How to update one file in a zip archive

Question

Is it possible to replace a file in a zip file without unzipping deleting the old file adding the new file and rezipping it back?

Reason is I have a zip file which is really big there is one xml inside the zip file that I have to update sometimes. Unzipping the zip and rezipping it takes a long time. So I'd like to just be able to replace the one xml inside the zip through a script. I already have that checks for updates on the xml I have.

So is it possible to just replace the one xml without unzipping and rezipping ?

Sorry i would use the zip command to do things like that but problem is the script is actually for an android phone and zip is not a command i can use unfortunately sorry i left that out. I would have used zip definately if i could but i only have unzip for droid and then there is tar in busybox but tar doesn't do what i need

can you change the question title to something more meaningful? — tokland, Jan 25 '11 at 23:42
Also, the question could have been one or two sentences. About 80% of it is rambling. — Dennis Williamson, Jan 26 '11 at 00:42

score 77 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 17 '13 at 22:06

77

I've found the Linux zip file to be cumbersome for replacing a single file in a zip. The jar utility from the Java Development Kit may be easier. Consider the common task of updating WEB/web.xml in a JAR file (which is just a zip file):

jar -uf path/to/myapp.jar -C path/to/dir WEB-INF/web.xml

Here, path/to/dir is the path to a directory containing the WEB-INF directory (which in turn contains web.xml).

answered Jan 17 '13 at 22:06

cayhorstmann

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what if I have to copy only the file instead of creating a director `WEB-INF` which has that file. – Helping hand Mar 04 '19 at 14:03
Also in my case, the dear old "jar" util did the trick! Thanks! – bitfox Aug 19 '19 at 22:47

score 66 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 25 '11 at 22:27

66

From zip(1):

When given the name of an existing zip archive, zip will replace identically named entries in the zip archive or add entries for new names.

So just use the zip command as you normally would to create a new .zip file containing only that one file, except the .zip filename you specify will be the existing archive.

answered Jan 25 '11 at 22:27

PleaseStand

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Could someone give an example, please? I don't understand the help of the zip command. – Gustave Jul 22 '15 at 10:08
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Let's say you zipped myfolder using `zip -r myfolder.zip myfolder` if you want to update `myfolder/otherfolder/myfile.txt`, go ahead and edit the file and run `zip -r myfolder.zip myfolder/otherfolder/myfile.txt` – eakkas Jun 08 '16 at 21:50
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How to do that if the file to replace has not the same name nor the same structure that the file to be repalced? – Fractaliste Apr 11 '17 at 09:55
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@Fractaliste You have to make it have the same name and structure ;) – Hack5 Oct 17 '17 at 18:41

WizardsOfWor · Answer 3 · 2019-03-12T22:23:53.540

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Try the following:

zip [zipfile] [file to update]

An example:

$ zip test.zip test/test.txt
updating: test/test.txt (stored 0%)

edited Mar 12 '19 at 22:23

answered Mar 21 '14 at 21:17

WizardsOfWor

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This is the easiest one to understand thanks to the example, thanks! – vatsug Mar 01 '17 at 17:05
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Take into account that you should see `updating:` instead of `adding:` if you want to update a file inside the zip; otherwise you are adding files to the zip, not replacing it. – Edenshaw Mar 12 '19 at 18:59
You're right, i didn't notice that. Updated, thanks! – WizardsOfWor Mar 12 '19 at 22:24

score 13 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 29 '13 at 14:40

I know this is old question, but I wanted to do the same. Update a file in zip archive. And none of the above answers really helped me.

Here is what I did. Created temp directory abc. Copied file.zip to abc and extracted the file in that directory. I edited the file I wanted to edit. Then while being in abc, ran the following command

user@host ~/temp/abc $ zip -u file.zip
updating: content/js/ (stored 0%)
updating: content/js/moduleConfig.js (deflated 69%)

-u switch will look for changed/new files and will add to the zip archive.

score 12 · Answer 5 · answered Apr 26 '16 at 15:01

Use the update flag: -u

Example:

zip -ur existing.zip myFolder

This command will compress and add myFolder (and it's contents) to the existing.zip.

Advanced Usage:

The update flag actually compares the incoming files against the existing ones and will either add new files, or update existing ones.

Therefore, if you want to add/update a specific subdirectory within the zip file, just update the source as desired, and then re-zip the entire source with the -u flag. Only the changed files will be zipped.

If you don't have access to the source files, you can unzip the zip file, then update the desired files, and then re-zip with the -u flag. Again, only the changed files will be zipped.

Example:

Original Source Structure


ParentDir
├── file1.txt
├── file2.txt
├── ChildDir
│   ├── file3.txt
│   ├── Logs
│   │   ├── logs1.txt
│   │   ├── logs2.txt
│   │   ├── logs3.txt

Updated Source Structure


ParentDir
├── file1.txt
├── file2.txt
├── ChildDir
│   ├── file3.txt
│   ├── Logs
│   │   ├── logs1.txt
│   │   ├── logs2.txt
│   │   ├── logs3.txt 
│   │   ├── logs4.txt &lt-- NEW FILE

Usage

$ zip -ur existing.zip ParentDir 
> updating: ParentDir/ChildDir/Logs (stored 0%)
>   adding: ParentDir/ChildDir/Logs/logs4.txt (stored 96%)

score 5 · Answer 6 · answered Sep 04 '15 at 17:26

5

You can use: zip -u file.zip path/file_to_update

answered Sep 04 '15 at 17:26

Renato Luiz Ramos

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score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Mar 19 '17 at 15:48

There is also the -f option that will freshen the zip file. It can be used to update ALL files which have been updated since the zip was generated (assuming they are in the same place within the tree structure within the zip file).

If your file is named /myfiles/myzip.zip all you have to do is

zip -f /myfiles/myzip.zip

score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Mar 21 '14 at 21:47

From the side of ZIP archive structure - you can update zip file without recompressing it, you will just need to skip all files which are prior of the file you need to replace, then put your updated file, and then the rest of the files. And finally you'll need to put the updated centeral directory structure. However, I doubt that most common tools would allow you to make this.

score 0 · Answer 9 · edited Oct 12 '17 at 13:04

7zip (7za) can be used for adding/updating files/directories nicely:

Example: Replacing (regardless of file date) the MANIFEST.MF file in a JAR file. The /source/META-INF directory contains the MANIFEST.MF file that you want to put into the jar (zip):

7za a /tmp/file.jar /source/META-INF/

Only update (does not replace the target if the source is older)

7za u /tmp/file.jar /source/META-INF/

score -2 · Answer 10 · answered Jan 25 '11 at 22:28

yes its possible.

on linux based systems just install zip and you can call it in the command line. have a look at the manpage: http://linux.die.net/man/1/zip

but in my personal experience, if possible and compression is not so important, this works better with plain tar files and tar.

How to update one file in a zip archive

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