Extract a ZIP with Expand-Archive

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

WindowsZip & ArchivesarchivepowershellLow risk

Run `Expand-Archive -Path file.zip -DestinationPath .\out -Force` to extract the archive into the target folder.

01Command

Command

$ Expand-Archive -Path .\project-backup.zip -DestinationPath .\restored -Force

02What it does

Expand-Archive is the counterpart to Compress-Archive and handles any standard ZIP file. The destination folder is created if it does not exist, and -Force overwrites files already there instead of throwing an error. It is especially handy in WinRE recovery environments and CI scripts where Explorer is not available.

03Risk

RiskLow risk

04Undo

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

05Sources

Expand-Archive (Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive)
Microsoft Learn · vendor-doc · 2026-09-17
Evidence: Documents Expand-Archive with -Path, -DestinationPath and -Force to extract ZIP archives from PowerShell.

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

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