diff --git a/repos/base-okl4/src/kernel/okl4/target.mk b/repos/base-okl4/src/kernel/okl4/target.mk
index ec5cc13c5..f971c7c2a 100644
--- a/repos/base-okl4/src/kernel/okl4/target.mk
+++ b/repos/base-okl4/src/kernel/okl4/target.mk
@@ -2,10 +2,17 @@ TARGET = okl4
 LIBS   = kernel-okl4
 SRC_C  = dummy.c
 
+#
+# Prevent the kernel binary from being stripped. Otherwise, elfweaver would
+# complain with the following error:
+#
+# Error: Symbol "tcb_size" not found in kernel ELF file.  Needed for XIP support.
+#
+STRIP_TARGET_CMD = cp -f $< $@
+
 LD_TEXT_ADDR    := 0xf0100000
 LD_SCRIPT_STATIC = $(REP_DIR)/contrib/generated/x86/linker.ld
 
 $(TARGET): dummy.c
-
 dummy.c:
 	@touch $@
diff --git a/repos/base/mk/dep_lib.mk b/repos/base/mk/dep_lib.mk
index 12a3aa8ac..b3c980c90 100644
--- a/repos/base/mk/dep_lib.mk
+++ b/repos/base/mk/dep_lib.mk
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 #   LIB_PROGRESS_LOG - library build log file
 #   BUILD_LIBS       - list of libraries to build (without .lib.a or .lib.so suffix)
 #   INSTALL_DIR      - destination directory for installing shared libraries
+#   DEBUG_DIR        - destination directory for installing unstripped shared libraries
 #
 
 ACCUMULATE_MISSING_PORTS = 1
@@ -137,7 +138,8 @@ endif
 	  echo "	     SHARED_LIBS=\"\$$(sort \$$(DEP_SO_$(LIB)))\" \\"; \
 	  echo "	     BUILD_BASE_DIR=$(BUILD_BASE_DIR) \\"; \
 	  echo "	     SHELL=$(SHELL) \\"; \
-	  echo "	     INSTALL_DIR=\$$(INSTALL_DIR)"; \
+	  echo "	     INSTALL_DIR=\$$(INSTALL_DIR) \\"; \
+	  echo "	     DEBUG_DIR=\$$(DEBUG_DIR)"; \
 	  echo "") >> $(LIB_DEP_FILE)
 ifdef SHARED_LIB
 	@(echo "SO_NAME($(LIB)) := $(LIB).lib.so"; \
diff --git a/repos/base/mk/dep_prg.mk b/repos/base/mk/dep_prg.mk
index 8a56b8e24..da81f5109 100644
--- a/repos/base/mk/dep_prg.mk
+++ b/repos/base/mk/dep_prg.mk
@@ -70,7 +70,8 @@ endif
 	  echo "	     ARCHIVES=\"\$$(sort \$$(DEP_A_$(TARGET).prg))\" \\"; \
 	  echo "	     SHARED_LIBS=\"\$$(sort \$$(DEP_SO_$(TARGET).prg))\" \\"; \
 	  echo "	     SHELL=$(SHELL) \\"; \
-	  echo "	     INSTALL_DIR=\"\$$(INSTALL_DIR)\""; \
+	  echo "	     INSTALL_DIR=\"\$$(INSTALL_DIR)\" \\"; \
+	  echo "	     DEBUG_DIR=\"\$$(DEBUG_DIR)\""; \
 	  echo "") >> $(LIB_DEP_FILE)
 #
 # Make 'all' depend on the target, which triggers the building of the target
diff --git a/repos/base/mk/global.mk b/repos/base/mk/global.mk
index 690a9c469..3ce8cff20 100644
--- a/repos/base/mk/global.mk
+++ b/repos/base/mk/global.mk
@@ -187,8 +187,6 @@ ALL_INC_DIR += $(foreach REP,$(REPOSITORIES),$(REP)/include)
 ALL_INC_DIR += $(LIBGCC_INC_DIR)
 ALL_INC_DIR += $(HOST_INC_DIR)
 
-INSTALL_DIR ?=
-
 VERBOSE     ?= @
 VERBOSE_DIR ?= --no-print-directory
 
diff --git a/repos/base/mk/lib.mk b/repos/base/mk/lib.mk
index d6528809c..6b2d476b4 100644
--- a/repos/base/mk/lib.mk
+++ b/repos/base/mk/lib.mk
@@ -10,7 +10,8 @@
 ##   VERBOSE_MK       - verboseness of make calls
 ##   BUILD_BASE_DIR   - base of build directory tree
 ##   LIB_CACHE_DIR    - library build cache location
-##   INSTALL_DIR      - program target build directory
+##   INSTALL_DIR      - installation directory for stripped shared objects
+##   DEBUG_DIR        - installation directory for unstripped shared objects
 ##   SHARED_LIBS      - shared-library dependencies of the library
 ##   ARCHIVES         - archive dependencies of the library
 ##   REP_DIR          - repository where the library resides
@@ -131,6 +132,7 @@ ifdef SHARED_LIB
  ifneq ($(sort $(OBJECTS) $(LIBS)),)
   LIB_SO     := $(addsuffix .lib.so,$(LIB))
   INSTALL_SO := $(INSTALL_DIR)/$(LIB_SO)
+  DEBUG_SO   := $(DEBUG_DIR)/$(LIB_SO)
  endif
 else
 LIB_A := $(addsuffix .lib.a,$(LIB))
@@ -151,7 +153,7 @@ all: $(LIB_TAG)
 #
 $(LIB_TAG) $(OBJECTS): $(HOST_TOOLS)
 
