Agent skill

Binutils

by mohitmishra786 in mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills

GNU binutils skill for binary manipulation and analysis. An agent skill from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.

MITAuto-check passed

Install Binutils

skills CLI

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

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills binutils --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/binaries/binutils .claude/skills/binutils && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "binutils" agent skill from https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/tree/main/skills/binaries/binutils into .claude/skills/binutils/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "binutils", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/tree/main/skills/binaries/binutils

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill binutils -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills binutils --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/binaries/binutils .agents/skills/binutils && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "binutils" agent skill from https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/tree/main/skills/binaries/binutils into .agents/skills/binutils/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "binutils", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill binutils -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills binutils --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/binaries/binutils .cursor/skills/binutils && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "binutils" agent skill from https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/tree/main/skills/binaries/binutils into .cursor/skills/binutils/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "binutils", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.git --path skills/binaries/binutils

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill binutils -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills binutils --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/binaries/binutils .gemini/skills/binutils && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "binutils" agent skill from https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/tree/main/skills/binaries/binutils into .gemini/skills/binutils/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "binutils", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills binutils

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill binutils -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/binaries/binutils .github/skills/binutils && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "binutils" agent skill from https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/tree/main/skills/binaries/binutils into .github/skills/binutils/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "binutils", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill binutils -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills binutils --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/binaries/binutils .opencode/skills/binutils && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "binutils" agent skill from https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/tree/main/skills/binaries/binutils into .opencode/skills/binutils/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "binutils", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: binutils
GitHub stars: 253
Token cost: ~1.2k tokens
SKILL.md length: 200 words
Files: 2 (incl. references)
Skills in repo: 138
Repo updated: Jun 27, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

GNU binutils skill for binary manipulation and analysis. An agent skill from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.

Works in 8 steps: ar — static library management → strip — remove debug info → objcopy — binary section manipulation → …
Using ar for static libraries
SKILL.md covers Purpose, Triggers, Workflow and Related skills
Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Binutils is an agent skill from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills. GNU binutils skill for binary manipulation and analysis. Use when using ar for static libraries, strip or objcopy for binary processing, addr2line for converting addresses to source locations, strings for text extraction, or c++filt for C++ name demangling. Activates on queries about ar, strip, objcopy, addr2line, strings, c++filt, ranlib, or binary post-processing tasks.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.2k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files, including reference files (for example `references/cheatsheet.md`).

It works with C++. The repository describes itself as: A curated suite of AI agent skills for systems and low-level programming with C/C++, Rust, and Zig toolchains, covering compilers, debuggers, profilers, build systems…. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

Using ar for static libraries
Objcopy for binary processing
Addr2line for converting addresses to source locations
Strings for text extraction

Example prompts

“/binutils”

Workflow steps

8 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

ar — static library management
strip — remove debug info
objcopy — binary section manipulation
addr2line — address to source
c++filt — demangle C++ symbols
strings — extract printable strings
readelf and objdump quick reference
Cross-binutils

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit bdc5847. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are bash).
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Binutils loads about 1.2k tokens when it runs, and up to ~3k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 96 tokens; SKILL.md has 200 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~96
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.2k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them: ~3k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills at commit bdc5847, republished under its MIT licence (© mohitmishra786). 200 words, ~1,185 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/binutils/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.

name: binutils
description: GNU binutils skill for binary manipulation and analysis. Use when using ar for static libraries, strip or objcopy for binary processing, addr2line for converting addresses to source locations, strings for text extraction, or c++filt for C++ name demangling. Activates on queries about ar, strip, objcopy, addr2line, strings, c++filt, ranlib, or binary post-processing tasks.

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

bash

# 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

bash

# 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

# In-place
strip prog

# To a new file
strip -o prog.stripped prog

3. `objcopy` — binary section manipulation

bash

# Separate debug info from binary
objcopy --only-keep-debug prog prog.debug
objcopy --strip-debug prog

# Add debuglink (GDB finds prog.debug automatically)
objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=prog.debug prog

# Convert binary to another format
objcopy -O binary prog prog.bin      # raw binary (embedded)
objcopy -O srec prog prog.srec       # Motorola S-record

# Add a section from a file
objcopy --add-section .resources=data.bin prog

# Remove a section
objcopy --remove-section .comment prog

# Change section flags
objcopy --set-section-flags .data=alloc,contents,load,readonly prog

# Embed a binary file as a symbol
objcopy -I binary -O elf64-x86-64 \
    --rename-section .data=.rodata,alloc,load,readonly,data,contents \
    data.bin data.o
# Then link data.o; access via _binary_data_bin_start / _binary_data_bin_end

4. `addr2line` — address to source

bash

# Convert a crash address to source:line
addr2line -e prog -f 0x400a12
# Output:
# my_function
# /home/user/src/main.c:42

# Multiple addresses
addr2line -e prog -f 0x400a12 0x400b34 0x400c56

# Inline frames (-i)
addr2line -e prog -f -i 0x400a12

# Common use: pipe from backtrace output
cat crash.log | grep '0x[0-9a-f]' | grep -o '0x[0-9a-f]*' | \
  addr2line -e prog -f -i

Requires the binary to have debug info (compiled with -g). For stripped binaries, use the unstripped version or a .debug file.

