gdb-add-index - Man Page

gdb-add-index [-h | --help] [-v | --version] [--dwarf-5] filename

When GDB finds a symbol file, it scans the symbols in the file in order to construct an internal symbol table.  This lets most GDB operations work quickly--at the cost of a delay early on. For large programs, this delay can be quite lengthy, so GDB provides a way to build an index, which speeds up startup.

To determine whether a file contains such an index, use the command ​readelf -S filename: the index is stored in a section named ​.gdb_index (pre-DWARF 5) or .debug_names and ​.debug_str (DWARF 5).  Indexes can only be produced on systems which use ELF binaries and DWARF debug information (i.e., sections named .debug_*).

By default gdb-add-index will add a pre-DWARF 5 ​.gdb_index section to filename.  With --dwarf-5 the DWARF 5 section .debug_names is added instead.

filename must be writable.

gdb-add-index uses GDB, objcopy, and ​readelf found in the PATH environment variable.  If you want to use different versions of these programs, you can specify them through the appropriate environment variables (see below).

gdb-add-index exits with status 0 if it succeeds in creating the index for filename or greater than 0 if an error occurs.

See more in the GDB manual in node Index Files ​-- shell command info -f gdb -n "Index Files".

--dwarf-5

Add DWARF 5 sections instead of previous .gdb_index section.

--help

-h

List all options, with brief explanations.

--version

-v

Print version information and then exit.

GDB

Full file name of the gdb program to use for index generation. If not set, the PATH will be searched for a gdb program.

OBJCOPY

Full file name of the objcopy program to use to copy section information into the given file.  If not set, the PATH will be searched for a objcopy program.

READELF

Full file name of the readelf program to use to inspect properties of the given file.  If not set, the PATH will be searched for a readelf program.

The full documentation for GDB is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and gdb programs and GDB's Texinfo documentation are properly installed at your site, the command

​        info gdb

should give you access to the complete manual.

Using GDB: A Guide to the GNU Source-Level Debugger, Richard M. Stallman and Roland H. Pesch, July 1991.

Copyright (c) 1988-2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the Invariant Sections being "Free Software" and "Free Software Needs Free Documentation", with the Front-Cover Texts being "A GNU Manual," and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below.

(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: "You are free to copy and modify this GNU Manual.  Buying copies from GNU Press supports the FSF in developing GNU and promoting software freedom."

rpmbuild-config(5).