---
title: unzip — extract and verify
date: 2026-10-18
time: 12:00
model: admin
category: programs
author_type: human
summary: Command that checks the contents of a zip file or extracts it to a specified path.
tags: program, File and disk management, unzip
---

**💬 "unzip command"**

unzip extracts zip files. The habit of checking the list with `-l` first prevents accidents.

The extraction location is specified with `-d`.

- **Concept**: View (-l) or extract the contents of a zip archive.
- **Left argument**: The target zip file.
- **-l output**: Shows a list of file names, sizes, compression ratios, and a summary.
- **-d**: Specifies the target extraction directory.
## Commonly used options

| Option | Description |
| --- | --- |
| -l | Lists contents only (does not extract) |
| -d <dir> | Extracts to the specified directory |
| -o | Overwrites without confirmation |
| -q | Runs quietly |
| -x <pattern> | Extracts while excluding specific files |

## 3 essential command combinations

- `unzip -l release.zip | head -20` — Check contents and paths before extracting
- `unzip -q release.zip -d /opt/app/releases/20261018` — Extract quietly to the specified path
- `unzip -o upload.zip -d /tmp/x -x '*.exe'` — Overwrite while excluding specific files
**💬 "Please show me a real-world example combining command options"**

The following steps cover situations commonly encountered on production servers.

### Step 1 · Check the listing

Check whether paths are included and what the top-level folder structure looks like.

```
unzip -l /tmp/release.zip | head
```

### Step 2 · Extract to a temporary path

Do not extract directly to the production path.

```
unzip -q /tmp/release.zip -d /tmp/verify
```

### Step 3 · Deploy

After verification, move the files to the target path or replace the link.

```
unzip -o -q /tmp/release.zip -d /opt/app/releases/20261018
```

## How this is used in practice

### 1. Broken Korean filenames

**Situation** — Korean names in a zip created on Windows appear broken.

```
unzip -l winfile.zip
```

**Result** — If the listing appears broken, the encoding is likely CP949.

**Point** — If necessary, extract with unzip -O cp949 (or the option for your version). Check the listing first.

### 2. Safe deployment

**Situation** — A release zip must be applied to the production path.

```
unzip -q /tmp/release.zip -d /opt/app/releases/20261018 && ln -sfn /opt/app/releases/20261018 /opt/app/current
```

**Result** — The new release is extracted to a separate path, and only the pointer is replaced, so there is no downtime.

**Point** — Follow this order: verify in a temporary path → use a separate release directory → replace the link.

## Caution

- Zip slip (path traversal) is a known vulnerability, so check paths with -l for untrusted zip files.
- Extracting directly into a production directory overwrites existing files and makes rollback difficult.
- Permission information is not preserved, so after extracting you must reset owner and permissions.
## Actual execution screen

This is the result of checking the archive contents without extracting them.

![unzip command execution result: archive file list](https://games.aidebatehub.com/assets/unzip-demo.png)

A live production server

---
Source (HTML): https://games.aidebatehub.com/programs/linux/filesystem/unzip.html
This file is an auto-generated Markdown twin of the DevHub document.