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SO A
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Convert SO to A

Verified by Adam B.· reviewed by FE Editorial ·updated Jun 24, 2026
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Is it possible to convert SO to A?
Yes - SO converts to A.

Compile the source files to .o object files with GCC or Clang, then bundle them with ar rcs libfoo.a *.o. If the library ships a -dev package, install it with your package manager to get the prebuilt .a without building from source.

Also to A: O · LIB

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Tested on macOS, Windows & Linux
Last verified Oct 2026

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Why convert SO to A?

Developers replace a shared .so with a static .a to produce a self-contained binary that does not depend on the .so being present at run time - useful when deploying to machines where the library may not be installed. A .a is an ar-format archive of compiled object files, while a .so is a fully linked ELF shared object; both are built from the same source at different stages.

How to convert SO to A

ar (binutils) OPEN-SOURCE

Compile source files to object files (gcc -c -o foo.o foo.c), then run ar rcs libfoo.a *.o to bundle them into a static .a archive.

GCC / Clang OPEN-SOURCE

Run ./configure --enable-static && make in the library's source directory to build the .a alongside or instead of the .so.

apt / dnf / pacman FREE

Install the library's -dev or -static package (e.g., apt install libfoo-dev) to get the prebuilt .a without building from source; static archives are typically placed in /usr/lib/.

About these formats

.SO Shared Object (ELF shared library)

A .so file is a shared object library on Linux and Unix - the Linux equivalent of a Windows .dll. Programs load it automatically at run time; you never open it directly. If an app fails…

Open .SO details →
.A Unix/Linux Static Library (ar archive)

A .a file is a static library used on Unix, Linux, and macOS. It is an ar-format archive of compiled object files that the linker copies into your program at build time. You do not open it…

Open .A details →

Quality & what to watch

  • A .so uses position-independent code (compiled with -fPIC); mixing PIC object files into a .a linked into a non-PIE executable can sometimes cause linker warnings but usually works.
  • Version numbers in .so filenames (e.g., libssl.so.3.0.2) have no equivalent in .a - static libraries do not carry a SONAME.
  • If only the finished .so is available with no source or package, there is no binary converter - you must obtain or build the static library from source.

Frequently asked questions

Can I extract object files from a `.so` like I can from a `.a`?
Not in the general case. Object files are merged and modified during .so linking; ar x works on .a archives, not on .so files.
Why use a `.a` instead of a `.so`?
A statically linked binary includes the library code directly, so it runs on systems where the .so is not installed, which simplifies deployment to minimal or isolated environments.
Where does the static `.a` end up after installing a `-dev` package?
Typically in /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libfoo.a on Debian/Ubuntu, or the equivalent library path on other distributions.