-$(LIB_TAG): $(LIB_A) $(LIB_SO) $(ABI_SO) $(INSTALL_SO)
+$(LIB_TAG): $(LIB_A) $(LIB_SO) $(ABI_SO) $(INSTALL_SO) $(DEBUG_SO)
 	@touch $@
 
 #
@@ -246,6 +248,11 @@ $(ABI_SO): $(LIB).symbols.o
 	                $(LIB_SO_DEPS) $< \
 	                --end-group --no-whole-archive
 
-$(INSTALL_SO):
-	$(VERBOSE)ln -sf $(CURDIR)/$(LIB_SO) $@
+$(LIB_SO).stripped: $(LIB_SO)
+	$(VERBOSE)$(STRIP) -o $@ $<
 
+$(DEBUG_SO): $(LIB_SO)
+	$(VERBOSE)ln -sf $(CURDIR)/$< $@
+
+$(INSTALL_SO): $(LIB_SO).stripped
+	$(VERBOSE)ln -sf $(CURDIR)/$< $@
diff --git a/repos/base/mk/prg.mk b/repos/base/mk/prg.mk
index 9948b9abd..9293ea2b6 100644
--- a/repos/base/mk/prg.mk
+++ b/repos/base/mk/prg.mk
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@
 ##   REP_DIR          - source repository of the program
 ##   PRG_REL_DIR      - directory of the program relative to 'src/'
 ##   REPOSITORIES     - repositories providing libs and headers
-##   INSTALL_DIR      - final install location
+##   INSTALL_DIR      - installation directory for stripped executables
+##   DEBUG_DIR        - installation directory for unstripped executables
 ##   VERBOSE          - build verboseness modifier
 ##   VERBOSE_DIR      - verboseness modifier for changing directories
 ##   VERBOSE_MK       - verboseness of make calls
@@ -67,11 +68,15 @@ LD_SCRIPT_STATIC ?= $(BASE_DIR)/src/ld/genode.ld
 include $(BASE_DIR)/mk/generic.mk
 include $(BASE_DIR)/mk/base-libs.mk
 
-ifeq ($(INSTALL_DIR),)
 all: message $(TARGET)
-else
-all: message $(INSTALL_DIR)/$(TARGET)
+
+ifneq ($(INSTALL_DIR),)
+ifneq ($(DEBUG_DIR),)
+all: message $(INSTALL_DIR)/$(TARGET) $(DEBUG_DIR)/$(TARGET)
 endif
+endif
+
+all:
 	@true # prevent nothing-to-be-done message
 
 .PHONY: message
@@ -174,16 +179,29 @@ $(TARGET): $(LINK_ITEMS) $(wildcard $(LD_SCRIPTS)) $(LIB_SO_DEPS)
 	$(MSG_LINK)$(TARGET)
 	$(VERBOSE)libs=$(LIB_CACHE_DIR); $(LD_CMD) -o $@
 
-$(INSTALL_DIR)/$(TARGET): $(TARGET)
-	$(VERBOSE)ln -sf $(CURDIR)/$(TARGET) $@
+STRIP_TARGET_CMD ?= $(STRIP) -o $@ $<
+
+$(TARGET).stripped: $(TARGET)
+	$(VERBOSE)$(STRIP_TARGET_CMD)
+
+$(INSTALL_DIR)/$(TARGET): $(TARGET).stripped
+	$(VERBOSE)ln -sf $(CURDIR)/$< $@
+
+ifneq ($(DEBUG_DIR),)
+$(DEBUG_DIR)/$(TARGET): $(TARGET)
+	$(VERBOSE)ln -sf $(CURDIR)/$< $@
+endif
+
 else
 $(TARGET):
 $(INSTALL_DIR)/$(TARGET): $(TARGET)
+$(DEBUG_DIR)/$(TARGET): $(TARGET)
 endif
 
+
 clean_prg_objects:
 	$(MSG_CLEAN)$(PRG_REL_DIR)
-	$(VERBOSE)$(RM) -f $(OBJECTS) $(OBJECTS:.o=.d) $(TARGET)
+	$(VERBOSE)$(RM) -f $(OBJECTS) $(OBJECTS:.o=.d) $(TARGET) $(TARGET).stripped
 	$(VERBOSE)$(RM) -f *.d *.i *.ii *.s *.ali *.lib.so
 
 clean: clean_prg_objects
diff --git a/repos/base/src/core/target.inc b/repos/base/src/core/target.inc
index b0ce6b010..167aaa22a 100644
--- a/repos/base/src/core/target.inc
+++ b/repos/base/src/core/target.inc
@@ -1,12 +1,27 @@
 TARGET    = core
 CORE_OBJ ?= core.o
 
