ld(1)

NAME
ld - linker

SYNOPSIS
ld files... [options] [-o outputfile]

DESCRIPTION
The ld command combines several object files and libraries, resolves references, and produces an ouput file. ld can produce a final linked image (executable, dylib, or bundle), or with the -r option, produce another object file. If the -o option is not used, the output file produced is named "a.out".

  Universal
The linker accepts universal (multiple-architecture) input files, but always creates a "thin" (single-architecture), standard Mach-O output file. The architecture for the output file is specified using the -arch option. If this option is not used, ld attempts to determine the output architecture by examining the object files in command line order. The first "thin" architecture determines that of the output file. If no input object file is a "thin" file, the native 32-bit architecture for the host is used.

Usually, ld is not used directly. Instead the compiler driver invokes ld. The compiler driver can be passed multiple -arch options and it will create a universal final linked image by invoking ld multiple times and then running lipo(1) merge the outputs into a universal file.

  Layout
The object files are loaded in the order in which they are specified on the command line. The segments and the sections in those segments will appear in the output file in the order they are encountered in the object files being linked. All zero fill sections will appear after all non-zero fill sections in their segments. Sections created from files with the -sectcreate option will be laid out at after sections from .o files. The use of the -order_file option will alter the layout rules above, and move the symbols specified to start of their section.

  Libraries
A static library (aka static archive) is a collection of .o files with a table of contents that lists the global symbols in the .o files. ld will only pull .o files out of a static library if needed to resolve some symbol reference. Unlike traditional linkers, ld will continually search a static library while linking. There is no need to specify a static library multiple times on the command line.

A dynamic library (aka dylib or framework) is a final linked image. Putting a dynamic library on the command line causes two things: 1) The generated final linked image will have encoded that it depends on that dynamic library. 2) Exported symbols from the dynamic library are used to resolve references.

Both dynamic and static libraries are searched as they appear on the command line.

  Search paths
ld maintains a list of directories to search for a library or framework to use. The default library search path is /usr/lib then /usr/local/lib. The -L option will add a new library search path. The default framework search path is /Library/Frameworks then /System/Library/Frameworks. (Note: previously, /Network/Library/Frameworks was at the end of the default path. If you need that functionality, you need to explicitly add -F/Network/Library/Frameworks). The -F option will add a new framework search path. The -Z option will remove the standard search paths. The -syslibroot option will prepend a prefix to all search paths.

  Two-level namespace
By default all references resolved to a dynamic library record the library to which they were resolved. At runtime, dyld uses that information to directly resolve symbols. The alternative is to use the -flat_namespace option. With flat namespace, the library is not recorded. At runtime, dyld will search each dynamic library in load order when resolving symbols. This is slower, but more like how other operating systems resolve symbols.

  Indirect dynamic libraries
If the command line specifies to link against dylib A, and when dylib A was built it linked against dylib B, then B is considered an indirect dylib. When linking for two-level namespace, ld does not look at indirect dylibs, except when re-exported by a direct dylibs. On the other hand when linking for flat namespace, ld does load all indirect dylibs and uses them to resolve references. Even though indirect dylibs are specified via a full path, ld first uses the specified search paths to locate each indirect dylib. If one cannot be found using the search paths, the full path is used.

  Dynamic libraries undefines
When linking for two-level namespace, ld does not verify that undefines in dylibs actually exist. But when linking for flat namespace, ld does check that all undefines from all loaded dylibs have a matching definition. This is sometimes used to force selected functions to be loaded from a static library.

OPTIONS

  Options that control the kind of output

-execute
    The default. Produce a mach-o main executable that has file type MH_EXECUTE.

-dylib
    Produce a mach-o shared library that has file type MH_DYLIB.

-bundle
    Produce a mach-o bundle that has file type MH_BUNDLE.

-r  Merges object files to produce another mach-o object file with file type MH_OBJECT.

-dylinker
    Produce a mach-o dylinker that has file type MH_DYLINKER. Only used when building dyld.

-dynamic
    The default. Implied by -dylib, -bundle, or -execute

-static
    Produces a mach-o file that does not use the dyld. Only used building the kernel.

-preload
    Produces a mach-o file in which the mach_header, load commands, and symbol table are not in any segment. This output type is used for firmware or embedded development where the segments are copied out of the mach-o into ROM/Flash.

-arch arch_name
    Specifies which architecture (e.g. ppc, ppc64, i386, x86_64) the output file should be.

-o path
    Specifies the name and location of the output file. If not specified, `a.out' is used.

  Options that control libraries

-lx This option tells the linker to search for libx.dylib or libx.a in the library search path. If string x is of the form y.o, then that file is searched for in the same places, but without prepending `lib' or appending `.a' or `.dylib' to the filename.

-weak-lx
    This is the same as the -lx but forces the library and all references to it to be marked as weak imports. That is, the library is allowed to be missing at runtime.

-weak_library path_to_library
    This is the same as listing a file name path to a library on the link line except that it forces the library and all references to it to be marked as weak imports.

-reexport-lx
    This is the same as the -lx but specifies that the all symbols in library x should be available to clients linking to the library being created. This was previously done with a separate -sub_library option.

