---
name: "elf_getshdrnum"
section: "3"
platform: "linux"
package: "libelf"
version: "0.197-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux", "freebsd"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/elf_getshdrnum"
---

# elf\_getshdrnum(3)

retrieve the number of section headers in an ELF file

## NAME

elf\_getshdrnum, elf\_getshnum - retrieve the number of section headers in an ELF file

## SYNOPSIS

```
#include <libelf.h>
int elf_getshdrnum("Elf *elf", size_t *dst );
int elf_getshnum("Elf *elf", size_t *dst ); (deprecated)
```

## DESCRIPTION

The **elf\_getshdrnum**() function stores the number of section headers (sections) associated with the ELF descriptor *elf* into the variable pointed to by *dst*.

It transparently handles both standard and extended section header counts. If the number of section headers exceeds the representable range of the *e\_shnum* field in the ELF header, the ELF specification allows encoding the true count in section header 0’s *sh\_size* field, and sets *e\_shnum* to 0. This function transparently handles that case.

The function **elf\_getshnum**() is a deprecated alias for **elf\_getshdrnum**() and should not be used in new code (see HISTORY).

## PARAMETERS

- *elf*

  A pointer to an **Elf** descriptor opened with [**elf\_begin**(3)](/elf_begin/3.md). The descriptor must represent a file of kind **ELF\_K\_ELF .** If NULL, the function returns -1 without setting elf\_errno.

- *dst*

  Pointer to a **size\_t** variable. On success, the number of section headers is written here. Must not be NULL.

## RETURN VALUE

Returns 0 on success and stores the result in *dst*. Returns -1 on failure.

## SEE ALSO

[**elf32\_getshdr**(3)](/elf32_getshdr/3.md), [**elf64\_getshdr**(3)](/elf64_getshdr/3.md), [**libelf**(3)](/libelf/3.md), [**elf**(5)](/elf/5.md)

## ATTRIBUTES

| | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Interface** | **Attribute** | **Value** |
| **elf\_getshdrnum**(), elf\_getshnum() | Thread safety | MT-Safe |

## REPORTING BUGS

Report bugs to \<elfutils-devel@sourceware.org\> or https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/.

## HISTORY

**elf\_getshdrnum** first appeared in elfutils 0.142.  This function was added due to elf\_getshnum return value inconsistencies between different libelf implementations. **elf\_getshdrnum** was introduced to ensure that 0 is returned on success across all libelf implementations.