ar

Create and manage static library archives

TLDR

Create archive from files

$ ar rcs [archive.a] [file1.o] [file2.o]

List archive contents

$ ar t [archive.a]

Extract all files

$ ar x [archive.a]

Extract specific file

$ ar x [archive.a] [file.o]

Add file to archive

$ ar r [archive.a] [newfile.o]

Delete file from archive

$ ar d [archive.a] [file.o]

SYNOPSIS

ar [-X3264] [-]operation[modifiers] archive [files_...]

ar creates, modifies, and extracts from archives. It's primarily used to create static libraries (.a files) from object files for use with the linker.Archives contain multiple files with a table of contents for quick access. Unlike tar, ar is optimized for random access to individual members.

PARAMETERS

Insert (replace) files

Create archive

Create/update archive index (ranlib)

Table of contents

Extract files

Delete files

Print file contents to stdout

Quick append (no checking)

Verbose output

Update only newer files

INSTALL

sudo apt install binutils

sudo dnf install binutils

sudo pacman -S binutils

sudo apk add binutils

sudo zypper install binutils

brew install binutils

nix profile install nixpkgs#binutils

CAVEATS

Primarily used for static libraries. For general archiving, use tar instead. Archive index (s) is needed for linker to use the library. No compression.

HISTORY

ar dates back to early Unix in the 1970s. It predates tar and was originally a general-purpose archiver before becoming specialized for library creation.

ar