-reexport_library path_to_library
    This is the same as listing a file name path to a library on the link line and it specifies that the all symbols in library path should be available to clients linking to the library being created. This was previously done with a separate -sub_library option.

-upward-lx
    This is the same as the -lx but specifies that the dylib is an upward dependency.

-upward_library path_to_library
    This is the same as listing a file name path to a library on the link line but also marks the dylib as an upward dependency.

-Ldir
    Add dir to the list of directories in which to search for libraries. Directories specified with -L are searched in the order they appear on the command line and before the default search path. In Xcode4 and later, there can be a space between the -L and directory.

-Z  Do not search the standard directories when searching for libraries and frameworks.

-syslibroot rootdir
    Prepend rootdir to all search paths when searching for libraries or frameworks.

-search_paths_first
    This is now the default (in Xcode4 tools). When processing -lx the linker now searches each directory in its library search paths for `libx.dylib' then `libx.a' before the moving on to the next path in the library search path.

-search_dylibs_first
    Changes the searching behavior for libraries. The default is that when processing -lx the linker searches each directory in its library search paths for `libx.dylib' then `libx.a'. This option changes the behavior to first search for a file of the form `libx.dylib' in each directory in the library search path, then a file of the form `libx.a' is searched for in the library search paths. This option restores the search behavior of the linker prior to Xcode4.

-framework name[,suffix]
    This option tells the linker to search for `name.framework/name' the framework search path. If the optional suffix is specified the framework is first searched for the name with the suffix and then without (e.g. look for `name.framework/name_suffix' first, if not there try `name.framework/name').

-weak_framework name[,suffix]
    This is the same as the -framework name[,suffix] but forces the framework and all references to it to be marked as weak imports.

-reexport_framework name[,suffix]
    This is the same as the -framework name[,suffix] but also specifies that the all symbols in that framework should be available to clients linking to the library being created. This was previously done with a separate -sub_umbrella option.

-upward_framework name[,suffix]
    This is the same as the -framework name[,suffix] but also specifies that the framework is an upward dependency.

-Fdir
    Add dir to the list of directories in which to search for frameworks. Directories specified with -F are searched in the order they appear on the command line and before the default search path. In Xcode4 and later, there can be a space between the -F and directory.

-all_load
    Loads all members of static archive libraries.

-ObjC
    Loads all members of static archive libraries that implement an Objective-C class or category.

-force_load path_to_archive
    Loads all members of the specified static archive library. Note: -all_load forces all members of all archives to be loaded. This option allows you to target a specific archive.

  Options that control additional content

-sectcreate segname sectname file
    The section sectname in the segment segname is created from the contents of file file. The combination of segname and sectname must be unique Ð there cannot already be a section (segname,sectname) from any other input.

-filelist file[,dirname]
    Specifies that the linker should link the files listed in file. This is an alternative to listing the files on the command line. The file names are listed one per line separated only by newlines. (Spaces and tabs are assumed to be part of the file name.) If the optional directory name, dirname is specified, it is prepended to each name in the list file.

-dtrace file
    Enables dtrace static probes when producing a final linked image. The file file must be a DTrace script which declares the static probes.

  Options that control optimizations

-dead_strip
    Remove functions and data that are unreachable by the entry point or exported symbols.

-order_file file
    Alters the order in which functions and data are laid out. For each section in the output file, any symbol in that section that are specified in the order file file is moved to the start of its section and laid out in the same order as in the order file file. Order files are text files with one symbol name per line. Lines starting with a # are comments. A symbol name may be optionally preceded with its object file leaf name and a colon (e.g. foo.o:_foo). This is useful for static functions/data that occur in multiple files. A symbol name may also be optionally preceded with the architecture (e.g. ppc:_foo or ppc:foo.o:_foo). This enables you to have one order file that works for multiple architectures. Literal c-strings may be ordered by by quoting the string (e.g. "Hello, world\n") in the order file.

-no_order_inits
    When the -order_file option is not used, the linker lays out functions in object file order and it moves all initializer routines to the start of the __text section and terminator routines to the end. Use this option to disable the automatic rearrangement of initializers and terminators.

-no_order_data
    By default the linker reorders global data in the __DATA segment so that all global variables that dyld will need to adjust at launch time will early in the __DATA segment. This reduces the number of dirty pages at launch time. This option disables that optimization.

-platform_version platform min_version sdk_version
    This is set to indicate the platform, oldest supported version of that platform that output is to be used on, and the SDK that the output was built against. platform is a numeric value as defined in <mach-o/loader.h>, or it may be one of the following strings:
    • macos
    • ios
    • tvos
    • watchos
    • bridgeos
    • mac-catalyst
    • ios-sim
    • tvos-sim
    • watchos-sim
    • driverkit
    Specifying a newer min or SDK version enables the linker to assume features of that OS or SDK in the output file. The format of min_version and sdk_version is a version number such as 10.13 or 10.14

-macos_version_min version
    This is set to indicate the oldest macOS version that that the output is to be used on. Specifying a later version enables the linker to assumes features of that OS in the output file. The format of version is a macOS version number such as 10.9 or 10.14

-ios_version_min version
    This is set to indicate the oldest iOS version that that the output is to be used on. Specifying a later version enables the linker to assumes features of that OS in the output file. The format of version is an iOS version number such as 3.1 or 4.0

-image_base address
    Specifies the preferred load address for a dylib or bundle. The argument address is a hexadecimal number with an optional leading 0x. By choosing non-overlapping address for all dylibs and bundles that a program loads, launch time can be improved because dyld will not need to "rebase" the image (that is, adjust pointers within the image to work at the loaded address). It is often easier to not use this option, but instead use the rebase(1) tool, and give it a list of dylibs. It will then choose non-overlapping addresses for the list and rebase them all. This option is also called -seg1addr for compatibility.

