Working with zip in Linux

• zip is a popular compression and archive format.
• Bundles and compresses files/directories into a single .zip file.
• Compatible across different operating systems (Linux, Windows, macOS).

Install zip and unzip

sudo apt install zip unzip       # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo yum install zip unzip       # RHEL/CentOS

Syntax

zip [options] archive_name.zip files/directories

Create a Zip Archive

zip archive.zip file1.txt file2.txt

• Compresses files into archive.zip

zip -r archive.zip folder/

• -r: Recursively zip all files and subfolders in folder/

Add Files to Existing Archive

zip archive.zip newfile.txt

Exclude Files While Zipping

zip -r archive.zip folder/ -x "*.log"

• Excludes all .log files

Working with unzip in Linux

Syntax

unzip [options] archive_name.zip

Extract a Zip Archive

unzip archive.zip

• Extracts into the current directory

Extract to a Specific Directory

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

List Contents Without Extracting

unzip -l archive.zip

Overwrite or Skip Existing Files

unzip -o archive.zip      # Overwrite without prompting
unzip -n archive.zip      # Never overwrite

Password-Protected Archives

Create a Password-Protected Zip

zip -e archive.zip file1.txt

• Prompts for password

Extract a Password-Protected Zip

unzip archive.zip

• Prompts for password if required

Summary Table