-$(TARGET): $(CORE_OBJ)
-	$(VERBOSE)ln -sf $(CURDIR)/$(CORE_OBJ) $(INSTALL_DIR)/$(CORE_OBJ)
+$(TARGET):
+	@true
+
+ifneq ($(INSTALL_DIR),)
+ifneq ($(DEBUG_DIR),)
+$(TARGET): $(INSTALL_DIR)/$(CORE_OBJ) $(DEBUG_DIR)/$(CORE_OBJ)
+
+$(CORE_OBJ).stripped: $(CORE_OBJ)
+	$(VERBOSE)$(STRIP) --strip-debug -o $@ $<
+
+$(INSTALL_DIR)/$(CORE_OBJ) : $(CORE_OBJ).stripped
+	$(VERBOSE)ln -sf $(CURDIR)/$< $(INSTALL_DIR)/$(CORE_OBJ)
+
+$(DEBUG_DIR)/$(CORE_OBJ) : $(CORE_OBJ)
+	$(VERBOSE)ln -sf $(CURDIR)/$< $(DEBUG_DIR)/$(CORE_OBJ)
+endif
+endif
 
 .PHONY: $(CORE_OBJ)
 $(CORE_OBJ):
 	$(VERBOSE)$(LD) $(LD_MARCH) -u _start --whole-archive -r $(LINK_ITEMS) $(LIBCXX_GCC) -o $@
 
 clean cleanall:
-	$(VERBOSE)rm -f $(CORE_OBJ)
+	$(VERBOSE)rm -f $(CORE_OBJ) $(CORE_OBJ).stripped
diff --git a/tool/builddir/build.mk b/tool/builddir/build.mk
index a3f3854f8..50591b357 100644
--- a/tool/builddir/build.mk
+++ b/tool/builddir/build.mk
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@
 -include etc/build.conf
 
 BUILD_BASE_DIR := $(CURDIR)
+DEBUG_DIR      := $(CURDIR)/debug
 INSTALL_DIR    := $(CURDIR)/bin
 
 export BASE_DIR         ?= ../base
@@ -169,6 +170,7 @@ init_libdep_file: $(dir $(LIB_DEP_FILE))
 	  echo "VERBOSE_MK   ?= $(VERBOSE_MK)"; \
 	  echo "VERBOSE_DIR  ?= $(VERBOSE_DIR)"; \
 	  echo "INSTALL_DIR  ?= $(INSTALL_DIR)"; \
+	  echo "DEBUG_DIR    ?= $(DEBUG_DIR)"; \
 	  echo "SHELL        ?= $(SHELL)"; \
 	  echo "MKDIR        ?= mkdir"; \
 	  echo ""; \
@@ -262,11 +264,11 @@ endif
 ## Second stage: build targets based on the result of the first stage
 ##
 
-$(INSTALL_DIR):
+$(INSTALL_DIR) $(DEBUG_DIR):
 	$(VERBOSE)mkdir -p $@
 
 .PHONY: gen_deps_and_build_targets
-gen_deps_and_build_targets: $(INSTALL_DIR) $(LIB_DEP_FILE)
+gen_deps_and_build_targets: $(INSTALL_DIR) $(DEBUG_DIR) $(LIB_DEP_FILE)
 	@(echo ""; \
 	  echo "ifneq (\$$(MISSING_PORTS),)"; \
 	  echo "check_ports:"; \
@@ -285,7 +287,7 @@ gen_deps_and_build_targets: $(INSTALL_DIR) $(LIB_DEP_FILE)
 	@$(VERBOSE_MK)$(MAKE) $(VERBOSE_DIR) -f $(LIB_DEP_FILE) all
 
 .PHONY: again
-again: $(INSTALL_DIR)
+again: $(INSTALL_DIR) $(DEBUG_DIR)
 	@$(VERBOSE_MK)$(MAKE) $(VERBOSE_DIR) -f $(LIB_DEP_FILE) all
 
 ##
@@ -352,7 +354,10 @@ clean_gen_files:
 clean_install_dir:
 	$(VERBOSE)(test -d $(INSTALL_DIR) && find $(INSTALL_DIR) -type l -not -readable -delete) || true
 
-clean_empty_dirs: clean_targets clean_libcache clean_run clean_gen_files clean_install_dir
+clean_debug_dir:
+	$(VERBOSE)(test -d $(DEBUG_DIR) && find $(DEBUG_DIR) -type l -not -readable -delete) || true
+
+clean_empty_dirs: clean_targets clean_libcache clean_run clean_gen_files clean_install_dir clean_debug_dir
 	$(VERBOSE)$(GNU_FIND) . -depth -type d -empty -delete
 
 clean cleanall: clean_empty_dirs