-no_implicit_dylibs
    When creating a two-level namespace final linked image, normally the linker will hoist up public dylibs that are implicitly linked to make the two-level namespace encoding more efficient for dyld. For example, Cocoa re-exports AppKit and AppKit re-exports Foundation. If you link with -framework Cocoa and use a symbol from Foundation, the linker will implicitly add a load command to load Foundation and encode the symbol as coming from Foundation. If you use this option, the linker will not add a load command for Foundation and encode the symbol as coming from Cocoa. Then at runtime dyld will have to search Cocoa and AppKit before finding the symbol in Foundation.

-exported_symbols_order file
    When targeting Mac OS X 10.6 or later, the format of the exported symbol information can be optimized to make lookups of popular symbols faster. This option is used to pass a file containing a list of the symbols most frequently used by clients of the dynamic library being built. Not all exported symbols need to be listed.

-no_zero_fill_sections
    By default the linker moves all zero fill sections to the end of the __DATA segment and configures them to use no space on disk. This option suppresses that optimization, so zero-filled data occupies space on disk in a final linked image.

-merge_zero_fill_sections
    Causes all zero-fill sections in the __DATA segment to be merged into one __zerofill section.

-no_branch_islands
    Disables linker creation of branch islands which allows images to be created that are larger than the maximum branch distance. Useful with -preload when code is in multiple sections but all are within the branch range.

  Options when creating a dynamic library (dylib)

-install_name name
    Sets an internal "install path" (LC_ID_DYLIB) in a dynamic library. Any clients linked against the library will record that path as the way dyld should locate this library. If this option is not specified, then the -o path will be used. This option is also called -dylib_install_name for compatibility.

-mark_dead_strippable_dylib
    Specifies that the dylib being built can be dead strip by any client. That is, the dylib has no initialization side effects. So if a client links against the dylib, but never uses any symbol from it, the linker can optimize away the use of the dylib.

-compatibility_version number
    Specifies the compatibility version number of the library. When a library is loaded by dyld, the compatibility version is checked and if the program's version is greater that the library's version, it is an error. The format of number is X[.Y[.Z]] where X must be a positive non-zero number less than or equal to 65535, and .Y and .Z are optional and if present must be non-negative numbers less than or equal to 255. If the compatibility version number is not specified, it has a value of 0 and no checking is done when the library is used. This option is also called -dylib_compatibility_version for compatibility.

-current_version number
    Specifies the current version number of the library. The current version of the library can be obtained programmatically by the user of the library so it can determine exactly which version of the library it is using. The format of number is X[.Y[.Z]] where X must be a positive non-zero number less than or equal to 65535, and .Y and .Z are optional and if present must be non-negative numbers less than or equal to 255. If the version number is not specified, it has a value of 0. This option is also called -dylib_current_version for compatibility.

  Options when creating a main executable

-pie
    This makes a special kind of main executable that is position independent (PIE). On Mac OS X 10.5 and later, the OS the OS will load a PIE at a random address each time it is executed. You cannot create a PIE from .o files compiled with -mdynamic-no-pic. That means the codegen is less optimal, but the address randomization adds some security. When targeting Mac OS X 10.7 or later PIE is the default for main executables.

-no_pie
    Do not make a position independent executable (PIE). This is the default, when targeting 10.6 and earlier.

-pagezero_size size
    By default the linker creates an unreadable segment starting at address zero named __PAGEZERO. Its existence will cause a bus error if a NULL pointer is dereferenced. The argument size is a hexadecimal number with an optional leading 0x. If size is zero, the linker will not generate a page zero segment. By default on 32-bit architectures the page zero size is 4KB. On 64-bit architectures, the default size is 4GB.

-stack_size size
    Specifies the maximum stack size for the main thread in a program. Without this option a program has a 8MB stack. The argument size is a hexadecimal number with an optional leading 0x. The size should be a multiple of the architecture's page size (4KB or 16KB).

-allow_stack_execute
    Marks executable so that all stacks in the task will be given stack execution privilege. This includes pthread stacks.

-export_dynamic
    Preserves all global symbols in main executables during LTO. Without this option, Link Time Optimization is allowed to inline and remove global functions. This option is used when a main executable may load a plug-in which requires certain symbols from the main executable.

  Options when creating a bundle

-bundle_loader executable
    This specifies the executable that will be loading the bundle output file being linked. Undefined symbols from the bundle are checked against the specified executable like it was one of the dynamic libraries the bundle was linked with.

  Options when creating an object file

-keep_private_externs
    Don't turn private external (aka visibility=hidden) symbols into static symbols, but rather leave them as private external in the resulting object file.

-d  Force definition of common symbols. That is, transform tentative definitions into real definitions.

