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Support configurable archive flags for output-format: lib #541
Description
Summary
Please consider adding a way to configure archive (ar) flags for projects using output-format: lib.
At the moment, the ARM GCC model appears to route output-format: lib to the linker-lib tool, whose command template is fixed as:
"linker-lib": {
"$path": "bin/${toolPrefix}ar",
"$output": "-rcv ${out} ${in}",
"$outputSuffix": ".a"
}Because this command is model-defined, the existing Linker UI fields such as "Other Linker Options" / "Lib Flags" do not seem to provide a way to pass archive-specific flags such as GNU ar's D modifier.
Use case: reproducible library builds
For GNU ar, deterministic archives can be produced with D, for example:
arm-none-eabi-ar rcvD libfoo.a foo.o bar.o
# or rcsD if the symbol index should be created in the same stepWithout D, repeated clean rebuilds of the same library project can produce .a files with different SHA-256 values, even when the object files themselves are unchanged. arm-none-eabi-ar tv shows archive member timestamps being set to the current build time.
This makes it difficult to use artifact SHA-256 values as provenance/reproducibility checks in CI.
Reproduction outline
- Create or open an ARM GCC project.
- Set Linker -> Output Format to
LIB. - Rebuild the project twice from unchanged source.
- Compare the SHA-256 of the generated
.afile. - Inspect the archive metadata:
arm-none-eabi-ar tv build/<target>/*.aObserved behavior: archive member timestamps change between rebuilds, so the .a SHA changes. Individual .o files remain stable.
Suggested behavior
A project-level option for archive flags would make this configurable without changing behavior for existing users. For example:
- Add an "Archive Flags" / "AR Flags" option for
output-format: lib. - Keep the current default compatible with existing behavior, e.g.
-rcv. - Allow users to set
-rcvDor-rcsDfor deterministic archives.
Another possible approach is to make the linker-lib.$output template overridable per project/toolchain configuration.
Environment where this was observed
- EIDE: 3.27.0
- Toolchain: xPack GNU Arm Embedded GCC 15.2.1
- GNU ar / binutils: 2.45.1
- Platform: Windows
Thanks.
Activity
gaoguobin commentedon Jun 3, 2026
Additional local evidence and a broader configuration request:
I checked the generated
builder.paramsfrom a real ARM GCC library project. Sanitized paths below:{ "toolchain": "GCC", "toolchainLocation": "<user-home>/.eide/tools/xpack-arm-none-eabi-gcc-15.2.1-1.1", "toolchainCfgFile": "<user-home>/.vscode/extensions/cl.eide-3.27.0/res/data/models/arm.gcc.model.json", "options": { "global": { "toolPrefix": "arm-none-eabi-" }, "linker": { "output-format": "lib", "$use": "linker-lib" } } }The selected model then resolves
linker-libas:So for this project the actual archive tool is:
with:
The deterministic archive flag
Dis only one concrete use case. Ideally this should not be limited to a dedicated deterministic-only checkbox. A more flexible solution would be to let projects configure the archive tool command/options more generally, for example:AR Flags/Archive Flagsforoutput-format: lib;linker-lib.$outputtemplate at project/toolchain level;-rcv ${out} ${in}for backward compatibility;-rcvD ${out} ${in},-rcsD ${out} ${in},--thin,--plugin,--target,--record-libdeps, etc. when their toolchain supports them.That would solve reproducible archive builds without blocking other valid GNU
aroptions that may be needed later.github0null commentedon Jun 3, 2026
后面会进行改进的。
就目前而言，更好的替代方法是使用 lib 生成器，它作为 post-build 任务执行，因此可以在生成 elf 的同时也一并生成 lib, 可以一次生成多个 lib, 也支持 ar 参数的自定义 和 ar 路径自定义
gaoguobin commentedon Jun 8, 2026
感谢建议，我这边按照
lib 生成器的方式测试了一下。这个方案确实可以传自定义
ar参数，比如-rcvD，也能生成 deterministic archive。对需要在生成 ELF 后额外打包一个或多个 lib 的场景来说，这个功能很有用。不过在纯
output-format: lib工程里，用起来会有一点不太顺手。因为这类工程本身已经会在正常构建流程里生成主.a产物；启用lib 生成器后，post-build 又会在.lib/目录下再生成一个.a。这样最终会有两份库文件：output-format: lib生成的主.a；lib 生成器生成的.lib/*.a。我也简单对比了一下这两份
.a。解包后的.o成员内容是一致的，但 archive 文件本身不只是 timestamp 不同；成员顺序和 archive metadata 也可能不同。因此.lib/*.a不太适合作为主输出.a的 SHA 等价替代品。所以对纯 lib 工程来说，如果后续方便的话，还是希望能在正常
output-format: lib路径上支持可配置 archive flags。这样可以保持原来的输出路径、文件名和构建流程，只把linker-lib使用的ar参数从：配置为类似：
这样就不需要额外生成第二份
.a，也能保持现有 EIDE lib 输出流程不变。