5. `c++filt` — demangle C++ symbols

bash

# Demangle a single symbol
c++filt _ZN3foo3barEv
# Output: foo::bar()

# Demangle from nm output
nm prog | c++filt

# Demangle from crash log
cat crash.log | c++filt

Alternative: nm -C prog (demangle directly in nm).

6. `strings` — extract printable strings

bash

strings prog                    # all strings >= 4 chars
strings -n 8 prog               # minimum length 8
strings -t x prog               # with offset (hex)
strings -t d prog               # with offset (decimal)

# Search for specific strings
strings prog | grep "version"
strings prog | grep "Copyright"

7. `readelf` and `objdump` quick reference

(Full coverage in skills/binaries/elf-inspection)

bash

# Symbol lookup for crash address (alternative to addr2line)
objdump -d -M intel prog | grep -A5 "400a12:"

# Find which object file defines a symbol
objdump -t prog | grep my_function

8. Cross-binutils

For cross-compilation, use the target-prefixed versions:

bash

aarch64-linux-gnu-strip prog
aarch64-linux-gnu-objcopy --only-keep-debug prog prog.debug
aarch64-linux-gnu-addr2line -e prog 0x400a12
arm-none-eabi-nm libfirmware.a

For a complete command cheatsheet covering all tools (ar, strip, objcopy, addr2line, strings, c++filt), see references/cheatsheet.md.

Use skills/binaries/elf-inspection for readelf, nm, ldd, objdump inspection
Use skills/binaries/linkers-lto for linker flags and LTO
Use skills/debuggers/core-dumps for debug file management with objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file (references) in skills/binaries/binutils of mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.

SKILL.md
references/cheatsheet.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit bdc5847

Compare with similar skills

Binutils next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Binutils compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Binutils this skillmohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills	253	—	~1.2k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	3 mo ago
Paddle BuildPaddlePaddle/Paddle	24k	—	~1k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	8 days ago
Fory Releaseapache/fory	4.6k	—	~2.9k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	yesterday
ONNX Runtime Shape Inference Safety Auditmicrosoft/onnxruntime	22k	—	~3.3k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	today
Code Audit3stoneBrother/code-audit	893	1 repos	~2.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	None	7 mo ago
Qt C++ Code Reviewx-tools-author/x-tools	1.1k	2 repos	~4.3k	Automated safety check: Pass	BSD-3-Clause	5 days ago

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Questions about Binutils

What does Binutils do?

GNU binutils skill for binary manipulation and analysis. An agent skill from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills. Binutils is an agent skill from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills. GNU binutils skill for binary manipulation and analysis.

When should I use Binutils?

Binutils fits situations like: using ar for static libraries; objcopy for binary processing; addr2line for converting addresses to source locations; strings for text extraction.

How do I install Binutils in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill binutils -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/binaries/binutils in mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills) into .claude/skills/binutils in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Binutils in Codex?

Run `npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill binutils -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/binaries/binutils in mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills) into .agents/skills/binutils in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Binutils in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill binutils -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/binutils, .gemini/skills/binutils, .github/skills/binutils and .opencode/skills/binutils in your project.

What does Binutils need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Binutils is instructions for the agent only.

Does Binutils access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Binutils safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Binutils use?

Binutils is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Binutils use?

About 1.2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.7k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 1.9k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Binutils?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Binutils: Paddle Build (PaddlePaddle/Paddle, 24k stars), Fory Release (apache/fory, 4.6k stars), ONNX Runtime Shape Inference Safety Audit (microsoft/onnxruntime, 22k stars) and Code Audit (3stoneBrother/code-audit, 893 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Binutils?

mohitmishra786 (a GitHub user) maintains it in mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills, which has 253 GitHub stars. The repository holds 138 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on June 27, 2026.

Source: mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Binutils

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

GNU Binutils

Purpose

Triggers

Workflow

1. ar — static library management

2. strip — remove debug info

3. objcopy — binary section manipulation

4. addr2line — address to source

5. c++filt — demangle C++ symbols

6. strings — extract printable strings

7. readelf and objdump quick reference

8. Cross-binutils

Related skills

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills

Related

Questions about Binutils

1. `ar` — static library management

2. `strip` — remove debug info

3. `objcopy` — binary section manipulation

4. `addr2line` — address to source

5. `c++filt` — demangle C++ symbols

6. `strings` — extract printable strings

7. `readelf` and `objdump` quick reference