  Options that control symbol resolution

-exported_symbols_list filename
    The specified filename contains a list of global symbol names that will remain as global symbols in the output file. All other global symbols will be treated as if they were marked as __private_extern__ (aka visibility=hidden) and will not be global in the output file. The symbol names listed in filename must be one per line. Leading and trailing white space are not part of the symbol name. Lines starting with # are ignored, as are lines with only white space. Some wildcards (similar to shell file matching) are supported. The * matches zero or more characters. The ? matches one character. [abc] matches one character which must be an 'a', 'b', or 'c'. [a-z] matches any single lower case letter from 'a' to 'z'.

-exported_symbol symbol
    The specified symbol is added to the list of global symbols names that will remain as global symbols in the output file. This option can be used multiple times. For short lists, this can be more convenient than creating a file and using -exported_symbols_list.

-unexported_symbols_list file
    The specified filename contains a list of global symbol names that will not remain as global symbols in the output file. The symbols will be treated as if they were marked as __private_extern__ (aka visibility=hidden) and will not be global in the output file. The symbol names listed in filename must be one per line. Leading and trailing white space are not part of the symbol name. Lines starting with # are ignored, as are lines with only white space. Some wildcards (similar to shell file matching) are supported. The * matches zero or more characters. The ? matches one character. [abc] matches one character which must be an 'a', 'b', or 'c'. [a-z] matches any single lower case letter from 'a' to 'z'.

-unexported_symbol symbol
    The specified symbol is added to the list of global symbols names that will not remain as global symbols in the output file. This option can be used multiple times. For short lists, this can be more convenient than creating a file and using -unexported_symbols_list.

-reexported_symbols_list file
    The specified filename contains a list of symbol names that are implemented in a dependent dylib and should be re-exported through the dylib being created.

-alias symbol_name alternate_symbol_name
    Create an alias named alternate_symbol_name for the symbol symbol_name. By default the alias symbol has global visibility. This option was previous the -idef:indir option.

-alias_list filename
    The specified filename contains a list of aliases. The symbol name and its alias are on one line, separated by whitespace. Lines starting with # are ignored.

-flat_namespace
    Alters how symbols are resolved at build time and runtime. With -two_levelnamespace (the default), the linker only searches dylibs on the command line for symbols, and records in which dylib they were found. With -flat_namespace, the linker searches all dylibs on the command line and all dylibs those original dylibs depend on. The linker does not record which dylib an external symbol came from, so at runtime dyld again searches all images and uses the first definition it finds. In addition, any undefines in loaded flat_namespace dylibs must be resolvable at build time.

-u symbol_name
    Specified that symbol symbol_name must be defined for the link to succeed. This is useful to force selected functions to be loaded from a static library.

-U symbol_name
    Specified that it is ok for symbol_name to have no definition. With -two_levelnamespace, the resulting symbol will be marked dynamic_lookup which means dyld will search all loaded images.

-undefined treatment
    Specifies how undefined symbols are to be treated. Options are: error, warning, suppress, or dynamic_lookup. The default is error.

-rpath path
    Add path to the runpath search path list for image being created. At runtime, dyld uses the runpath when searching for dylibs whose load path begins with @rpath/.

-commons treatment
    Specifies how commons (aka tentative definitions) are resolved with respect to dylibs. Options are: ignore_dylibs, use_dylibs, error. The default is ignore_dylibs which means the linker will turn a tentative definition in an object file into a real definition and not even check dylibs for conflicts. The dylibs option means the linker should check linked dylibs for definitions and use them to replace tentative definitions from object files. The error option means the linker should issue an error whenever a tentative definition in an object file conflicts with an external symbol in a linked dylib. See also -warn_commons.

  Options for introspecting the linker

-why_load
    Log why each object file in a static library is loaded. That is, what symbol was needed. Also called -whyload for compatibility.

-why_live symbol_name
    Logs a chain of references to symbol_name. Only applicable with -dead_strip . It can help debug why something that you think should be dead strip removed is not removed. See -exported_symbols_list for syntax and use of wildcards.

-print_statistics
    Logs information about the amount of memory and time the linker used.

-t  Logs each file (object, archive, or dylib) the linker loads. Useful for debugging problems with search paths where the wrong library is loaded.

-whatsloaded
    Logs just object files the linker loads.

-order_file_statistics
    Logs information about the processing of a -order_file.

-map map_file_path
    Writes a map file to the specified path which details all symbols and their addresses in the output image.

  Options for controling symbol table optimizations

-S  Do not put debug information (STABS or DWARF) in the output file.

-x  Do not put non-global symbols in the output file's symbol table. Non-global symbols are useful when debugging and getting symbol names in back traces, but are not used at runtime. If -x is used with -r non-global symbol names are not removed, but instead replaced with a unique, dummy name that will be automatically removed when linked into a final linked image. This allows dead code stripping, which uses symbols to break up code and data, to work properly and provides the security of having source symbol names removed.

-non_global_symbols_strip_list filename
    The specified filename contains a list of non-global symbol names that should be removed from the output file's symbol table. All other non-global symbol names will remain in the output files symbol table. See -exported_symbols_list for syntax and use of wildcards.

