Dynamic Linking

You know those "cannot open shared object file" errors that send you down a rabbit hole of LD_LIBRARY_PATH exports and Google searches? This cuts through that. It covers the full spectrum: compiling shared libraries with proper soname versioning, RPATH versus RUNPATH (and why RUNPATH is better for runtime flexibility), dlopen/dlsym plugin patterns, and LD_PRELOAD interposition for function hooking. The symbol visibility section alone will save you from export bloat. What I appreciate is the search order diagram and the $ORIGIN trick for relocatable installs. If you've ever shipped software that worked on your machine but failed on deployment because of linking issues, you need this reference.

skills.sh installs: 650
GitHub stars: 279
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

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

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Dynamic Linking

Purpose

Guide agents through Linux dynamic linking: shared library creation, RPATH/RUNPATH configuration, soname versioning, dlopen/dlsym plugin patterns, LD_PRELOAD interposition, and symbol visibility control.

Triggers

"Cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory"
"How do I set RPATH so my binary finds its shared library?"
"How do I use dlopen/dlsym for a plugin system?"
"What's the difference between RPATH and RUNPATH?"
"How do I use LD_PRELOAD to intercept a function?"
"How do I version my shared library with soname?"

Workflow

1. Creating a shared library

# Compile with -fPIC (position-independent code)
gcc -fPIC -c src/mylib.c -o mylib.o

# Link shared library with soname
gcc -shared -Wl,-soname,libmylib.so.1 \
    mylib.o -o libmylib.so.1.2.3

# Create symlinks (standard convention)
ln -s libmylib.so.1.2.3 libmylib.so.1   # soname link (used by ldconfig)
ln -s libmylib.so.1     libmylib.so      # link link (used at compile time)

# Register with ldconfig (system-wide)
sudo cp libmylib.so.1.2.3 /usr/local/lib/
sudo ldconfig