ELF Inspector
100% local, zero upload. This free tool parses the structure of an ELF binary
(Executable and Linkable Format) right here in your browser tab. The file is read with the
standard File API and dissected by a small vanilla-JavaScript parser — it is never sent anywhere:
no network request carries your file, and no account, upload or server is involved.
It shows the same structural metadata you would get from readelf -h -l -S: ELF header
fields, program headers and section headers. For lawful use only — analyze only software
you own or are licensed to inspect, as in our first legal target lesson
and the lab workflow behind the evidence dataset.
Drop an ELF file here or
waiting for a file — it never leaves this tab
ELF Header
Program Headers ()
Section Headers ()
Only structural metadata is parsed and shown — layout, types, flags, offsets and sizes —
the same scope as readelf in our pwntools-elf lab.
No content is modified, extracted or transmitted.
Why a browser-only ELF tool?
Most online ELF analyzers upload your binary to a server. That is a non-starter for proprietary or licensed software — and unnecessary: the ELF format is a fixed, public structure (System V ABI) that a few hundred lines of JavaScript can walk locally. This page is the same discipline we teach in the beginners track: understand the format, inspect it on targets you are allowed to inspect.
Reading the output
- Class / endianness — ELF32 vs ELF64, little vs big endian; decides how the rest of the table is read.
- Type — REL (object file), EXEC (static executable), DYN (shared object / PIE), CORE (core dump).
- Machine — the target ISA (x86-64, ARM, RISC-V …).
- Entry point — where the loader jumps first; lesson 3 uses it as an anchor constant.
- Program headers — the segments the OS loader maps into memory (LOAD, DYNAMIC, …).
- Section headers — how the linker and tools like
readelfsee the file (.text, .data, .symtab …).
realearn is an independent educational site. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the authors of pwntools, readelf, binutils or any tool mentioned on this page. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.