Windows
Linux
File Management
Archives & Compression
Windows Expand-Archive equivalent in Linux
Extracts files from a ZIP archive into the current directory or a chosen destination.
Windows
→
Expand-Archive
Linux equivalents
unzip archive.zip
unzip archive.zip
unzip archive.zip
Overview
What this command does
Extracts files from a ZIP archive into the current directory or a chosen destination.
Migration tip: Use
unzip -l to inspect an archive before extracting it, and -d to choose a destination directory.Practical tasks
Common use cases
Extract a ZIP archive
Extracts files from a ZIP archive into the current directory or a chosen destination.
unzip archive.zip
Extract into the current directory
unzip archive.zip -d output/
Extract into output/
unzip -l archive.zip
List contents without extracting
Ready to run
Copyable Linux commands
Review paths, device names, package names and permissions before running any command.
unzip archive.zip
unzip archive.zip -d output/
unzip -l archive.zip
Walkthrough
Examples with explanations
unzip archive.zip # extract an archive here
unzip archive.zip -d output/ # extract into a separate directory
unzip -l archive.zip # preview the archive contentsReference
Common options and variations
| Command or option | Use |
|---|---|
unzip archive.zip | Extract into the current directory |
unzip archive.zip -d output/ | Extract into output/ |
unzip -l archive.zip | List contents without extracting |
Distro differences
Debian/Ubuntu vs Fedora vs Arch
This command is the same on Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch Linux when the relevant tool is installed.
| Distribution | Package manager / base | Equivalent command | Difference to notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian/Ubuntu | same command | unzip archive.zip |
Same command on this distribution. |
| Fedora | same command | unzip archive.zip |
Same command on this distribution. |
| Arch | same command | unzip archive.zip |
Same command on this distribution. |
Important
What to watch out for
An archive can contain paths that overwrite existing files. Extract unfamiliar archives into a new empty directory.
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