diff --git a/src/lib/packed.h b/src/lib/packed.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9a9b6e23e96b66ab2a1a6538207a87e806cd46b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/packed.h
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+#ifndef __LIB_PACKED_H
+#define __LIB_PACKED_H
+
+/* The "packed" attribute, when applied to a structure, prevents
+   GCC from inserting padding bytes between or after structure
+   members.  It must be specified at the time of the structure's
+   definition, normally just after the closing brace. */
+#define PACKED __attribute__ ((packed))
+
+#endif /* lib/packed.h */