-non_global_symbols_no_strip_list filename
    The specified filename contains a list of non-global symbol names that should be remain in the output file's symbol table. All other symbol names will be removed from the output file's symbol table. See -exported_symbols_list for syntax and use of wildcards.

-oso_prefix prefix-path
    When generating the debug map, the linker will remove the specified prefix-path from the path in OSO symbols. This can be used so to help build servers generate identical binaries.

  Options for Bitcode build flow

-bitcode_bundle
    Generates an embedded bitcode bundle in the output binary. The bitcode bundle is embedded in __LLVM, __bundle section. This option requires all the object files, static libraries and user frameworks/dylibs contain bitcode. Note: not all the linker options are supported to use together with -bitcode_bundle.

-bitcode_hide_symbols
    Specifies this option together with -bitcode_bundle to hide all non-exported symbols from output bitcode bundle. The hide symbol process might not be reversible. To obtain a reverse mapping file to recover all the symbols, use -bitcode_symbol_map option.

-bitcode_symbol_map path
    Specifies the output for bitcode symbol reverse mapping (.bcsymbolmap). If path is an existing directory, UUID.bcsymbolmap will be written to that directory. Otherwise, the reverse map will be written to a file at path.

  Rarely used Options

-v  Prints the version of the linker.

-version_details
    Prints the version info about the linker in JSON

-no_weak_imports
    Error if any symbols are weak imports (i.e. allowed to be unresolved (NULL) at runtime). Useful for config based projects that assume they are built and run on the same OS version.

-no_deduplicate
    Don't run deduplication pass in linker

-verbose_deduplicate
    Prints names of functions that are eliminated by deduplication and total code savings size.

-no_inits
    Error if the output contains any static initializers

-no_warn_inits
    Do not warn if the output contains any static initializers

-debug_variant
    Do not warn about issues that are only problems for binaries shipping to customers.

-unaligned_pointers treatment
    Specifies how unaligned pointers in __DATA segments should be handled. Options are: 'warning', 'error', or 'suppress'. The default for arm64e is 'error' and for all other architectures it is 'suppress'.

-dirty_data_list filename
    Specifies a file containing the names of data symbols likely to be dirtied. If the linker is creating a __DATA_DIRTY segment, those symbols will be moved to that segment.

-max_default_common_align value
    Any common symbols (aka tentative definitions, or uninitialized (zeroed) variables) that have no explicit alignment are normally aligned to their next power of two size (e.g. a 240 byte array is 256 aligned). This option lets you reduce the max alignment. For instance, a value of 0x40 would reduce the alignment for a 240 byte array to 64 bytes (instead of 256). The value specified must be a hexadecimal power of two If -max_default_common_align is not used, the default alignment is already limited to 0x8 (2^3) bytes for -preload and 0x8000 (2^15) for all other output types.

-move_to_rw_segment segment_name filename
    Moves data symbols to another segment. The command line option specifies the target segment name and a path to a file containing a list of symbols to move. Comments can be added to the symbol file by starting a line with a #. If there are multiple instances of a symbol name (for instance a "static int foo=5;" in multiple files) the symbol name in the symbol list file can be prefixed with the object file name (e.g. "init.o:_foo") to move a specific instance.

-move_to_ro_segment segment_name filename
    Moves code symbols to another segment. The command line option specifies the target segment name and a path to a file containing a list of symbols to move. Comments can be added to the symbol file by starting a line with a #. If there are multiple instances of a symbol name (for instance a "static int foo() {}" in multiple files) the symbol name in the symbol list file can be prefixed with the object file name (e.g. "init.o:_foo") to move a specific instance.

-rename_section orgSegment orgSection newSegment newSection
    Renames section orgSegment/orgSection to newSegment/newSection.

-rename_segment orgSegment newSegment
    Renames all sections with orgSegment segment name to have newSegment segment name.

-trace_symbol_layout
    For using in debugging -rename_section, -rename_segment, -move_to_ro_segment, and -move_to_rw_segment. This option prints out a line show where and why each symbol was moved. Note: These options do chain. For each symbol, the linker first checks -move_to_ro_segment and -move_to_rw_segment. Next it applies any -rename_section options, and lastly and -rename_segment options.

-section_order segname colon_separated_section_list
    Only for use with -preload. Specifies the order that sections with the specified segment should be layout out. For example: "-section_order __ROM __text:__const:__cstring".

-segment_order colon_separated_segment_list
    Only for use with -preload. Specifies the order segments should be layout out. For example: "-segment_order __ROM:__ROM2:__RAM".

-allow_heap_execute
    Normally i386 main executables will be marked so that the Mac OS X 10.7 and later kernel will only allow pages with the x-bit to execute instructions. This option overrides that behavior and allows instructions on any page to be executed.

-application_extension
    Specifies that the code is being linked for use in an application extension. The linker will then validiate that any dynamic libraries linked against are safe for use in application extensions.

-no_application_extension
    Specifies that the code is being linked is not safe for use in an application extension. For instance, can be used when creating a framework that should not be used in an application extension.

-fatal_warnings
    Causes the linker to exit with a non-zero value if any warnings were emitted.

