diff --git a/.docker/build-linux.sh b/.docker/build-linux.sh
index 542966c7..e42c165b 100755
--- a/.docker/build-linux.sh
+++ b/.docker/build-linux.sh
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ case "-$BUILD_TYPE-" in
   *-minimal-*)
     CMAKE_ARGS="${CMAKE_ARGS} -DENABLE_PERFMON=0 -DWITH_MAN_OPTION=0 -DENABLE_RICEPP=0"
     CMAKE_ARGS="${CMAKE_ARGS} -DTRY_ENABLE_BROTLI=0 -DTRY_ENABLE_LZ4=0 -DTRY_ENABLE_FLAC=0"
-    CMAKE_ARGS="${CMAKE_ARGS} -DDWARFSEXTRACT_MINIMAL=1 -DDISABLE_FILESYSTEM_EXTRACTOR_FORMAT=1"
+    CMAKE_ARGS="${CMAKE_ARGS} -DDISABLE_FILESYSTEM_EXTRACTOR_FORMAT=1"
     ;;
 esac
 
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index dd844224..f8d15f1f 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -44,7 +44,6 @@ option(WITH_FUSE_EXTRACT_BINARY "build with fuse-extract binary" OFF)
 option(WITH_PXATTR "build with pxattr binary" OFF)
 option(WITH_EXAMPLE "build with example binary" OFF)
 option(ENABLE_STACKTRACE "build with stack trace support" OFF)
-option(DWARFSEXTRACT_MINIMAL "disable patterns support in dwarfsextract" OFF)
 option(DISABLE_FILESYSTEM_EXTRACTOR_FORMAT "disable filesystem extractor format support" OFF)
 if(APPLE)
   option(USE_HOMEBREW_LIBARCHIVE "use libarchive from homebrew" ON)
@@ -300,9 +299,6 @@ if(WITH_TOOLS)
   target_link_libraries(mkdwarfs_main PRIVATE dwarfs_reader dwarfs_writer dwarfs_rewrite)
   target_link_libraries(dwarfsck_main PRIVATE dwarfs_reader)
   target_link_libraries(dwarfsextract_main PRIVATE dwarfs_extractor)
-  target_compile_definitions(dwarfsextract_main PRIVATE
-    $<$<BOOL:${DWARFSEXTRACT_MINIMAL}>:DWARFSEXTRACT_MINIMAL>
-  )
 
   if(WITH_UNIVERSAL_BINARY)
     add_executable(dwarfsuniversal tools/src/universal.cpp)
@@ -582,9 +578,6 @@ if(WITH_TESTS)
 
   if(TARGET tool_main_test)
     target_link_libraries(tool_main_test PRIVATE mkdwarfs_main dwarfsck_main dwarfsextract_main PkgConfig::LIBARCHIVE)
-    target_compile_definitions(tool_main_test PRIVATE
-      $<$<BOOL:${DWARFSEXTRACT_MINIMAL}>:DWARFSEXTRACT_MINIMAL>
-    )
   endif()
 
   if(TARGET manpage_test)
@@ -596,9 +589,6 @@ if(WITH_TESTS)
       target_compile_definitions(manpage_test PRIVATE DWARFS_WITH_FUSE_DRIVER)
       target_link_libraries(manpage_test PRIVATE dwarfs_main)
     endif()
-    target_compile_definitions(manpage_test PRIVATE
-      $<$<BOOL:${DWARFSEXTRACT_MINIMAL}>:DWARFSEXTRACT_MINIMAL>
-    )
   endif()
 
   if(TARGET tools_test)
diff --git a/test/manpage_test.cpp b/test/manpage_test.cpp
index 562dfc4b..5382c41a 100644
--- a/test/manpage_test.cpp
+++ b/test/manpage_test.cpp
@@ -195,9 +195,7 @@ TEST_P(manpage_coverage_test, options) {
 #ifdef DWARFS_FILESYSTEM_EXTRACTOR_NO_OPEN_FORMAT
     man_opts.erase("format");
 #endif
-#ifdef DWARFSEXTRACT_MINIMAL
     man_opts.erase("pattern");
-#endif
   }
 
   for (auto const& [opt, short_opt] : man_opts) {
diff --git a/test/tool_main_test.cpp b/test/tool_main_test.cpp
index 973f1307..2068d605 100644
--- a/test/tool_main_test.cpp
+++ b/test/tool_main_test.cpp
@@ -2159,7 +2159,6 @@ TEST(dwarfsextract_test, mtree) {
   EXPECT_THAT(out, ::testing::HasSubstr("type=file"));
 }
 
-#ifndef DWARFSEXTRACT_MINIMAL
 TEST(dwarfsextract_test, patterns) {
   auto mkdt = mkdwarfs_tester::create_empty();
   mkdt.add_test_file_tree();
@@ -2190,7 +2189,6 @@ TEST(dwarfsextract_test, patterns) {
   }
   EXPECT_EQ(expected, actual);
 }
-#endif
 
 TEST(dwarfsextract_test, stdout_progress_error) {
   auto t = dwarfsextract_tester::create_with_image();
diff --git a/tools/src/dwarfsextract_main.cpp b/tools/src/dwarfsextract_main.cpp
index 34ce0482..ab53be0a 100644
--- a/tools/src/dwarfsextract_main.cpp
+++ b/tools/src/dwarfsextract_main.cpp
@@ -90,11 +90,9 @@ int dwarfsextract_main(int argc, sys_char** argv, iolayer const& iol) {
     ("output,o",
         po_sys_value<sys_string>(&output),
         "output file or directory")
-#ifndef DWARFSEXTRACT_MINIMAL
     ("pattern",
         po::value<std::vector<std::string>>(),
         "only extract files matching these patterns")
-#endif
     ("image-offset,O",
         po::value<std::string>(&image_offset)->default_value("auto"),
         "filesystem image offset in bytes")
@@ -132,9 +130,7 @@ int dwarfsextract_main(int argc, sys_char** argv, iolayer const& iol) {
   tool::add_common_options(opts, logopts);
 
   po::positional_options_description pos;
-#ifndef DWARFSEXTRACT_MINIMAL
   pos.add("pattern", -1);
-#endif
 
   po::variables_map vm;
 
@@ -172,12 +168,10 @@ int dwarfsextract_main(int argc, sys_char** argv, iolayer const& iol) {
 
   std::unique_ptr<glob_matcher> matcher;
 
-#ifndef DWARFSEXTRACT_MINIMAL
   if (vm.contains("pattern")) {
     matcher = std::make_unique<glob_matcher>(
         vm["pattern"].as<std::vector<std::string>>());
   }
-#endif
 
   int rv = 0;