(I'm not on this list, so please keep me in cc if need be.) It seems that install-sh -s (what automake's install-strip target can end up doing) fails if the original file doesn't have the owner-write bit set:
cp /bin/cp /tmp/rx # any binary will do chmod 555 /tmp/rx # make unwritable to owner install-sh -s /tmp/rx /tmp/sx # try to install, with strip -> strip: unable to copy file '/tmp/_inst.31092_'; reason: Permission denied echo $? -> 1 Although install-sh (version 2018-03-11.20, lines 224ff.) does some stuff to ensure that umask will not clear an owner-writable bit in the destination, that's not enough to make it owner-writable if it's not already. The only less-than-wonderful fix I could come up with is to explicitly do chmod u+w if strip is being executed. I thought maybe it would be worth trying the strip even if the chmod failed, hence the ; instead of &&, but it's not something I feel strongly about. And maybe there is some nicer way to do it altogether. --- a/build-aux/install-sh +++ b/build-aux/install-sh @@ -461,7 +461,7 @@ do # { test -z "$chowncmd" || $doit $chowncmd "$dsttmp"; } && { test -z "$chgrpcmd" || $doit $chgrpcmd "$dsttmp"; } && - { test -z "$stripcmd" || $doit $stripcmd "$dsttmp"; } && + { test -z "$stripcmd" || ($doit $chmodcmd u+w "$dsttmp"; $doit $stripcmd "$dsttmp") } && { test -z "$chmodcmd" || $doit $chmodcmd $mode "$dsttmp"; } && # If -C, don't bother to copy if it wouldn't change the file. Wdyt? --thanks, karl.