# Archiving and Searching Files ## Archiving Commands ### zip * **`zip`** - package and compress files into archives * zip files archive a number of files into a single file * zip compress the files so the archive takes less space ```bash zip /tmp/backup-notes.zip words.txt words2.txt ls -l /tmp/ -rw-rw-r-- 1 user user 499 ago 28 20:11 backup-notes.zip zip -r /tmp/backup-dirs.zip dir1 dir2 # -r option must be used to include the files in the sub-directories ``` ### unzip * **`unzip`** - list, test and extract compressed files in a zip archive ```bash # List archive files without extracting anything. unzip -l /tmp/backup-notes.zip Archive: /tmp/backup-notes.zip Length Date Time Name --------- ---------- ----- ---- 128 2022-08-28 19:27 words.txt 87 2022-08-28 19:35 words2.txt --------- ------- 215 2 files ``` ### tar * **`tar`** - creates an archive file from multiple files and directories, without compression by default * supports a vast range of compression algorithms * **`.tar`** and **`.gz`** files are more commonly used in Linux than zip files. ```bash tar -cvf archive.tar file?.txt dir? # Create and compress the archive with gzip tar -czf archive.tar.gz file1.txt file2.txt # List archive contents tar -tvf archive.tar -rw-rw-r-- user/user 6 2022-09-03 00:16 file1.txt -rw-rw-r-- user/user 7 2022-09-03 00:16 file2.txt -rw-rw-r-- user/user 8 2022-09-03 00:16 file3.txt drwxrwxr-x user/user 0 2022-09-03 00:11 dir1/ -rw-rw-r-- user/user 6 2022-09-03 00:11 dir1/file1.txt drwxrwxr-x user/user 0 2022-09-03 00:11 dir2/ -rw-rw-r-- user/user 7 2022-09-03 00:11 dir2/file2.txt drwxrwxr-x user/user 0 2022-09-03 00:11 dir3/ -rw-rw-r-- user/user 8 2022-09-03 00:11 dir3/file3.txt # Extract file from an archive in the current directory tar -xvf archive.tar # Help tar --help [...] Compression options: -a, --auto-compress use archive suffix to determine the compression program -I, --use-compress-program=PROG filter through PROG (must accept -d) -j, --bzip2 filter the archive through bzip2 -J, --xz filter the archive through xz --lzip filter the archive through lzip --lzma filter the archive through xz --lzop filter the archive through lzop --no-auto-compress do not use archive suffix to determine the compression program -z, --gzip, --gunzip, --ungzip filter the archive through gzip --zstd filter the archive through zstd -Z, --compress, --uncompress filter the archive through compress [...] ``` ### gzip * **`gzip`** - compress or uncompress single files * is most often used to compress text files, .tar archives, and web pages. * by default, it keeps the original file timestamp, mode, ownership, and name in the compressed file. ```bash gzip -k archive.tar # -k to keep the original file # Check the compressed file dimension: -rw-rw-r-- 1 user user 10240 set 3 00:16 archive.tar -rw-rw-r-- 1 user user 151 set 3 00:24 archive.tar.gz # Decompress a file and keep the input file: gzip -dk archive.tar.gz gunzip archive.tar.gz ``` ## Searching Commands ### find * **`find`** - search for files in a directory hierarchy * a starting point for the search is necessary ```bash find . -name 'file*.txt' # . = current directory and subdirectories starting point ./file1.txt ./file2.txt ./dir1/file1.txt ./dir3/file3.txt ./file3.txt ./dir2/file2.txt find . -iname 'file*.txt' # -iname for case insensitive search ``` ### locate * **`locate`** - find files by name, using a database * it can be faster than `find` command ```bash locate file*.txt /home/user/Documents/file1.txt /home/user/Documents/file2.txt /home/user/Documents/file3.txt /home/user/Documents/dir1/file1.txt /home/user/Documents/dir2/file2.txt /home/user/Documents/dir3/file3.txt ``` ### which * **`which`** - locate a command * it displays the full path of the command with its associated name ```bash which ls /usr/bin/ls ``` ### whereis * **`whereis`** - locate the binary, source code and manual page for a command ```bash whereis ls ls: /usr/bin/ls /usr/share/man/man1/ls.1.gz ``` *** --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://blog.syselement.com/tcm/courses/linux-101/3-filesystem/archive-files.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.