Binutils

Covers the bread and butter of binary post-processing: creating static libraries with ar, stripping debug info while keeping separate symbol files, converting crash addresses to source lines with addr2line, and demangling C++ symbols. The objcopy examples are especially practical, like embedding binary data as linkable symbols or separating debug info so GDB can find it automatically. You'll reach for this when dealing with release builds, crash logs, or embedded targets where binary size matters. The cross-compilation prefix reminders are a nice touch since that's where these tools really earn their keep. Assumes you already know why you need to strip or demangle something, just shows you the exact incantations.

skills.sh installs: 665
GitHub stars: 279
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill binutils --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

GNU Binutils

Purpose

Guide agents through the binutils toolset for binary manipulation: static libraries, stripping, address-to-source mapping, and symbol demangling.

Triggers

"How do I create a static library?"
"How do I strip a binary but keep a debug file?"
"I have an address from a crash — how do I find the source line?"
"How do I demangle a C++ symbol name?"
"How do I extract/replace sections in a binary?"

Workflow

1. `ar` — static library management

# Create static library
ar rcs libfoo.a foo.o bar.o baz.o

# List contents
ar t libfoo.a

# Extract an object
ar x libfoo.a foo.o

# Add/replace an object
ar r libfoo.a newbar.o

# Delete an object
ar d libfoo.a oldbar.o

# Show symbol index
nm libfoo.a

# Rebuild symbol index (after modifying archive externally)
ranlib libfoo.a

For LTO archives: use gcc-ar/gcc-ranlib or llvm-ar instead of plain ar.

2. `strip` — remove debug info

# Strip all debug info (reduce binary size)
strip --strip-all prog

# Strip only debug sections (keep symbol table)
strip --strip-debug prog

# Strip unneeded symbols (keep needed for linking)
strip --strip-unneeded prog

SKILL.md on GitHub