Linux Commands | Archive File Management | zip, unzip Compress and Extract

Compress with zip

Command

zip {archive file name}.zip {file or directory to compress 1} {file or directory to compress 2}...

Main Options

  • -r: Compress directories as well.
  • -1: Compress quickly with a lower compression ratio.
  • -9: Use a higher compression ratio with slower speed.
  • -e: Set a password on the zip file.
  • -x: Exclude files during compression.

Compress Files

Compress all files (./*) in a specific directory into test.zip.

zip test.zip ./*

Compress Files and Directories

If there are several subfolders in the current folder and you want to compress them together, add the -r option.

Compress all files and directories (./*) in a specific directory into test.zip.

zip -r test.zip ./*

Extract zip

Use the following command to extract a zip file.

Command

unzip {archive file name}.zip

Main Options

  • -d: Extract to the specified directory.
  • -l: List files inside the archive.

Extract a File

The following command extracts the test.zip file.

unzip test.zip

Extract to a Specific Directory

The following command extracts test.zip to the /home/devkuma directory.

unzip test.zip -d /home/devkuma

List Files Inside an Archive

Print only the list of files inside the archive without extracting it.

unzip -l test.zip

Install zip and unzip

Install zip and unzip on Ubuntu

If zip and unzip are not installed on Ubuntu, install them with the command below.

Command

sudo apt-get install zip unzip