-no_eh_labels
    Normally in -r mode, the linker produces .eh labels on all FDEs in the __eh_frame section. This option suppresses those labels. Those labels are not needed by the Mac OS X 10.6 linker but are needed by earlier linker tools.

-warn_compact_unwind
    When producing a final linked image, the linker processes the __eh_frame section and produces an __unwind_info section. Most FDE entries in the __eh_frame can be represented by a 32-bit value in the __unwind_info section. The option issues a warning for any function whose FDE cannot be expressed in the compact unwind format.

-warn_weak_exports
    Issue a warning if the resulting final linked image contains weak external symbols. Such symbols require dyld to do extra work at launch time to coalesce those symbols.

-no_weak_exports
    Issue an erro if the resulting final linked image contains weak external symbols. Such symbols require dyld to do extra work at launch time to coalesce those symbols.

-objc_gc_compaction
    Marks the Objective-C image info in the final linked image with the bit that says that the code was built to work the compacting garbage collection.

-objc_gc
    Verifies all code was compiled with -fobjc-gc or -fobjc-gc-only.

-objc_gc_only
    Verifies all code was compiled with -fobjc-gc-only.

-dead_strip_dylibs
    Remove dylibs that are unreachable by the entry point or exported symbols. That is, suppresses the generation of load command commands for dylibs which supplied no symbols during the link. This option should not be used when linking against a dylib which is required at runtime for some indirect reason such as the dylib has an important initializer.

-allow_sub_type_mismatches
    Normally the linker considers different cpu-subtype for ARM (e.g. armv4t and armv6) to be different different architectures that cannot be mixed at build time. This option relaxes that requirement, allowing you to mix object files compiled for different ARM subtypes.

-no_uuid
    Do not generate an LC_UUID load command in the output file.

-root_safe
    Sets the MH_ROOT_SAFE bit in the mach header of the output file.

-setuid_safe
    Sets the MH_SETUID_SAFE bit in the mach header of the output file.

-interposable
    Indirects access to all to exported symbols when creating a dynamic library.

-init symbol_name
    The specified symbol_name will be run as the first initializer. Only used when creating a dynamic library.

-sub_library library_name
    The specified dylib will be re-exported. For example the library_name for /usr/lib/libobjc_profile.A.dylib would be libobjc. Only used when creating a dynamic library.

-sub_umbrella framework_name
    The specified framework will be re-exported. Only used when creating a dynamic library.

-allowable_client name
    Restricts what can link against the dynamic library being created. By default any code can link against any dylib. But if a dylib is supposed to be private to a small set of clients, you can formalize that by adding a -allowable_client for each client. If a client is libfoo.1.dylib its -allowable_client name would be "foo". If a client is Foo.framework its -allowable_client name would be "Foo". For the degenerate case where you want no one to ever link against a dylib, you can set the -allowable_client to "!".

-client_name name
    Enables a bundle to link against a dylib that was built with -allowable_client. The name specified must match one of the -allowable_client names specified when the dylib was created.

-umbrella framework_name
    Specifies that the dylib being linked is re-exported through an umbrella framework of the specified name.

-headerpad size
    Specifies the minimum space for future expansion of the load commands. Only useful if intend to run install_name_tool to alter the load commands later. Size is a hexadecimal number.

-headerpad_max_install_names
    Automatically adds space for future expansion of load commands such that all paths could expand to MAXPATHLEN. Only useful if intend to run install_name_tool to alter the load commands later.

-bind_at_load
    Sets a bit in the mach header of the resulting binary which tells dyld to bind all symbols when the binary is loaded, rather than lazily.

-force_flat_namespace
    Sets a bit in the mach header of the resulting binary which tells dyld to not only use flat namespace for the binary, but force flat namespace binding on all dylibs and bundles loaded in the process. Can only be used when linking main executables.

-sectalign segname sectname value
    The section named sectname in the segment segname will have its alignment set to value, where value is a hexadecimal number that must be an integral power of 2.

-stack_addr address
    Specifies the initial address of the stack pointer value, where value is a hexadecimal number rounded to a page boundary.

-segprot segname max_prot init_prot
    Specifies the maximum and initial virtual memory protection of the named segment, name, to be max and init ,respectively. The values for max and init are any combination of the characters `r' (for read), `w' (for write), `x' (for execute) and `-' (no access).

-seg_addr_table filename
    Specifies a file containing base addresses for dynamic libraries. Each line of the file is a hexadecimal base address followed by whitespace then the install name of the corresponding dylib. The # character denotes a comment.

-segs_read_write_addr address
    Allows a dynamic library to be built where the read-only and read-write segments are not contiguous. The address specified is a hexadecimal number that indicates the base address for the read-write segments.

-segs_read_only_addr address
    Allows a dynamic library to be built where the read-only and read-write segments are not contiguous. The address specified is a hexadecimal number that indicates the base address for the read-only segments.

-segaddr name address
    Specifies the starting address of the segment named name to be address. The address must be a hexadecimal number that is a multiple of 4K page size.

-seg_page_size name size
    Specifies the page size used by the specified segment. By default the page size is 4096 for all segments. The linker will lay out segments such that size of a segment is always an even multiple of its page size.

