Create zip archives with the zip command

Pack files or a folder into a .zip that opens anywhere — Windows, macOS, phones.

LinuxZip & ArchivesarchiveLow risk

Run zip -r archive.zip folder/ to zip a whole directory, or zip archive.zip file1 file2 for loose files.

01Command

Command

$ zip -r project.zip project/ && zip -9 report.zip *.pdf

02What it does

zip is the reciprocal of unzip: -r is required to include directory contents, otherwise only the empty folder is stored. -9 applies maximum compression (slowest, smallest), and -e adds a password. The archive keeps relative paths, so run it from the parent of the folder you're packing for a tidy structure.

03Risk

RiskLow risk

!Warning: If the .zip already exists, zip updates/adds matching files into it instead of creating a fresh archive — delete the old .zip first if you want a clean rebuild. zip's default encryption (-e) is weak; use 7z for sensitive data.

04Undo

Undo

$ unzip project.zip (restores contents; delete the archive to undo)

05Sources

zip(1) — package and compress (archive) files
manpages.ubuntu.com · community · 2026-09-17
Evidence: zip -r recurses into directories to archive whole folder trees; -9 uses maximum compression.

Last verified: 2026-09-18 · Category: Files & Folders

06Related solutions

Extract a .tar.gz archive with tar

LinuxZip & ArchivesFilesTerminal

Unpack a gzipped tarball into the current directory while printing each file as it is extracted.

Low risk ✓ 2026-09-17

Split Large Files and Rejoin Them with split and cat

Linuxcatarchivesplit

split cuts a file into size-bounded chunks; cat concatenated in order rebuilds the original byte-for-byte.

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