Unzip Command in Linux

Example of Unzip Command in Linux

Now, let us see some examples of using the Unzip Command in Linux

• Simple Unzip
  We have a folder in which we have opened our bash terminal and want to unzip demo in it. We achieve this using the following command:

$ unzip demo.zip

OUTPUT
We will see that the folder has been unzipped.

• Extracting Specific Files
  We can also unzip some specific files using the Unzip Command in Linux. For example, we have a pom.xml file we want to unzip in the demo. We can achieve this using the following command:

$ unzip demo.zip pom.xml

OUTPUT
We will see that only pom.xml is extracted.
 

• Extracting from any location
  We can extract our zipped files from any location providing its correct path. Refer to the following command for our above-mentioned example:

$ unzip demo.zip -d C:\Users\jatin\OneDrive\Desktop\w\demo.zip

We use the -d option for it.

OUTPUT

The folder is extracted.

Options in Unzip Command in Linux

You can specify many options to modify the unzip command you are writing. Let's take a look at the most useful ones:

Modifiers of unzip

Modifiers are the options that can be used with the unzip command. These are used to extract files from a compressed ZIP archive. Some of the most commonly used modifiers are discussed below: 

How to Use Unzip Command on Ubuntu 20.04?

To use the Unzip Command in Ubuntu 20.04, first of all, install the unzip package using the following command:

sudo apt-get install unzip

OR

sudo apt install unzip

Now, that you have installed the package, you can start using the Unzip Command. Like, for simple extraction you can use the following command:

unzip demo.zip

Or, if you want to extract and list the contents of it, you can use the -l option:

unzip -l demo.zip

Use Cases of using Unzip command in Linux

There are many use cases for the Unzip Command in Linux; let's have a closer look at each of them-

1. Unzipping files into different directories

When you write the simple unzip syntax and don't specify the directory you want the contents to go to, it goes to the current working directory. There is an option, however, to specify the same directory where you want the unzipped content to get to. Using the”-d” options and selecting the path to the required directory, your content will get unzipped there. For example:

unzip sampleText.zip -d /home/user/desktop/myTextFiles

This will send the unzipped content from the sampleText.zip file to the myTextFiles folder on the desktop.

2. Unzipping multiple files at once

While unzipping saves a lot of time than traditional methods of downloading and sharing, there are even faster ways to unzip your files. You can do this by putting all your .zip extension files into a folder and then using the following command:

unzip ‘*.zip’

This command will unzip all the files with the .zip extension in your directory. This is very helpful for extracting contents from multiple zip files simultaneously.

3. Overriding Zip Files

When you Unzip files that already exist in the exact location again, you will be prompted with messages whether to override the old files or rename the new files and store them or not to override and drop the command or override none.

The Options are:

The additional -o option will override all the files.Caution is necessary while using this command because this will completely override the old files. All the changes you made to the earlier copies will be overwritten.

For example:

unzip -o sample.zip

This will override the older copies where you previously unzipped this sample.zip file.

4. Unzipping password-protected Files

Sometimes, the user that created the zip file may have secured it using a password or access key to access these files; you can run the following command.

unzip -P randomPassword sample.zip

This command will take in the password “randomPassword” and then unzip the sample.zip file if it matches.

Must Read, gzip command in linux

Advantages of Unzip Command in Linux

Let's look at the various advantages of Unzip in Linux:

• CrossPlatform compatibility: Unzip and Zip are actively supported on multiple operating systems, making file transfer easy and efficient. It reduces the network demand for transfer because the compressed files are smaller.
   
• Password Protection: While using Zip and Unzip, you can control access to the zipped content using a password, using which only someone can unzip the file.
   
• Handling Large Archives: When zipped, the file size reduces considerably, and we can now handle large archives more easily. This zip and unzip mechanism allows us to transfer huge amounts of data easily.
   
• More control over data: Because of the command line-friendly commands in unzip, we have more control over what data should be unzipped and what should be excluded; as we saw above, we can exclude selective files if we want.
   
• File Compression: During zipping, the file size reduces considerably, and data becomes more manageable because, using unzip, we can easily get back the original files.

Limitations of Unzip Command in Linux

• Limited Error reporting: When we encounter any error while Unzipping, the Unzip command doesn't provide enough information about the error, like the file that caused it or the error code.
   
• Limited supported file formats: The unzip command helps decompress or unpack files of .zip format; it is not useful while unzipping files that have been compressed in other formats like RaR, tar.gz, 7z, etc.
   
• Lack of File Integrity Verification: The "unzip" command does not perform integrity checks on extracted files by default. It does not verify the authenticity or integrity of the compressed data during extraction. 
   
• Potential File Overwrite: By default, the "unzip" command prompts for confirmation when extracting files that already exist in the destination directory. This can lead to accidental overwriting of files if not carefully managed.
   
• Dependency on External tools: Sometimes, the unzip doesn't come with built-in Linux systems, so you have to install some dev tools for this to work.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the unzip command?

Zipping the files reduces the time to download files over networks by compressing them into .zip extension files. The Unzip command lets you get the actual files from the .zip files. Hence, it is valid.

How do I unzip a file in Linux?

You can use the command unzip archive.zip in your terminal in Linux if you are at the location where the zipped file is present. Or, you can use the -d option to unzip it from anywhere by providing the specific path.

How do I unzip a zip GZ file in Linux?

You can use the gunzip file.zip command to unzip a GZ file in Linux. This way, the file is decompressed and then the actual file is available to you in an unzipped form.

How to unzip file in Linux SSH?

In Linux SSH, first connect to your server using the command: ssh <username>@<ip-address> -p <port number>. Then, you can install the unzip package and use the Unzip Command in Linux SSH.

How do I unzip a Unix command?

To unzip a file in UNIX based operating system use the unzip command. Choose the correct directory and use the unzip command with the correct zip file name. This will extract all the files and directories present in the zip folder in the correct directory. 

How do I unzip a file in Terminal?

The steps to unzip the file in the terminal remain the same. Open the terminal in a Unix-based operating system (such as Linux or macOS) and choose the directory in which the zip file is saved. Use the unzip command, and also remember that the unzip command is case sensitive so ensure the file name is written correctly. 

Conclusion

From the above article, you can infer that the Unzip Command in Linux is an extremely powerful and effective tool when it comes to data transfer and even storage in some cases. This command is very easy to use and can be very helpful in various situations. It has a variety of options that allow you to control how the files are uncompressed. Want to learn more about Linux and other important commands? Don't worry Coding Ninjas have you covered. Refer to the following article: Linux - Commands List,Basic File Management Commands in Linux.

Happy Learning!