diff --git a/src/arlib-argp.c b/src/arlib-argp.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1bdd8d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/arlib-argp.c
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+/* Options common to ar and ranlib.
+   Copyright (C) 2012 Red Hat, Inc.
+   This file is part of elfutils.
+
+   This file is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   elfutils is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+   WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.  */
+
+#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
+# include <config.h>
+#endif
+
+#include <argp.h>
+#include <libintl.h>
+
+#include "arlib.h"
+
+bool arlib_deterministic_output = DEFAULT_AR_DETERMINISTIC;
+
+static const struct argp_option options[] =
+  {
+    { NULL, 'D', NULL, 0,
+      N_("Use zero for uid, gid, and date in archive members."), 0 },
+    { NULL, 'U', NULL, 0,
+      N_("Use actual uid, gid, and date in archive members."), 0 },
+
+    { NULL, 0, NULL, 0, NULL, 0 }
+  };
+
+static error_t
+parse_opt (int key, char *arg __attribute__ ((unused)),
+           struct argp_state *state __attribute__ ((unused)))
+{
+  switch (key)
+    {
+    case 'D':
+      arlib_deterministic_output = true;
+      break;
+
+    case 'U':
+      arlib_deterministic_output = false;
+      break;
+
+    default:
+      return ARGP_ERR_UNKNOWN;
+    }
+  return 0;
+}
+
+static char *
+help_filter (int key, const char *text, void *input __attribute__ ((unused)))
+{
+  inline char *text_for_default (void)
+  {
+    char *new_text;
+    if (unlikely (asprintf (&new_text, gettext ("%s (default)"), text) < 0))
+      return (char *) text;
+    return new_text;
+  }
+
+  switch (key)
+    {
+    case 'D':
+      if (DEFAULT_AR_DETERMINISTIC)
+        return text_for_default ();
+      break;
+    case 'U':
+      if (! DEFAULT_AR_DETERMINISTIC)
+        return text_for_default ();
+      break;
+    }
+
+  return (char *) text;
+}
+
+static const struct argp argp =
+  {
+    options, parse_opt, NULL, NULL, NULL, help_filter, NULL
+  };
+
+const struct argp_child arlib_argp_children[] =
+  {
+    { &argp, 0, "", 2 },
+    { NULL, 0, NULL, 0 }
+  };