LINUX COMMAND ATLAS · COMMAND GUIDE

Linux zip command

Create a ZIP archive. Add -r when including a directory tree.

Info-ZIP

Syntax

Command form

zip [OPTION]... ARCHIVE.zip FILE...

7 options

Option	What it does
`-r`	Recurse into directories.
`-u`	Update entries only when source files are newer or missing.
`-d ARCHIVE FILE...`	Delete entries from an existing archive.
`-e`	Encrypt archive entries with a password prompt.
`-q`	Quiet operation.
`-x PATTERN`	Exclude matching paths.
`-9`	Request the slowest, highest compression level.

2 examples

Create a ZIP archive. Add -r when including a directory tree.

zip -r site-backup.zip ./site

Update the archive with a changed file.

zip -u site-backup.zip ./site/index.html

ZIP encryption compatibility varies; traditional ZIP encryption is not suitable for high-value secrets. Check archive contents before sharing.