How To Install GDB on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install GDB on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. GDB, or the GNU Debugger, is a command-line debugger that allows developers to examine and control the execution of programs. It provides a wide range of features, including the ability to set breakpoints, step through code, and inspect variables. GDB is particularly useful for debugging complex programs, as it enables developers to gain insight into the program’s behavior at runtime.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the GDB (The GNU Project Debugger) on Ubuntu 22.04. You can follow the same instructions for Ubuntu 22.04 and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint, Elementary OS, Pop!_OS, and more as well.

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: Ubuntu 22.04, 20.04, and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint.
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• SSH access to the server (or just open Terminal if you’re on a desktop).
• An active internet connection. You’ll need an internet connection to download the necessary packages and dependencies for GDB.
• A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install GDB on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish

Step 1. First, make sure that all your system packages are up-to-date by running the following apt commands in the terminal.

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Step 2. Installing GDB on Ubuntu 22.04.

• Method 1: Installing GDB using apt

Installing GDB via the package manager is the easiest method. Run the following command:

sudo apt install gdb

Verify that GDB has been installed by running the following command:

gdb --version

• Method 2: Compiling GDB from the source

First, install the build-essential package, which contains the necessary tools for compiling software, by running the following command:

sudo apt install build-essential

Next, download the GDB source code from the official GNU website. You can use the following command to download the latest version:

wget https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gdb/gdb-14.2.tar.gz

Extract the source code by running the following command:

tar -xvf gdb-14.2.tar.gz

Change into the extracted directory by running the following command:

cd gdb-14.2

Configure the build by running the following command:

./configure

This will check your system for the necessary dependencies and generate a Makefile.

Compile the source code by running the following command:

make

This will compile the source code and create the GDB executable.

Install GDB by running the following command:

sudo make install

This will install GDB on your system.

Verify that GDB has been installed by running the following command:

gdb --version

This should display the version of GDB that has been installed on your system.

• Installing ARM-Specific GDB

If you’re working with embedded systems or ARM-based devices, you may need to install an ARM-specific version of GDB. Follow these steps to install the ARM toolchain and GDB:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:team-gcc-arm-embedded/ppa

Update the package list:

sudo apt update

Install the ARM toolchain:

sudo apt install gcc-arm-embedded

Verify the installation:

arm-none-eabi-gcc --version

Step 3. Getting Started with Basic GDB Usage.

GDB is most effective when you know how to use it. Here’s a quick example of debugging a simple C program:

Create a file named hello.c with the following code:

#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
int num = 5;
printf("Number: %d\n", num);
return 0;
}

Compile the program with debugging symbols:

gcc -g -o hello hello.c

Launch GDB:

gdb ./hello

Step 4. Troubleshooting Installation Errors.

Sometimes, you may encounter dependency errors while installing GDB. One common error is the “libc6-dev” dependency error. Here’s how to resolve it:

• Re-install Ubuntu and run the following command to check the policy:

sudo apt policy libc6 libc6-dev

• Update the package lists with sudo apt update and re-check the policy.
• After resolving the dependency issue, try installing GDB again using sudo apt install gdb.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed GDB. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing the GDB (The GNU Project Debugger) on the Ubuntu system. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official GDB website.