feat(cmake): Add debug symbol stripping for MinGW Release builds (#2067)

Implement complete debug symbol separation for MinGW-w64 Release builds,
matching MSVC PDB workflow. Debug symbols are now generated with -g and
then stripped to separate .debug files post-build.

Changes:
- cmake/debug_strip.cmake: New module with add_debug_strip_target() function
  - Automatically finds toolchain objcopy and strip tools
  - Three-step process: extract symbols, strip exe, add debug link
  - Only applies to Release builds (Debug keeps embedded symbols)
- cmake/compilers.cmake: Enable -g for all Release builds
  - Removed MinGW exception that was skipping debug symbols
  - Added comment explaining stripping workflow
- CMakeLists.txt: Include debug_strip.cmake module
- Generals/Code/Main/CMakeLists.txt: Apply stripping to g_generals
- GeneralsMD/Code/Main/CMakeLists.txt: Apply stripping to z_generals

Result files (Release):
- generalsv.exe (12 MB, stripped) + generalsv.exe.debug (231 MB, symbols)
- generalszh.exe (13 MB, stripped) + generalszh.exe.debug (250 MB, symbols)

Benefits:
- Crash dump analysis support (crashpad, breakpad)
- Post-mortem debugging with full symbols
- Performance profiling of optimized code
- Parity with MSVC (exe + pdb workflow)
- Smaller shipped binaries (symbols separate)

Debug builds keep symbols embedded for development convenience.

Tools used: GNU Binutils objcopy and strip

Author: JohnsterID

CMakeLists.txt

@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@ project(genzh LANGUAGES C CXX)
 # This file handles extra settings wanted/needed for different compilers.
 include(cmake/compilers.cmake)
 
+# Debug symbol stripping for Release builds (MinGW)
+include(cmake/debug_strip.cmake)
+
 include(FetchContent)
 
 # MinGW-w64 specific configuration

Generals/Code/Main/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -85,3 +85,9 @@ if(MSVC)
         RTS.RC
     )
 endif()
+
+# Strip debug symbols to separate file for MinGW Release builds
+# This creates generalsv.exe.debug (similar to MSVC .pdb files)
+if(MINGW AND COMMAND add_debug_strip_target)
+    add_debug_strip_target(g_generals)
+endif()

GeneralsMD/Code/Main/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -74,3 +74,9 @@ if(MSVC)
         RTS.RC
     )
 endif()
+
+# Strip debug symbols to separate file for MinGW Release builds
+# This creates generalszh.exe.debug (similar to MSVC .pdb files)
+if(MINGW AND COMMAND add_debug_strip_target)
+    add_debug_strip_target(z_generals)
+endif()

cmake/compilers.cmake

@@ -34,11 +34,10 @@ if(MSVC)
     add_link_options("/INCREMENTAL:NO")
 else()
     # We go a bit wild here and assume any other compiler we are going to use supports -g for debug info.
-    # For MinGW, skip adding -g to Release builds
-    if(NOT (MINGW AND CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "Release"))
-        string(APPEND CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE " -g")
-        string(APPEND CMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELEASE " -g")
-    endif()
+    # Add debug symbols to Release builds for crash dump analysis, profiling, and post-mortem debugging.
+    # For MinGW, symbols will be stripped to separate .debug files (matching MSVC PDB workflow).
+    string(APPEND CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE " -g")
+    string(APPEND CMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELEASE " -g")
 endif()
 
 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)

cmake/debug_strip.cmake

@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+# TheSuperHackers @build JohnsterID 05/01/2026 Add debug symbol stripping for MinGW Release builds
+# Debug Symbol Stripping for MinGW-w64 Release Builds
+#
+# Separates debug symbols from executables into .debug files, matching MSVC PDB workflow.
+# This reduces shipped binary size while preserving symbols for crash analysis.
+
+# Find the required tools for symbol stripping
+if(MINGW)
+    # Use the cross-compiler toolchain's objcopy and strip
+    # These should be in the same directory as the compiler
+    get_filename_component(COMPILER_DIR ${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER} DIRECTORY)
+    
+    find_program(MINGW_OBJCOPY
+        NAMES ${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_TARGET}-objcopy
+              ${CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR}-w64-mingw32-objcopy
+              objcopy
+        HINTS ${COMPILER_DIR}
+        DOC "MinGW objcopy tool for extracting debug symbols"
+    )
+    
+    find_program(MINGW_STRIP
+        NAMES ${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_TARGET}-strip
+              ${CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR}-w64-mingw32-strip
+              strip
+        HINTS ${COMPILER_DIR}
+        DOC "MinGW strip tool for removing debug symbols"
+    )
+    
+    if(MINGW_OBJCOPY AND MINGW_STRIP)
+        message(STATUS "Debug symbol stripping enabled:")
+        message(STATUS "  objcopy: ${MINGW_OBJCOPY}")
+        message(STATUS "  strip:   ${MINGW_STRIP}")
+        set(DEBUG_STRIP_AVAILABLE TRUE)
+    else()
+        message(WARNING "Debug symbol stripping not available - tools not found")
+        if(NOT MINGW_OBJCOPY)
+            message(WARNING "  objcopy not found")
+        endif()
+        if(NOT MINGW_STRIP)
+            message(WARNING "  strip not found")
+        endif()
+        set(DEBUG_STRIP_AVAILABLE FALSE)
+    endif()
+    
+    # Function to strip debug symbols from a target and create a separate .debug file
+    #
+    # This implements a three-step process:
+    # 1. Extract debug symbols to separate file
+    # 2. Strip debug symbols from main executable
+    # 3. Add debug link so debuggers can find the symbols
+    #
+    # Usage:
+    #   add_debug_strip_target(target_name)
+    #
+    # Result (for Release builds only):
+    #   program.exe        - Stripped executable (smaller)
+    #   program.exe.debug  - Debug symbols (can be distributed separately)
+    #
+    function(add_debug_strip_target target_name)
+        if(NOT DEBUG_STRIP_AVAILABLE)
+            return()
+        endif()
+        
+        # Only strip Release builds
+        # Debug builds keep symbols embedded for development convenience
+        if(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "Release")
+            add_custom_command(TARGET ${target_name} POST_BUILD
+                # Step 1: Extract all debug sections to separate file
+                COMMAND ${MINGW_OBJCOPY} 
+                    --only-keep-debug
+                    $<TARGET_FILE:${target_name}>
+                    $<TARGET_FILE:${target_name}>.debug
+                
+                # Step 2: Strip debug sections from executable
+                COMMAND ${MINGW_STRIP}
+                    --strip-debug
+                    --strip-unneeded
+                    $<TARGET_FILE:${target_name}>
+                
+                # Step 3: Add GNU debug link (debuggers use this to find symbols)
+                COMMAND ${MINGW_OBJCOPY}
+                    --add-gnu-debuglink=$<TARGET_FILE:${target_name}>.debug
+                    $<TARGET_FILE:${target_name}>
+                
+                COMMENT "Stripping debug symbols from ${target_name} (Release)"
+                VERBATIM
+            )
+            
+            message(STATUS "Debug symbol stripping configured for target: ${target_name}")
+        endif()
+    endfunction()
+endif()