How to Zip a File in Linux? – Hostbillo 

Introduction

ZIP is considered the most prevalent and widely utilized archive file format for compressing files as well as directories. With the help of ZIP, you can readily compress files into an archived format in order to save space & network bandwidth. Although, on Linux systems, the tape archive (tar) format is more typical. However, ZIP is still employed often because of its popularity. The Linux systems enable you to use the zip command to compress files into the ZIP format. On the other hand, you can also construct ZIP files through the GUI. Under this guide, we have provided insights into the most effective ways that explain how to zip a file in Linux. Dip into the sections below and get all the essential details.

System Requirements

Before we proceed toward learning how to create a zip file in Linux terminal, you must assure to meet the following prerequisites –

• Accessibility to the terminal.
• Commands for constructing example files and directories.

Types of File Compression in Linux

While there is an availability of various forms for data compression, the mentioned following are the most prevalent and typical in Linux. Take a quick glance at the points below and learn how to compress a file in Linux! 

.zip files

This is the well-recognized form employed for archiving or compressing files. .zip serves the accessibility of cross-platform. You get the possibility to open as well as access a zip file in Linux and on any OS platform. This is because all the Linux, MacOS®, and Windows® operating systems provide default support for zip files. The fundamental syntax to compress a file in Linux with zip is –

$ zip -r <name of the zip file>.zip <directory or file(s) you want to compress>

.tar files

In contrast with other archive prospects, the tar command is not supposed to compress .tar files. The tar is known to bundle up the files into a single archived file. Thus, when you encounter a file having a ‘.tar’ extension, you must know that the archive method involved no compression of the files comprised within that archive. The fundamental syntax of the tar command for creating an archive is –

$ tar -cvf <name of archive file>.tar <directory to archive or files to archive>

.tar.gz files

The tar.gz makes involvement of compression to the archive function of the tar command by making use of gzip function. You are only required to append the -z option to the basic tar command for adding compression. The fundamental syntax for implementing this is – 

$ tar -zcvf <archive name>.tar.gz /directory/you/want/to/compress

OR

$ tar -zcvf <archive name>.tar.gz ‘*.jpg’

.tar.bz2 files

 Suppose you have an extra-large directory that you are required to compress to the maximum extent. In case tar.gz marks it in an oversized file, you can employ tar.bz2 rather. This method involves the addition of only one new element, which is -j. Here is the fundamental syntax for executing the same – 

$ tar -jcvf <archive name>.tar.bz2 /directory/to/compress

OR

$ tar -jcvf <archive name>.tar.bz2 ‘*.jpg’

Basic Commands for Zipping a File in Linux

Following are some basic commands that you should learn to know how to Zip a file in Linux. 

– Using the zip command and compressed archive file

1. Construct files for archiving:

touch file{1..4}.txt

This command constructs four empty text files.

2. Make use of the zip command to archive the files:

zip files file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt file4.txt 

This command displays the actions taken in the output and forms a files.zip archive.

3. List the contents of the ZIP File:

zip -sf files.zip

This command lists all the contents of an archive. 

4. Add particular File Types to the ZIP Archive:

You need to employ a wildcard and give the filetype extension for adding only particular file types to a ZIP file in Linux, for instance – 

zip files *.pdf

This command appends all files possessing the .pdf extension to the archive.

5. Add a Directory to the ZIP Archive

zip -r files <directory>

This command first adds the empty directory, then settles it with the files.

6. Compress Multiple Files on Linux:

$ zip archive.zip file1 file2 file3 file4 file5

Alternatively, you can employ a wildcard in case you can group your files by extension: 

$ zip archive.zip *.pdf

– Syntax and options of the zip command

The zip command provides diverse work modes and alternatives to let you know how to ZIP file in unix. The following table shows a brief outline of the available options.

Tag	Option or Mode	Description
-u–update	Mode	For updating and adding new files. For constructing a new archive if not found.
-f–freshen	Mode	Updating files without adding new ones. Creating a new archive if not found.
-d–delete	Mode	Picking entries in an existing archive & removing them.
-U–copy-entries	Mode	Picking entries from an existing archive and copying them into a new archive.
-e–encrypt	Option	Encrypting ZIP archive contents with a password.Beginning a password entry prompt.
-i <files>–include <files>	Option	Including only particular files.
-R–recurse-patterns	Option	Archiving files recursively.
-sf–show-files	Option	Listing files and then, exiting
-x <files>–exclude <files>	Option	Excluding particular files.
-<number>	Option	Regulating compression speed (0-9).

Also Read: How to Save a File in Vim/Vi Editor?

Advanced Commands With tar

1. Creating an Archive

For creating a tar archive also known as a tarball, employ tar with the -c or –create operation as – 

tar cf <archive name>.tar <file(s) or location(s)>

For creating a tar.gz, tar.bz2, or tar.xz compressed archive, append the -z tag, -j tag, or -J tag respectively. 

2. Removing Files After Creation

For removing the files from the disk after archiving, employ the –remove-files option at the end as – 

tar cf <archive> <file(s) or location(s)> –remove-files

3. Overwrite Control

With the tar overwrite control, you can handle the circumstances where file names in the archive tend to overlap with files in the working directory.

The three likely overwrite measures are:

1. Overwriting files in the working directory:

tar xf <archive> <Optional file(s) or location(s)> –overwrite

2. Not overwriting files in the working directory:

tar xf <archive> <Optional file(s) or location(s)> –keep-old-files

3. Extracting files only when they are newer than the current files:

tar xf <archive> <Optional file(s) or location(s)> –keep-newer-files

4. Listing Archive Contents

Make use of the below command for listing the contents of an archive –

tar tf <archive>

5. Discovering a File in an Archive

There exist two different methods to locate explicit content –

1. Using the -t tag by adding the file name (or names) after the command:

tar tf <archive> <file(s)>

2. Using the grep command to filter the output:

tar tf <archive> | grep <file(s)>

6. Constructing Daily Backups

For automating daily backups, you have to build a bash script and add the below lines:

tar czf backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz files find backup* -mtime +1 -delete

You can change the +1 parameter to +7 for weekly backups or +31 for monthly backups.

Also Read: How to Use the xargs Command in Linux?

Conclusion

ZIP serves as a compression & file packaging utility. It stores every file in a single .zip {.zip-filename} file that further possesses an extension .zip. With the zip, you can effectively compress the files in order to reduce the size of the file. Many times people own limited bandwidth between two servers but wish to transfer files at a faster speed. In such cases, they can simply zip the files and attain their objectives. Apart from Linux, zip is available and accessible under other operating systems as well, such as Windows, Unix, etc. Moreover, after reading this guide, you must have apprehended different practices that illustrate how to Zip a file in Linux terminal. Further, you can connect with our expert team if you get any relevant queries.