--- documentID: "b2bdbcdf4d3e225feb7736c9f519912601c61438f3419a6affa874db012cd09d" docname: "extended/intro" title: "What is LIEF Extended? - LIEF Documentation" description: "LIEF Extended features, install Python wheels or C++ and Rust SDKs, verify your build, and find guides for debug information, assembly, Apple metadata, and…" canonical: "https://lief.re/doc/latest/extended/intro.html" markdownURL: "https://lief.re/doc/latest/extended/intro.md" documentationVersion: "2.0.0" documentationChannel: "latest" language: "en" contentHash: "8f6aa4ffd2bd1c78a1954623ef68629bf6b08d3e64f73c10dc18d3828eb082ca" --- # [What is LIEF Extended?]() ## [Introduction]() *LIEF Extended* is an enhanced version of LIEF, providing additional features such as support for the Dyld shared cache, Objective-C metadata, PDB, and DWARF. While the main version of LIEF focuses on providing support for ELF, PE, and Mach-O, LIEF Extended aims to provide functionality that was not originally intended for integration into the core LIEF project. You can find the differences between the two versions in this table: | Module | Regular Version | Extended Version | Note | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [ELF]() | | | | | [PE]() | | | | | [Mach-O]() | | | | | [COFF]() | | | | | [DEX]() | | | | | [OAT]() | | | | | [VDEX]() | | | | | [ART]() | | | | | [Runtime]() | | | Only enabled in LIEF extended wheels | | [PDB]() | | | Support based on LLVM [[1]]() | | [DWARF]() | | | Support based on LLVM [[1]]() | | [ObjC]() | | | Support based on [romainthomas/iCDump]() | | [Dyld Shared Cache]() | | | | | [Disassembler]() | | | Support based on LLVM [[1]]() | | [Assembler]() | | | Support based on LLVM [[1]]() | ### [Get Access]() To access the extended version, you must **oauth-login** with **GitHub** here: [LIEF Extended]() To access the extended version, you must **oauth-login** with **GitHub** here: [https://extended.lief.re/](). Once logged in, you can download the package of your choice (e.g., LIEF Extended - Python 3.10 for macOS arm64). > **Email** > > If you don’t receive the download email, you can download the package directly from your **History** section. ## [Versioning]() LIEF Extended uses a slightly different versioning scheme than regular LIEF packages. First, **every extended package** is based on the current `main` branch of LIEF. If you need an (extended) build for a specific commit or tag, please contact extended@lief.re. In Python, you can check the commit of LIEF being used in the extended version with: ```bash # Make sure it's the extended version $ python -c "import lief;print(lief.__extended__)" # Print LIEF's main commit $ python -c "import lief;print(lief.__LIEF_MAIN_COMMIT__)" ``` With the C++/Rust SDK, you can call `lief.extended_version_info()` ( [`lief::extended_version_info`]() ; [`LIEF::extended_version_info()`]() ) to get details about the current version. Additional features exposed by LIEF Extended are not always represented in a public commit while still being git-versioned. An incremental build number is used to represent internal changes not associated with a public commit. For example, version `0.16.0.2380` includes 10 more commits than version `0.16.0.2370`. ## [Python Wheels]() Python packages are delivered as a wheel for the required platform/version (e.g., `lief_extended-0.16.0.post2370-cp312-cp312-win_amd64.whl`). You can install this wheel using pip in one of the following ways: ```console $ venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install C:\Users\tmp\lief_extended-0.16.0.post2370-cp312-cp312-win_amd64.whl ``` Or ```console $ venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install --find-links C:\Users\tmp\ lief_extended ``` You can verify that LIEF Extended is correctly installed with: ```console $ python -c "import lief;print(lief.__extended__)" True ``` ## [C++ SDK]() The C++ SDK is delivered as a `.zip/.tar.gz` archive containing: - A compiled shared library (`libLIEF.so`, `LIEF.dll`, `libLIEF.dylib`) - Header files - CMake helper files Compared to the regular version, this SDK **does not** ship a static version of LIEF, and the shared library is compiled with all extended features. Here is the layout for the macOS arm64 SDK, for example: ```text LIEF-extended-sdk-0.16.0.2378-Darwin-arm64/ lib/libLIEF.dylib lib/cmake/LIEF/lief-extended-config-version.cmake include/[...] ``` ## [Rust SDK]() The Rust SDK is also delivered as a `.zip/.tar.gz` archive containing all the files needed for use with the `LIEF_RUST_PRECOMPILED` environment variable, as described in the [Rust]() section. Once the archive is extracted, you just have to set the `LIEF_RUST_PRECOMPILED` environment variable to the extracted path: ```console $ tar xzvf LIEF-extended-rust-0.16.0.2378-Linux-x86_64.tar.gz LIEF-extended-rust-0.16.0.2378-Linux-x86_64/lib/ LIEF-extended-rust-0.16.0.2378-Linux-x86_64/lib/libLIEF.so LIEF-extended-rust-0.16.0.2378-Linux-x86_64/lib/liblief-sys.a $ export LIEF_RUST_PRECOMPILED=$(pwd)/LIEF-extended-rust-0.16.0.2378-Linux-x86_64 ``` You can then use all the extended features in Rust: ```console $ cargo build my-lief-extended-project ``` ## [LIEF Extended & LLVM]() LIEF Extended relies on LLVM for certain features, such as the [disassembler]() and [DWARF]()/[PDB]() support. The LLVM version used by LIEF is based on the upstream version and integrated into LIEF Extended so that users do not have to handle LLVM compilation or integration. > **Note** > > LIEF is currently using LLVM 22.x. Whenever possible and appropriate, bug fixes and enhancements have been submitted as PRs to the LLVM project: - [llvm/llvm-project#119057]() - [llvm/llvm-project#119056]() - [llvm/llvm-project#116480]() - [llvm/llvm-project#116479]() - [llvm/llvm-project#97954]()