/elf_repack

Small utility that repacks ELFs to reduce file size

Primary LanguageRustApache License 2.0Apache-2.0

elf_repack

This utility program reads an ELF and creates a new ELF with only the necessary* parts left over. This program is meant to be used for embedded projects where ELFs need to be as small as possible for transmission to a bootloader, for example.

* Necessary here means:

  • only EXEC files
  • only ELF program headers are left over
  • only LOAD segments are left over
  • only X|R, R|W and R segments are left over

If the ELF you want to use this program with requires relocations, this will not work. If the ELF is read by a program that requires section headers, this will not work.

It's a specific program for a specific purpose :)

Building / Installing

Assuming Cargo is set up properly, this command will install the program on the PATH

cargo install --path .

CLI usage

To repack an ELF, provide the file path. If no output path is given, the ELF will be overwritten. If an output path is given then the repackaged ELF will be outputted there.

elf_repack some_program

elf_repack some_program -o repackaged_program

License

This project is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license.