2.11.16. Create, view, test and extract archive

Archive

zip

Adding files and directories to the archive: 

zip -r archive.zip file1.txt file2.txt directory1 directory2

In command:

  • -r — archive the contents of the specified directories.
  • archive.zip — the name of the target archive. If the archive does not exist, it will be created.
  • file1.txt and so on — files that need to be archived.
  • directory1, etc. — directories that need to be archived.

7z

Adding files and directories to the archive: 

7za a archive.7z file1.txt file2.txt directory1 directory2

In command:

  • a — add files and directories to the archive.
  • archive.7z — the name of the target archive. If the archive does not exist, it will be created.
  • file1.txt and so on — files that need to be archived.
  • directory1, etc. — directories that need to be archived.

tar

Attention!

tar is an uncompressed format. Archiving does not reduce the file size; it simply combines them into one.

Archiving files and directories: 

tar -cvf archive.tar file1.txt file2.txt directory1 directory2

In command:

  • -c — create a new archive.
  • -v — display information during the archiving process.
  • -f — indicates that the next argument in the command is the archive name.
  • archive.tar — the name of the target archive. If the archive already exists, it will be overwritten if the -c option is present.
  • file1.txt and so on — files that need to be archived.
  • directory1, etc. — directories that need to be archived.

Adding files and directories to the archive: 

tar -rvf archive.tar file1.txt file2.txt directory1 directory2

In command:

  • -r — add files and directories to the archive.
  • -v — display information during the archiving process.
  • -f — indicates that the next argument in the command is the archive name.
  • archive.tar — the name of the target archive. If the archive does not exist, it will be created.
  • file1.txt and so on — files that need to be archived.
  • directory1, etc. — directories that need to be archived.

tar.gz

Notes:

  • gzip compresses less effectively than bzip2, but operates faster.
  • The archive file may have the extensions tar.gz, tar.gzip, or tgz.

Archiving files and directories: 

tar -czvf archive.tar.gz file1.txt file2.txt directory1 directory2

In command:

  • -c — create a new archive.
  • -z — compress data using gzip.
  • -v — display information during the archiving process.
  • -f — indicates that the next argument in the command is the archive name.
  • archive.tar — the name of the target archive. If the archive already exists, it will be overwritten if the -c option is present.
  • file1.txt and so on — files that need to be archived.
  • directory1, etc. — directories that need to be archived.

tar.bz2

Notes:

  • bzip2 compresses better than gzip, but works more slowly.
  • The archive file may have the extensions tar.bz2, tar.bzip2, tbz2, tb2, or tbz.

Archiving files and directories: 

tar -cjvf archive.tar.bz2 file1.txt file2.txt directory1 directory2

In command:

  • -c — create a new archive.
  • -j — compress data using bzip2.
  • -v — display information during the archiving process.
  • -f — indicates that the next argument in the command is the archive name.
  • archive.tar — the name of the target archive. If the archive already exists, it will be overwritten if the -c option is present.
  • file1.txt and so on — files that need to be archived.
  • directory1, etc. — directories that need to be archived.

View content

Universal method

lsar supports archives in formats such as zip, 7z, rar, tar.gz, tar.bz2, and others.

Viewing archive contents: 

lsar archive.7z

In command:

  • archive.7z — the name of the archive.

zip

Viewing archive contents: 

unzip -l archive.zip

In command:

  • -l — display the list of files in the archive.
  • archive.zip — the name of the archive.

7z

Viewing archive contents: 

7za l archive.7z

In command:

  • l — display the list of files in the archive.
  • archive.7z — the name of the archive.

rar

Viewing archive contents: 

unrar l archive.rar

In command:

  • l — display the list of files in the archive.
  • archive.rar — the name of the archive.

tar

Viewing the archive summary: 

tar -tf archive.tar

In command:

  • -l — display the list of files in the archive.
  • -f — indicates that the next argument in the command is the archive name.
  • archive.tar — the name of the archive.

Viewing the full contents of the archive: 

tar -tvf archive.tar

In command:

  • -l — display the list of files in the archive.
  • -v — display detailed information.
  • -f — indicates that the next argument in the command is the archive name.
  • archive.tar — the name of the archive.

tar.gz

The archive file may have the extensions tar.gz, tar.gzip, or tgz.

Viewing the archive summary: 

tar -tf archive.tar.gz

In command:

  • -l — display the list of files in the archive.
  • -f — indicates that the next argument in the command is the archive name.
  • archive.tar.gz — the name of the archive.

Viewing the full contents of the archive: 

tar -tvf archive.tar.gz

In command:

  • -l — display the list of files in the archive.
  • -v — display detailed information.
  • -f — indicates that the next argument in the command is the archive name.
  • archive.tar.gz — the name of the archive.

tar.bz2

The archive file may have the extensions tar.bz2, tar.bzip2, tbz2, tb2, or tbz.

Viewing the archive summary: 

tar -tf archive.tar.bz2

In command:

  • -l — display the list of files in the archive.
  • -f — indicates that the next argument in the command is the archive name.
  • archive.tar.bz2 — the name of the archive.

Viewing the full contents of the archive: 

tar -tvf archive.tar.bz2

In command:

  • -l — display the list of files in the archive.
  • -v — display detailed information.
  • -f — indicates that the next argument in the command is the archive name.
  • archive.tar.bz2 — the name of the archive.

Test

zip

Testing the archive: 

unzip -tq archive.zip

In command:

  • -t — test the archive for errors.
  • -q — output minimal information.
  • archive.zip — the name of the archive.

