{"id":820,"date":"2018-10-04T21:44:36","date_gmt":"2018-10-04T18:44:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kifarunix.com\/?p=820"},"modified":"2023-05-14T11:43:06","modified_gmt":"2023-05-14T08:43:06","slug":"how-to-install-and-use-7zip-on-ubuntu-18-04-command-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/how-to-install-and-use-7zip-on-ubuntu-18-04-command-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Install and Use 7zip on Ubuntu 18.04\/Ubuntu 20.04"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/install-7zip-on-linux.png\" class=\"td-modal-image\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1079\" height=\"606\" src=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/install-7zip-on-linux.png\" alt=\"Install and Use 7zip on Ubuntu\" class=\"wp-image-14909\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/install-7zip-on-linux.png 1079w, https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/install-7zip-on-linux-768x431.png 768w, https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/install-7zip-on-linux-150x84.png 150w, https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/install-7zip-on-linux-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/install-7zip-on-linux-696x391.png 696w, https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/install-7zip-on-linux-1068x600.png 1068w, https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/install-7zip-on-linux-748x420.png 748w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1079px) 100vw, 1079px\" \/><\/figure><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to install and use 7zip on Ubuntu 18.04\/Ubuntu 20.04. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.7-zip.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">7zip<\/a> is a free and open-source file archiver <span class=\"st\">with a high compression ratio. The program supports 7z, LZMA2, XZ, ZIP, Zip64, CAB, RAR, ARJ, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, CPIO, RPM, ISO, most filesystem images and DEB formats. Compression ratio in the new 7z format is 30-50% better than ratio in ZIP format.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"st\">The 7zip utility is universal and therefore the example usage shown in this tutorial can be used across any Linux distribution.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>Table of Contents<\/h2><nav><ul><li><a href=\"#install-and-use-7-zip-on-ubuntu-18-04-ubuntu-20-04\">Install and Use 7zip on Ubuntu 18.04\/Ubuntu 20.04<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#installing-p-7-zip-package\">Installing p7zip package<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#command-line-syntax\">Command Line Syntax<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#example-command-usage\">Example Command Usage<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#create-an-archive\">Create an Archive<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#extract-contents-of-an-archive\">Extract Contents of an Archive<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#extract-the-content-with-full-paths\">Extract the content with full paths<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#list-the-contents-of-an-archive\">List the contents of an archive<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#test-integrity-of-archive\">Test integrity of archive<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#update-an-archive-by-adding-more-files\">Update an archive by adding more files<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#remove-some-files-from-an-archive\">Remove some files from an archive<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#example-7-z-switches-usage\">Example 7z Switches Usage<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#add-all-files-from-directory-dir-1-to-archive-archive-7-z\">Add all files from directory &#8220;dir1&#8221; to archive archive.7z<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#add-all-files-from-directory-dir-1-to-sfx-archive-archive-exe\">Add all files from directory &#8220;dir1&#8221; to SFX archive archive.exe<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#add-all-files-from-directory-a-directory-to-the-archive-archive-7-z-with-data-and-header-archive-encryption-on\">\u00a0Add all files from directory &#8220;a_directory&#8221; to the archive &#8220;archive.7z&#8221; (with data and header archive encryption on)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#backup-and-limitations-of-7-z-command\">Backup and limitations of 7z command<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#other-tutorials\">Other Tutorials<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"install-and-use-7-zip-on-ubuntu-18-04-ubuntu-20-04\">Install and Use 7zip on Ubuntu 18.04\/Ubuntu 20.04<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"installing-p-7-zip-package\">Installing p7zip package<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If the 7zip utility is not already installed in your system, run the command below to install it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>apt install p7zip p7zip-rar p7zip-full -y<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are running another Linux distribution like CentOS, Fedora or other RHEL based distros, run the command below to install 7zip;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>NB<\/strong>: Enable EPEL repository on CentOS\/RHEL distributions before you can run this command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>yum install p7zip p7zip-plugins -y<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>The 7zip utility provides three command line utilities namely, <strong>7z, 7za <\/strong>and<strong> 7zr<\/strong>. The difference between the three utilities as outlined in their man pages is that;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>7z<\/strong> uses plugins to handle archives.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>7za<\/strong> is a stand-alone executable. 7za handles less archive formats than 7z.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>7zr<\/strong> is a stand-alone executable. 