Zip Files with Compress-Archive

Create or update a .zip from any files or folder contents straight from PowerShell.

WindowsZip & ArchivesarchivepowershellLow risk

Run `Compress-Archive -Path .\project\* -DestinationPath .\project-backup.zip` to zip the folder contents.

01Command

Command

$ Compress-Archive -Path .\project\* -DestinationPath .\project-backup.zip -Force

02What it does

Compress-Archive creates standard ZIP files that Explorer can open natively. `Path folder\*` archives the folder's contents, while `Path folder` archives the folder itself as a subfolder. If the destination exists, use -Update to add changed files or -Force to overwrite the whole archive. Its companion Expand-Archive extracts them back.

03Risk

RiskLow risk

04Undo

✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.

05Sources

Compress-Archive (Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive)
Microsoft Learn · vendor-doc · 2026-09-17
Evidence: Documents Compress-Archive with -Path, -DestinationPath, -Force and the update behavior when the destination zip exists.

Last verified: 2026-09-17 · Category: Files & Folders

06Related solutions

Extract a ZIP with Expand-Archive

WindowsZip & Archivesarchivepowershell

Unzip archives from PowerShell, including into a non-existent destination that gets created.

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Search inside text files and logs with regex, returning file, line number and match.

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Test a TCP port connection on Windows with Test-NetConnection

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A built-in PowerShell one-liner that answers 'is port 5432/3389/443 actually open through this network?' — no telnet client needed.

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