This tool serves no practical purpose under ordinary circumstances. But it becomes a lifesaver when this accidentally happens:
rm -rf /lib/ x86_64-linux-gnu/libfancy.so
Oops. An extra space caused the command to wipe /lib. Restoring the contents of the directory from a backup may be possible but suddenly none of the standard Unix utilities work:
# mkdir /something
mkdir: error while loading shared libraries: libc.so.6
# vi something.txt
vi: error while loading shared libraries: libc.so.6
How do we fix this mess? If you installed escapefromlibc, you can breathe a sigh of relief. This handly little utility provides enough functionality to get you back on your feet.
# elc wget 'http://backup_server/bkp.tar.gz'
# elc tar xf bkp.tar.gz
# elc cp bkp/libc.so.6 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu
escapefromlibc accomplishes all of this without a dependency on libc. It uses kernel syscalls directly to work its magic and restore your system to working order.
Build elc is as simple as:
make