7zr handles less archive formats than 7z. 7zr is a &#8220;light-version&#8221; of 7za that only handles 7z archives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you would love to use 7zip with rar on Ubuntu and similar distributions, you need to install the p7zip-rar package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>apt install p7zip-rar -y<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>In this tutorial, we will discuss the usage of one utility, 7z, since the functionality and usage is the same for all the three utilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once the installation is complete, you can verify by running the following command;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>whereis 7z 7za 7zr<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>7z: \/usr\/bin\/7z \/usr\/share\/man\/man1\/7z.1.gz\n7za: \/usr\/bin\/7za \/usr\/share\/man\/man1\/7za.1.gz\n7zr: \/usr\/bin\/7zr \/usr\/share\/man\/man1\/7zr.1.gz<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"command-line-syntax\">Command Line Syntax<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that installation part is done, let&#8217;s have a look at command line syntax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 7z command line syntax is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>7z &lt;command&gt; [&lt;switch&gt;...] &lt;base_archive_name&gt; [&lt;arguments&gt;...] [&lt;@listfiles...&gt;]<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>&lt;arguments&gt;<\/strong> can be specified as &lt;switch&gt; | &lt;wildcard&gt; | &lt;filename&gt; | &lt;list_file&gt;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>&lt;switch&gt;<\/strong> can be specified in the format; &lt;switch_symbol&gt;&lt;switch_characters&gt;[&lt;option&gt;]<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>&lt;switch_symbol&gt;<\/strong> can be &#8216;\/&#8217; | &#8216;-&#8216;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>&lt;list_file&gt;<\/strong> is specified in the format; @{filename}<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>NOTE<\/strong>: The expressions within&nbsp; the square brackets are optional while those within the curly braces have to be substituted by the user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following is a brief description of the various commands and switches used with the 7z command;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>&lt;Commands&gt;<\/strong> can be any of the following;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>a: Add files to archive<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>b: Benchmark<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>d: Delete files from archive<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>e: Extract files from archive (without using directory names)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>l: List contents of archive<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>t: Test integrity of archive<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>u: Update files to archive<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>x: eXtract files with full paths<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&lt;Switches&gt;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"scroll-box\"><code>\n<strong>-ai[r[-|0]]{@listfile|!wildcard}<\/strong>: Include archives\n<strong>-ax[r[-|0]]{@listfile|!wildcard}<\/strong>: eXclude archives\n<strong>-bd<\/strong>: Disable percentage indicator\n<strong>-i[r[-|0]]{@listfile|!wildcard}<\/strong>: Include filenames\n<strong>-m{Parameters}<\/strong>: set compression Method\n<strong>-o{Directory}<\/strong>: set Output directory\n<strong>-p{Password}<\/strong>: set Password\n<strong>-r[-|0]<\/strong>: Recurse subdirectories\n<strong>-scs{UTF-8 | WIN | DOS}<\/strong>: set charset for list files\n<strong>-sfx[{name}]<\/strong>: Create SFX archive\n<strong>-si[{name}]<\/strong>: read data from stdin\n<strong>-slt<\/strong>: show technical information for l (List) command\n<strong>-so<\/strong>: write data to stdout\n<strong>-ssc[-]<\/strong>: set sensitive case mode\n<strong>-t{Type}<\/strong>: Set type of archive\n<strong>-u[-][p#][q#][r#][x#][y#][z#][!newArchiveName]<\/strong>: Update options\n<strong>-v{Size}[b|k|m|g]<\/strong>: Create volumes\n<strong>-w[{path}]<\/strong>: assign Work directory. Empty path means a temporary directory\n<strong>-x[r[-|0]]]{@listfile|!wildcard}<\/strong>: eXclude filenames\n<strong>-y<\/strong>: assume Yes on all queries\n<strong>-an<\/strong>: Disable parsing of archive_name\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>For a comprehensive list of switches, check the man pages of the 7z, 7zr, 7za or visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/sevenzip.osdn.jp\/chm\/cmdline\/switches\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">command line switches<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"example-command-usage\">Example Command Usage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that we have learnt about some command options and the command line switches, let us see some practical usage of the 7z command. In this examples, we are going to use the following files and directories;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>ls<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code><strong>test-dir<\/strong> tfile4.txt tfile5.txt tfile6.txt<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>ls test-dir\/<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>tfile1.txt tfile2.txt tfile3.txt<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"create-an-archive\">Create an Archive<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>To create an archive, run the 7z command in the format;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>7z a test-archive1.7z tfile4.txt tfile5.txt<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>7z a archive.xz test-dir\/<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that, the supported archive types for creation are 7z, XZ, GZIP, TAR, ZIP and BZIP2. If the specified archive file already exists, it will &#8220;add&#8221; the files to the existing archive, instead of overwriting it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"extract-contents-of-an-archive\">Extract Contents of an Archive<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>To unpack an archive to the current directory;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>7z e test-archive1.7z -y<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>Supported archive types include 7z, XZ, GZIP, TAR, ZIP, BZIP2, LZMA2, CAB, ARJ, CPIO, RPM, ISO and DEB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"extract-the-content-with-full-paths\">Extract the content with full paths<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>7z x test-archive1.7z -y<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"list-the-contents-of-an-archive\">List the contents of an archive<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>7z l test-archive1.7z<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"test-integrity-of-archive\">Test integrity of archive<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>7z t test-archive1.7z<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"update-an-archive-by-adding-more-files\">Update an archive by adding more files<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>7z u test-archive1.7z tfile6.txt<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"remove-some-files-from-an-archive\">Remove some files from an archive<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>7z d test-archive1.7z tfile4.txt<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"example-7-z-switches-usage\">Example 7z Switches Usage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The examples below are extracted from the man pages of the 7z command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"add-all-files-from-directory-dir-1-to-archive-archive-7-z\">Add all files from directory &#8220;dir1&#8221; to archive archive.7z<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>7z a -t7z -m0=lzma -mx=9 -mfb=64 -md=32m -ms=on archive.7z dir1<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"add-all-files-from-directory-dir-1-to-sfx-archive-archive-exe\">Add all files from directory &#8220;dir1&#8221; to SFX archive archive.exe<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that SFX archive MUST end with &#8220;.exe&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>7z a -sfx archive.exe dir1<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"add-all-files-from-directory-a-directory-to-the-archive-archive-7-z-with-data-and-header-archive-encryption-on\">&nbsp;Add all files from directory &#8220;a_directory&#8221; to the archive &#8220;archive.7z&#8221; (with data and header archive encryption on)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>7z a -mhe=on -pmy_password archive.7z a_directory<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>For a comprehensive description of 7z switches and example usage, navigate to <a href=\"https:\/\/sevenzip.osdn.jp\/chm\/cmdline\/switches\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">7z command line switches<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"backup-and-limitations-of-7-z-command\">Backup and limitations of 7z command<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>DO NOT USE the 7-zip format for backup purpose on Linux\/Unix because :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>7-zip does not store the owner\/group of the file.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>On Linux\/Unix, in order to backup directories you must use tar :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>to backup a directory :<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>tar cf - directory | 7za a -si directory.tar.7z<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>to restore your backup :<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>7za x -so directory.tar.7z | tar xf -<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to send files and directories (not the owner of file) to others Unix\/MacOS\/Windows users, you can use the 7-zip format. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>7za a directory.7z directory<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Do not use &#8220;<strong>-r<\/strong>&#8221; because this flag does not do what it is expected to do.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do not use directory\/* because of &#8220;.*&#8221; files (example : &#8220;directory\/*&#8221; does not match &#8220;directory\/.profile&#8221;).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>That is all about how to install and use 7zip on Ubuntu 18.04\/Ubuntu 20..04. Check man pages for more details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"other-tutorials\">Other Tutorials<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a title=\"Install Foxit PDF Reader on Ubuntu 20.04\" href=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/install-foxit-pdf-reader-on-ubuntu-20-04\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"bookmark noopener noreferrer\">Install Foxit PDF Reader on Ubuntu 20.04<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a title=\"Install and Setup ZSH and Oh-My-Zsh on Ubuntu 20.04\" href=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/install-and-setup-zsh-and-oh-my-zsh-on-ubuntu-20-04\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"bookmark noopener noreferrer\">Install and Setup ZSH and Oh-My-Zsh on Ubuntu 20.04<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a title=\"Run only Specific Commands with sudo in Linux\" href=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/run-only-specific-commands-with-sudo-in-linux\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"bookmark noopener noreferrer\">Run only Specific Commands with sudo in Linux<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to install and use 7zip on Ubuntu 18.04\/Ubuntu 20.04. 7zip is a free and open-source file<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,121],"tags":[155,154,6125,157,6126,1611,1610,158,156,67,1200],"class_list":["post-820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-command-cheatsheets","category-howtos","tag-7za","tag-7zip","tag-7zip-ubuntu","tag-7zr","tag-install-7zip-on-ubuntu","tag-install-7zip-ubuntu-18-04","tag-install-7zip-ubuntu-20-04","tag-linux-archives","tag-p7zip","tag-ubuntu-18-04","tag-ubuntu-20-04","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50","resize-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=820"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16627,"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820\/revisions\/16627"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}