-dylib_file install_name:file_name
    Specifies that a dynamic shared library is in a different location than its standard location. Use this option when you link with a library that is dependent on a dynamic library, and the dynamic library is in a location other than its default location. install_name specifies the path where the library normally resides. file_name specifies the path of the library you want to use instead. For example, if you link to a library that depends upon the dynamic library libsys and you have libsys installed in a nondefault location, you would use this option: -dylib_file /lib/libsys_s.A.dylib:/me/lib/libsys_s.A.dylib.

-prebind
    The created output file will be in the prebound format. This was used in Mac OS X 10.3 and earlier to improve launch performance.

-weak_reference_mismatches treatment
    Specifies what to do if a symbol is weak-imported in one object file but not weak-imported in another. The valid treatments are: error, weak, or non-weak. The default is non-weak.

-read_only_relocs treatment
    Enables the use of relocations which will cause dyld to modify (copy-on-write) read-only pages. The compiler will normally never generate such code.

-force_cpusubtype_ALL
    The is only applicable with -arch ppc. It tells the linker to ignore the PowerPC cpu requirements (e.g. G3, G4 or G5) encoded in the object files and mark the resulting binary as runnable on any PowerPC cpu.

-dylinker_install_name path
    Only used when building dyld.

-no_arch_warnings
    Suppresses warning messages about files that have the wrong architecture for the -arch flag

-arch_errors_fatal
    Turns into errors, warnings about files that have the wrong architecture for the -arch flag.

-e symbol_name
    Specifies the entry point of a main executable. By default the entry name is "start" which is found in crt1.o which contains the glue code need to set up and call main().

-w  Suppress all warning messages

-final_output name
    Specifies the install name of a dylib if -install_name is not used. This option is used by compiler driver when it is invoked with multiple -arch arguments.

-arch_multiple
    Specifes that the linker should augment error and warning messages with the architecture name. This option is used by compiler driver when it is invoked with multiple -arch arguments.

-twolevel_namespace_hints
    Specifies that hints should be added to the resulting binary that can help speed up runtime binding by dyld as long as the libraries being linked against have not changed.

-dot path
    Create a file at the specified path containing a graph of symbol dependencies. The .dot file can be viewed in GraphViz.

-keep_relocs
    Add section based relocation records to a final linked image. These relocations are ignored at runtime by dyld.

-warn_stabs
    Print a warning when the linker cannot do a BINCL/EINCL optimization because the compiler put a bad stab symbol inside a BINCL/EINCL range.

-warn_commons
    Print a warning whenever the a tentative definition in an object file is found and a external symbol by the same name is also found in a linked dylib. This often means that the extern keyword is missing from a variable declaration in a header file.

-read_only_stubs
    [i386 only] Makes the __IMPORT segment of a final linked images read-only. This option makes a program slightly more secure in that the JMP instructions in the i386 fast stubs cannot be easily overwritten by malicious code. The downside is the dyld must use mprotect() to temporarily make the segment writable while it is binding the stubs.

-slow_stubs
    [i386 only] Instead of using single JMP instruction stubs, the linker creates code in the __TEXT segment which calls through a lazy pointer in the __DATA segment.

-interposable_list filename
    The specified filename contains a list of global symbol names that should always be accessed indirectly. For instance, if libSystem.dylib is linked such that _malloc is interposable, then calls to malloc() from within libSystem will go through a dyld stub and could potentially indirected to an alternate malloc. If libSystem.dylib were built without making _malloc interposable then if _malloc was interposed at runtime, calls to malloc from with libSystem would be missed (not interposed) because they would be direct calls.

-no_function_starts
    By default the linker creates a compress table of function start addresses in the LINKEDIT of final linked image. This option disables that behavior.

-no_objc_category_merging
    By default when producing final linked image, the linker will optimize Objective-C classes by merging any categories on a class into the class. Both the class and its categories must be defined in the image being linked for the optimization to occur. Using this option disables that behavior.

-object_path_lto filename
    When performing Link Time Optimization (LTO) and a temporary mach-o object file is needed, if this option is used, the temporary file will be stored at the specified path and remain after the link is complete. Without the option, the linker picks a path and deletes the object file before the linker tool completes, thus tools such as the debugger or dsymutil will not be able to access the DWARF debug info in the temporary object file.

-lto_library path
    When performing Link Time Optimization (LTO), the linker normally loads libLTO.14.dylib relative to the linker binary (../lib/libLTO.14.dylib). This option allows the user to specify the path to a specific libLTO.14.dylib to load instead.

-cache_path_lto path
    When performing Incremental Link Time Optimization (LTO), use this directory as a cache for incremental rebuild.

-prune_interval_lto seconds
    When performing Incremental Link Time Optimization (LTO), the cache will pruned after the specified interval. A value 0 will force pruning to occur and a value of -1 will disable pruning.

-prune_after_lto seconds
    When pruning the cache for Incremental Link Time Optimization (LTO), the cache entries are removed after the specificied interval.

-max_relative_cache_size_lto percent
    When performing Incremental Link Time Optimization (LTO), the cache will be pruned to not go over this percentage of the free space. I.e. a value of 100 would indicate that the cache may fill the disk, and a value of 50 would indicate that the cache size will be kept under the free disk space.