7z

Testing the archive: 

7za t archive.7z

In command:

  • t — test the archive for errors.
  • archive.7z — the name of the archive.

rar

Testing the archive: 

unrar t archive.rar

In command:

  • t — test the archive for errors.
  • archive.rar — name of the archive.

tar.gz

The archive file may have the extensions tar.gz, tar.gzip, or tgz.

Testing the archive: 

gzip -t archive.tar.gz

In command:

  • -t — test the archive for errors.
  • archive.tar.gz — the name of the archive.

tar.bz2

The archive file may have the extensions tar.bz2, tar.bzip2, tbz2, tb2, or tbz.

Testing the archive: 

bzip2 -t archive.tar.bz2

In command:

  • -t — test the archive for errors.
  • archive.tar.bz2 — the name of the archive.

gz

Testing the archive: 

gzip -tv archive.gz

In command:

  • -t — test the archive for errors.
  • -v — display the test results.
  • archive.gz — the name of the archive.

Extract

Universal method

unar supports archives in formats such as zip, 7z, rar, tar.gz, tar.bz2, and others.

Unpacking the contents of the archive into the current directory: 

unar archive.7z

In command:

  • archive.7z — name of the archive.

Unpacking the contents of the archive into the specified directory: 

unar archive.7z -o /path/to/dir

In command:

  • archive.7z — name of the archive.
  • -o — unpack to the specified directory.
  • /path/to/dir — the path to the specified directory.

zip

Attention!

To avoid potential encoding issues, extract archives containing files with Cyrillic names using unar.

Unpacking the contents of the archive into the current directory: 

unzip archive.zip

In command:

  • archive.zip — the name of the archive file.

Unpacking the contents of the archive into the specified directory: 

unzip archive.zip -d /path/to/dir

In command:

  • archive.zip — name of the archive.
  • -d — unpack to the specified directory.
  • /path/to/dir — the path to the specified directory.

7z

Attention!

To avoid potential encoding issues, extract archives containing files with Cyrillic names using unar.

Unpacking the contents of the archive into the current directory: 

7za x archive.7z

In command:

  • x — extract the contents of the archive.
  • archive.7z — the name of the archive.

Unpacking the contents of the archive into the specified directory: 

7za x archive.7z -o/path/to/dir

In command:

  • x — extract the contents of the archive.
  • archive.7z — name of the archive.
  • -o — unpack to the specified directory. ⚠️ There should be no space after the key.
  • /path/to/dir — the path to the specified directory. ⚠️ The path must not start with ~.

rar

Attention!

To avoid potential encoding issues, extract archives containing files with Cyrillic names using unar.

Unpacking the contents of the archive into the current directory: 

unrar e archive.rar

In command:

  • e — extract the contents of the archive.
  • archive.rar — name of the archive.

Unpacking the contents of the archive into the specified directory: 

unrar e archive.rar /path/to/dir

In command:

  • e — extract the contents of the archive.
  • archive.rar — name of the archive.
  • /path/to/dir — the path to the specified directory.

tar

Unpacking the contents of the archive into the current directory: 

tar -xvf archive.tar

In command:

  • -x — extract the contents of the archive.
  • -v — display detailed information.
  • -f — indicates that the next argument in the command is the archive name.
  • archive.tar — the name of the archive.

Unpacking the contents of the archive into the specified directory: 

mkdir /path/to/dir
tar -xvf archive.tar -C /path/to/dir

In command:

  • -x — extract the contents of the archive.
  • -v — display detailed information.
  • -f — indicates that the next argument in the command is the archive name.
  • archive.tar — the name of the archive.
  • -C — unpack to the specified directory.
  • /path/to/dir — the path to the specified directory.

tar.gz

The archive file may have the extensions tar.gz, tar.gzip, or tgz.

Unpacking the contents of the archive into the current directory: 

tar -zxvf archive.tar.gz

In command:

  • -z — unpack the contents of the archive.
  • -x — extract the contents of the archive.
  • -v — display detailed information.
  • -f — indicates that the next argument in the command is the archive name.
  • archive.tar.gz — the name of the archive.

Unpacking the contents of the archive into the specified directory: 

mkdir /path/to/dir
tar -zxvf archive.tar.gz -C /path/to/dir

In command:

  • -z — unpack the contents of the archive.
  • -x — extract the contents of the archive.
  • -v — display detailed information.
  • -f — indicates that the next argument in the command is the archive name.
  • archive.tar.gz — the name of the archive.
  • -C — unpack to the specified directory.
  • /path/to/dir — the path to the specified directory.

tar.bz2

The archive file may have the extensions tar.bz2, tar.bzip2, tbz2, tb2, or tbz.

Unpacking the contents of the archive into the current directory: 

tar -jxvf archive.tar.bz2

In command:

  • -j — unpack the contents of the archive.
  • -x — extract the contents of the archive.
  • -v — display detailed information.
  • -f — indicates that the next argument in the command is the archive name.
  • archive.tar.bz2 — name of the archive.

Unpacking the contents of the archive into the specified directory: 

mkdir /path/to/dir
tar -jxvf archive.tar.bz2 -C /path/to/dir

In command:

  • -j — unpack the contents of the archive.
  • -x — extract the contents of the archive.
  • -v — display detailed information.
  • -f — indicates that the next argument in the command is the archive name.
  • archive.tar.bz2 — name of the archive.
  • -C — unpack to the specified directory.
  • /path/to/dir — the path to the specified directory.
Content