diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/common-config.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/common-config.nix
index 4b1318d91159..77efa268d3ef 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/common-config.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/common-config.nix
@@ -36,10 +36,7 @@ let
 
     debug = {
       # Necessary for BTF
-      DEBUG_INFO                = mkMerge [
-        (whenOlder "5.2" (if (features.debug or false) then yes else no))
-        (whenBetween "5.2" "5.18" yes)
-      ];
+      DEBUG_INFO                = yes;
       DEBUG_INFO_DWARF_TOOLCHAIN_DEFAULT = whenAtLeast "5.18" yes;
       # Reduced debug info conflict with BTF and have been enabled in
       # aarch64 defconfig since 5.13
@@ -62,6 +59,8 @@ let
       SUNRPC_DEBUG              = yes;
       # Provide access to tunables like sched_migration_cost_ns
       SCHED_DEBUG               = yes;
+
+      GDB_SCRIPTS               = yes;
     };
 
     power-management = {
diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/manual-config.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/manual-config.nix
index fa21ab3b6155..4c5ec86b1e6a 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/manual-config.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/manual-config.nix
@@ -277,7 +277,6 @@ let
       ];
 
       postInstall = optionalString isModular ''
-        cp vmlinux $dev/
         if [ -z "''${dontStrip-}" ]; then
           installFlagsArray+=("INSTALL_MOD_STRIP=1")
         fi
@@ -297,12 +296,16 @@ let
         # from a `try-run` call from the Makefile
         rm -f $dev/lib/modules/${modDirVersion}/build/.[0-9]*.d
 
-        # Keep some extra files on some arches (powerpc, aarch64)
-        for f in arch/powerpc/lib/crtsavres.o arch/arm64/kernel/ftrace-mod.o; do
-          if [ -f "$buildRoot/$f" ]; then
-            cp $buildRoot/$f $dev/lib/modules/${modDirVersion}/build/$f
+        # Keep some extra files
+        for f in arch/powerpc/lib/crtsavres.o arch/arm64/kernel/ftrace-mod.o \
+                 scripts/gdb/linux vmlinux vmlinux-gdb.py
+        do
+          if [ -e "$buildRoot/$f" ]; then
+            mkdir -p "$(dirname "$dev/lib/modules/${modDirVersion}/build/$f")"
+            cp -HR $buildRoot/$f $dev/lib/modules/${modDirVersion}/build/$f
           fi
         done
+        ln -s $dev/lib/modules/${modDirVersion}/build/vmlinux $dev
 
         # !!! No documentation on how much of the source tree must be kept
         # If/when kernel builds fail due to missing files, you can add
@@ -345,6 +348,11 @@ let
         sed -i Makefile -e 's|= ${buildPackages.kmod}/bin/depmod|= depmod|'
       '';
 
+      preFixup = ''
+        # Don't strip $dev/lib/modules/*/vmlinux
+        stripDebugList="$(cd $dev && echo lib/modules/*/build/*/)"
+      '';
+
       requiredSystemFeatures = [ "big-parallel" ];
 
       meta = {