sections in the file, if any are
present. If one of the optional letters or words follows the switch
then only data found in those specific sections will be dumped.
<p>Note that there is no single letter option to display the content of
trace sections or .gdb_index.
<p>Note: the <samp><span class="option">=decodedline</span></samp> option will display the interpreted
contents of a .debug_line section whereas the <samp><span class="option">=rawline</span></samp> option
dumps the contents in a raw format.
<p>Note: the <samp><span class="option">=frames-interp</span></samp> option will display the interpreted
contents of a .debug_frame section whereas the <samp><span class="option">=frames</span></samp> option
dumps the contents in a raw format.
<p>Note: the output from the <samp><span class="option">=info</span></samp> option can also be affected
by the options <samp><span class="option">--dwarf-depth</span></samp> and <samp><span class="option">--dwarf-start</span></samp>.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">--dwarf-depth=</span><var>n</var></samp><dd>Limit the dump of the <code>.debug_info</code> section to <var>n</var> children.
This is only useful with <samp><span class="option">--debug-dump=info</span></samp>. The default is
to print all DIEs; the special value 0 for <var>n</var> will also have this
effect.
<p>With a non-zero value for <var>n</var>, DIEs at or deeper than <var>n</var>
levels will not be printed. The range for <var>n</var> is zero-based.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">--dwarf-start=</span><var>n</var></samp><dd>Print only DIEs beginning with the DIE numbered <var>n</var>. This is only
useful with <samp><span class="option">--debug-dump=info</span></samp>.
<p>If specified, this option will suppress printing of any header
information and all DIEs before the DIE numbered <var>n</var>. Only
siblings and children of the specified DIE will be printed.
<p>This can be used in conjunction with <samp><span class="option">--dwarf-depth</span></samp>.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-I</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--histogram</span></samp><dd>Display a histogram of bucket list lengths when displaying the contents
of the symbol tables.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-v</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--version</span></samp><dd>Display the version number of readelf.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-W</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--wide</span></samp><dd>Don't break output lines to fit into 80 columns. By default
<samp><span class="command">readelf</span></samp> breaks section header and segment listing lines for
64-bit ELF files, so that they fit into 80 columns. This option causes
<samp><span class="command">readelf</span></samp> to print each section header resp. each segment one a
single line, which is far more readable on terminals wider than 80 columns.
<br><dt><samp><span class="env">-H</span></samp><dt><samp><span class="env">--help</span></samp><dd>Display the command line options understood by <samp><span class="command">readelf</span></samp>.
</dl>
<!-- man end -->
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