Archive Commands
ZIP
Create a ZIP archive
Compress all files in current directory
zip archive.zip *
Compress a directory and its contents (recursive)
zip -r archive.zip directory_name/
Compress multiple specific files
zip archive.zip file1.txt file2.jpg document.pdf
Compress with password protection
zip -e archive.zip file1.txt file2.jpg
Extract a ZIP archive
Extract to current directory
unzip archive.zip
Extract to a specific directory
unzip archive.zip -d /path/to/extract/
Extract a specific file from archive
unzip archive.zip specific_file.txt
List contents without extracting
unzip -l archive.zip
Test archive integrity
unzip -t archive.zip
TAR Commands (common on Linux/Unix)
Create TAR archives
Create a tar archive
tar -cvf archive.tar directory/
Create a gzipped tar archive
tar -czvf archive.tar.gz directory/
Create a bzip2 compressed tar archive
tar -cjvf archive.tar.bz2 directory/
Extract TAR archives
Extract a tar archive
tar -xvf archive.tar
Extract a gzipped tar archive
tar -xzvf archive.tar.gz
Extract a bzip2 compressed tar archive
tar -xjvf archive.tar.bz2
Extract to a specific directory
tar -xvf archive.tar -C /path/to/extract/
Other Archive Commands
7z (7-Zip)
Create a 7z archive
7z a archive.7z directory/
Extract a 7z archive
7z x archive.7z
RAR
Create a RAR archive
rar a archive.rar directory/
Extract a RAR archive
rar x archive.rar
Command Options Explained
ZIP Options
-r
: Recursive (include subdirectories)
-e
: Encrypt (password protect)
-q
: Quiet mode (less verbose)
-d
: Specify destination directory for extraction
-l
: List contents without extracting
-t
: Test archive integrity
TAR Options
c
: Create new archive
x
: Extract files
v
: Verbose (show progress)
f
: Specify filename
z
: Filter through gzip
j
: Filter through bzip2
C
: Change to directory before performing operations