7z(1) General Commands Manual 7z(1)

NAME
7z − A file archiver with high compression ratio format
SYNOPSIS
7z <command> [<switches>... ] <archive_name> [<file_names>... ] [<@listfiles>... ]
DESCRIPTION
7-Zip is a file archiver supporting 7z (that implements LZMA compression algorithm featuring very high
compression ratio), LZMA2, XZ, ZIP, Zip64, CAB, RAR (if the non-free p7zip-rar package is installed),
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.
7z uses plugins to handle archives, so it might be slightly slower than 7za(1) but can handle more archive
formats.
COMMANDS
a Add files to archive
b Benchmark
d Delete files from archive
e Extract files from archive (without using directory names)
h Calculate hash values for files
i Show information about supported formats
l List contents of archive
rn Rename files in archive
t Test integrity of archive
u Update files to archive
x eXtract files with full paths
SWITCHES
−− Stop switches parsing
−ai[r[-|0]]{@listfile|!wildcard}
Include archives
−ax[r[-|0]]{@listfile|!wildcard}
Exclude archives
−ao{a|s|t|u}
Set Overwrite mode
−an Disable archive_name field
-bb[0-3]
Set output log level
−bd Disable progress indicator
−bs{o|e|p}{0|1|2}
Set output stream for output/error/progress line
−bt Show execution time statistics
−i[r[−|0]]{@listfile|!wildcard}
Include filenames
−m{Parameters}
Set Compression Method (see /usr/share/doc/p7zip/DOC/MANUAL/cmd-
line/switches/method.htm from the p7zip-full package for a list of methods)

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−o{Directory}
Set Output directory
−p{Password}
Set Password (NOTE: this flag does not work with 7zr)
−r[−|0] Recurse subdirectories (CAUTION: this flag does not do what you think, avoid using it)
−sa{a|e|s}
Set archive name mode
−scc{UTF−8|WIN|DOS}
Set charset for for console input/output
−scs{UTF−8|UTF−16LE|UTF−16BE|WIN|DOS|{id}}
Set charset for list files
−scrc[CRC32|CRC64|SHA1|SHA256|*]
Set hash function for x, e, h commands
−sdel Delete files after compression
−seml[.]
Send archive by email
−sfx[{name}]
Create SFX archive
−si[{name}]
Read data from stdin (e.g. tar cf − directory | 7z a −si directory.tar.7z)
−slp Set Large Pages mode
−slt Show technical information for l (List) command
−snh Store hard links as links
−snl Store symbolic links as links
−sni Store NT security information
−sns[−]
Store NTFS alternate streams
−sfx[{name}]
Create SFX archive
−so Write data to stdout (e.g. 7z x −so directory.tar.7z | tar xf −)
−spd Disable wildcard matching for file names
−spe Eliminate duplication of root folder for extract command
−spf Use fully qualified file paths
−ssc[−] Set sensitive case mode
−ssw Compress shared files
−stl Set archive timestamp from the most recently modified file
−stm{HexMask}
Set CPU thread affinity mask (hexadecimal number)
−stx{Type}
Exclude archive type
−t{Type}
Set type of archive

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−u[-][p#][q#][r#][x#][y#][z#][!newArchiveName]
Update options
−v{Size}[b|k|m|g]
Create volumes
−w[path]
Set working directory. Empty path means a temporary directory
−x[r[−|0]]]{@listfile|!wildcard}
Exclude filenames
−y Assume Yes on all queries
DIAGNOSTICS
7-Zip returns the following exit codes:
0 Normal (no errors or warnings detected)
1 Warning (Non fatal error(s)). For example, some files cannot be read during compressing,
so they were not compressed
2 Fatal error
7 Bad command line parameters
8 Not enough memory for operation
255 User stopped the process with control-C (or similar)
Backup and limitations
DO NOT USE the 7-zip format for backup purpose on Linux/Unix because :
− 7-zip does not store the owner/group of the file.

On Linux/Unix, in order to backup directories you must use tar :

− to backup a directory : tar cf − directory | 7z a −si directory.tar.7z
− to restore your backup : 7z x −so directory.tar.7z | tar xf −

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.

example : 7z a directory.7z directory

Do not use "−r" because this flag does not do what you think.
Do not use directory/* because of ".*" files (example : "directory/*" does not match "directory/.profile")
EXAMPLE 1
7z a −t7z −m0=lzma −mx=9 −mfb=64 −md=32m −ms=on archive.7z dir1
adds all files from directory "dir1" to archive archive.7z using "ultra settings"
−t7z 7z archive
−m0=lzma
lzma method
−mx=9 level of compression = 9 (Ultra)
−mfb=64
number of fast bytes for LZMA = 64
−md=32m
dictionary size = 32 megabytes

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−ms=on
solid archive = on
EXAMPLE 2
7z a −sfx archive.exe dir1
add all files from directory "dir1" to SFX archive archive.exe (Remark : SFX archive MUST end
with ".exe")
EXAMPLE 3
7z a −mhe=on −pmy_password archive.7z a_directory
add all files from directory "a_directory" to the archive "archive.7z" (with data and header archive
encryption on)
SEE ALSO
7zr(1), 7za(1), p7zip(1), bzip2(1), gzip(1), zip(1),
HTML Documentation
/usr/share/doc/p7zip-full/DOC/MANUAL/start.htm
AUTHOR
Written for Debian by Mohammed Adnene Trojette. Updated by Robert Luberda.

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