-page_align_data_atoms
    During development, this option can be used to space out all global variables so each is on a separate page. This is useful when analyzing dirty and resident pages. The information can then be used to create an order file to cluster commonly used/dirty globals onto the same page(s).

-not_for_dyld_shared_cache
    Normally, the linker will add extra info to dylibs with -install_name starting with /usr/lib or /System/Library/ that allows the dylib to be placed into the dyld shared cache. Adding this option tells the linker to not add that extra info.

  Obsolete Options

-segalign value
    All segments must be page aligned.

-seglinkedit
    Object files (MH_OBJECT) with a LINKEDIT segment are no longer supported. This option is obsolete.

-noseglinkedit
    This is the default. This option is obsolete.

-fvmlib
    Fixed VM shared libraries (MH_FVMLIB) are no longer supported. This option is obsolete.

-sectobjectsymbols segname sectname
    Adding a local label at a section start is no longer supported. This option is obsolete.

-nofixprebinding
    The MH_NOFIXPREBINDING bit of mach_headers has been ignored since Mac OS X 10.3.9. This option is obsolete.

-noprebind_all_twolevel_modules
    Multi-modules in dynamic libraries have been ignored at runtime since Mac OS X 10.4.0. This option is obsolete.

-prebind_all_twolevel_modules
    Multi-modules in dynamic libraries have been ignored at runtime since Mac OS X 10.4.0. This option is obsolete.

-prebind_allow_overlap
    When using -prebind, the linker allows overlapping by default, so this option is obsolete.

-noprebind
    LD_PREBIND is no longer supported as a way to force on prebinding, so there no longer needs to be a command line way to override LD_PREBIND. This option is obsolete.

-sect_diff_relocs treatment
    This option was an attempt to warn about linking .o files compiled without -mdynamic-no-pic into a main executable, but the false positive rate generated too much noise to make the option useful. This option is obsolete.

-run_init_lazily
    This option was removed in Mac OS X 10.2.

-single_module
    This is now the default so does not need to be specified.

-multi_module
    Multi-modules in dynamic libraries have been ignored at runtime since Mac OS X 10.4.0. This option is obsolete.

-no_dead_strip_inits_and_terms
    The linker never dead strips initialization and termination routines. They are considered "roots" of the dead strip graph.

-A basefile
    Obsolete incremental load format. This option is obsolete.

-b  Used with -A option to strip base file's symbols. This option is obsolete. Obsolete option to produce a load map. Use -map option instead.

-Sn Don't strip any symbols. This is the default. This option is obsolete.

-Si Optimize stabs debug symbols to remove duplicates. This is the default. This option is obsolete.

-Sp Write minimal stabs which causes the debugger to open and read the original .o file for full stabs. This style of debugging is obsolete in Mac OS X 10.5. This option is obsolete.

-X  Strip local symbols that begin with 'L'. This is the default. This option is obsolete.

-s  Completely strip the output, including removing the symbol table. This file format variant is no longer supported. This option is obsolete.

-m  Don't treat multiple definitions as an error. This is no longer supported. This option is obsolete.

-ysymbol
    Display each file in which symbol is used. This was previously used to debug where an undefined symbol was used, but the linker now automatically prints out all usages. The -why_live option can also be used to display what kept a symbol from being dead striped. This option is obsolete.

-Y number
    Used to control how many occurrences of each symbol specified with -y would be shown. This option is obsolete.

-nomultidefs
    Only used when linking an umbrella framework. Sets the MH_NOMULTIDEFS bit in the mach_header. The MH_NOMULTIDEFS bit has been obsolete since Mac OS X 10.4. This option is obsolete.

-multiply_defined_unused treatment
    Previously provided a way to warn or error if any of the symbol definitions in the output file matched any definitions in dynamic library being linked. This option is obsolete.

-multiply_defined treatment
    Previously provided a way to warn or error if any of the symbols used from a dynamic library were also available in another linked dynamic library. This option is obsolete.

-private_bundle
    Previously prevented errors when -flat_namespace, -bundle, and -bundle_loader were used and the bundle contained a definition that conflicted with a symbol in the main executable. The linker no longer errors on such conflicts. This option is obsolete.

-noall_load
    This is the default. This option is obsolete.

-seg_addr_table_filename path
    Use path instead of the install name of the library for matching an entry in the seg_addr_table. This option is obsolete.

-sectorder segname sectname orderfile
    Replaced by more general -order_file option.

-sectorder_detail
    Produced extra logging about which entries from a sectorder entries were used. Replaced by -order_file_statistics. This option is obsolete.

-lazy_framework name[,suffix]
    This is the same as the -framework name[,suffix] except that the linker will construct glue code so that the framework is not loaded until the first function in it is called. You cannot directly access data or Objective-C classes in a framework linked this way. This option is deprecated.

-lazy-lx
    This is the same as the -lx but it is only for shared libraries and the linker will construct glue code so that the shared library is not loaded until the first function in it is called. This option is deprecated.

-lazy_library path_to_library
    This is the same as listing a file name path to a shared library on the link line except that the linker will construct glue code so that the shared library is not loaded until the first function in it is called. This option is deprecated.

SEE ALSO
as(1), ar(1), cc(1), nm(1), otool(1) lipo(1), arch(3), dyld(3), Mach-O(5), strip(1), rebase(1)