DEBUGINFOD server
This server provides ELF or DWARF debugging information, plus associated source code, covering all packages and architectures of recent versions of Fedora. It works by periodically indexing all relevant RPMs from Koji, and extracting any needed file on the fly. Debugger-type tools automatically request files one by one. After being downloaded, each file is stored in a cache under your home directory, where the tools can immediately use it.
Configuration
On Fedora 32 or later, set an environment variable.
% export DEBUGINFOD_URLS=https://debuginfod.fedoraproject.org/
On Fedora 35 (rawhide) or later, this environment variable is automatically set via /etc/profile.d/debuginfod.* files.
If you operate your own debuginfod server for local projects, add its URL to $DEBUGINFOD_URLS (space-separated). If you'd like to see progress diagnostics during downloads, set:
% export DEBUGINFOD_PROGRESS=1
If you want to see exactly which network requests are being made and which cached files are used you can also set $DEBUGINFOD_VERBOSE (warning: very verbose):
% export DEBUGINFOD_VERBOSE=1
Then, enjoy using gdb, stap, perf, eu-stack, and many other debugging-related tools without the interruption of % sudo yum debuginfo-install XYZZY.
Disabling
If you wish to completely opt out of this service, clear $DEBUGINFOD_URLS. You can do this in your .bashrc file, depending on shell.
unset DEBUGINFOD_URLS
If you have a local debuginfod cache that you'd like to use, but don't want to attempt any upstream debuginfod queries, set $DEBUGINFOD_URLS to something non-empty but ineffective, such as /dev/null.
Clients automatically clean the cache of files not accessed in a while. You may also remove the debuginfod cache directory $HOME/.cache/debuginfod_client at any time.
Security FAQ
(tbd)
See Also
For more information see elfutils status page and Changes/DebuginfodByDefault.