Zip & Unzip

Zip bundles multiple files and folders into a single .zip archive. Unzip extracts the contents of a .zip archive inside your Files.com site. Use it to share groups of files with partners, package deliverables, or move batches of related content.

You can browse the contents of a .zip file without downloading it from your site. Browsing shows each file name and its uncompressed size.

Zip creates a single .zip archive from files and folders. Unzip extracts files from an existing .zip archive. Use these operations to bundle content for sharing or to extract delivered archives without downloading them first.

Zip and unzip are available through the Web Interface (Web UI), the Command Line Interface (CLI) App, and through SDK & APIs.

Why Use Zip & Unzip

Zip and unzip let you work with .zip archives without moving data out of Files.com. Use them to package many files into one artifact or to unpack delivered archives into uncompressed files.

Use Zip to bundle files and folders into a single .zip file for sharing or delivery. This simplifies handoffs and reduces the chance a recipient misses a required file.

Use Unzip to extract an uploaded or delivered .zip archive directly into a folder in your site. This is useful when you only need one file from the archive. It also helps when a downstream workflow expects individual files.

Zip Files and Folders

Zipping creates a new .zip file from selected files and folders.

Start a zip by selecting the source files and folders. Then choose the destination folder and the name of the new .zip file.

Choose whether to overwrite an existing .zip file with the same name, if it exists. If you do not enable the overwrite, the new file won't be created if there's already a file with the same name in the destination.

Start a zip from the web interface in File Manager, or initiate a zip programmatically through the CLI and SDKs.

Unzip a Zip Archive

Unzipping reads an existing .zip file and extracts content into a destination folder that you choose.

When unzipping, you can choose to extract one file from the archive or the entire contents. The default unzip behavior is to extract the full archive contents into the destination folder.

Choose whether to overwrite an existing file with the same name. If you do not enable the overwrite, extracted files won't be created if there's already a file with the same name in the destination, resulting in partial unzipping.

Browse Zip Contents

Browse the contents of a .zip archive before extracting it. You can see each file name and its uncompressed size. Use this to confirm the archive contents and avoid extracting the wrong data.

Permissions Required

Zip and unzip require read permission on the folder that contains the source content and write permission on the destination folder.

For zip, the source content is the set of files and folders you selected. For unzip, the source content is the .zip file.

Background Execution

Zip and unzip run as asynchronous (backgrounded) operations. Start the operation, then continue other work while it runs. This supports very large compression or extraction operations without disrupting your work.

During an unzip operation, each file is placed into the destination folder immediately after it is extracted, rather than all files being added at once. Files are added to the destination folder atomically.

When you zip files, the new .zip archive does not appear in the destination until the process is completed.

In the web interface, Files.com shows in-progress work under Actions In Progress.