Provides expertise for analyzing DWARF debug files and understanding the DWARF debug format/standard (v3-v5). Triggers when understanding DWARF information, interacting with DWARF files, answering DWARF-related questions, or working with code that parses DWARF data.
npxskills add trailofbits/skills--skill dwarf-expertLoading…
This skill provides technical knowledge and expertise about the DWARF standard and how to interact with DWARF files. Tasks include answering questions about the DWARF standard, providing examples of various DWARF features, parsing and/or creating DWARF files, and writing/modifying/analyzing code that interacts with DWARF data.
dwarfdump or readelf to extract debug informationllvm-dwarfdump --verifyWhen specific DWARF standard information is needed, use these authoritative sources:
Official DWARF Standards (dwarfstd.org): Use web search to find specific sections of the official DWARF specification at dwarfstd.org. Search queries like "DWARF5 DW_TAG_subprogram attributes site:dwarfstd.org" are effective.
LLVM DWARF Implementation: The LLVM project's DWARF handling code at llvm/lib/DebugInfo/DWARF/ serves as a reliable reference implementation. Key files include:
DWARFDie.cpp - DIE handling and attribute accessDWARFUnit.cpp - Compilation unit parsingDWARFDebugLine.cpp - Line number informationDWARFVerifier.cpp - Validation logiclibdwarf: The reference C implementation at github.com/davea42/libdwarf-code provides detailed handling of DWARF data structures.
Use llvm-dwarfdump verification options to validate DWARF data integrity:
# Verify DWARF structure (compile units, DIE relationships, address ranges)
llvm-dwarfdump --verify <binary>
# Detailed error output with summary
llvm-dwarfdump --verify --error-display=full <binary>
# Machine-readable JSON error summary
llvm-dwarfdump --verify --verify-json=errors.json <binary>
# Output debug info quality metrics as JSON
llvm-dwarfdump --statistics <binary>
The --statistics output helps compare debug info quality across compiler versions and optimization levels.
--statistics to detect debug info quality regressionsELF files can be parsed via the readelf command ({baseDir}/reference/readelf.md). Use this for general ELF information, but prefer dwarfdump for DWARF-specific parsing.
DWARF files can be parsed via the dwarfdump command, which is more effective at parsing and displaying complex DWARF information than readelf and should be used for most DWARF parsing tasks ({baseDir}/reference/dwarfdump.md).
This skill supports writing, modifying, and reviewing code that interacts with DWARF data. This may involve code that parses DWARF debug data from scratch or code that leverages libraries to parse and interact with DWARF data ({baseDir}/reference/coding.md).
┌─ Need to verify DWARF data integrity?
│ └─ Use `llvm-dwarfdump --verify` (see Verification Workflows above)
├─ Need to answer questions about the DWARF standard?
│ └─ Search dwarfstd.org or reference LLVM/libdwarf source
├─ Need simple section dump or general ELF info?
│ └─ Use `readelf` ({baseDir}/reference/readelf.md)
├─ Need to parse, search, and/or dump DWARF DIE nodes?
│ └─ Use `dwarfdump` ({baseDir}/reference/dwarfdump.md)
└─ Need to write, modify, or review code that interacts with DWARF data?
└─ Refer to the coding reference ({baseDir}/reference/coding.md)
Create or update AgentSkills. Use when designing, structuring, or packaging skills with scripts, references, and assets.
Create or update AgentSkills. Use when designing, structuring, or packaging skills with scripts, references, and assets.
Set up and use 1Password CLI (op). Use when installing the CLI, enabling desktop app integration, signing in (single or multi-account), or reading/injecting/running secrets via op.
CLI to manage emails via IMAP/SMTP. Use `himalaya` to list, read, write, reply, forward, search, and organize emails from the terminal. Supports multiple accounts and message composition with MML (MIME Meta Language).
Create or update AgentSkills. Use when designing, structuring, or packaging skills with scripts, references, and assets.
Create or update AgentSkills. Use when designing, structuring, or packaging skills with scripts, references, and assets.
Set up and use 1Password CLI (op). Use when installing the CLI, enabling desktop app integration, signing in (single or multi-account), or reading/injecting/running secrets via op.
CLI to manage emails via IMAP/SMTP. Use `himalaya` to list, read, write, reply, forward, search, and organize emails from the terminal. Supports multiple accounts and message composition with MML (MIME Meta Language).