`zipfile`

The Python zipfile module provides tools to create, read, write, and extract ZIP archives. With just a few lines of code, you can manipulate ZIP files to back up data, share files, or save disk space.

Here’s a quick example:

>>> import zipfile

>>> with zipfile.ZipFile("example.zip", mode="w") as zip_file:
...     zip_file.write("example.txt")
...

Key Features

Creates ZIP archives
Reads and writes compressed files
Supports ZIP64 format for large files
Allows for extracting specific files from a ZIP archive
Provides a context manager for managing ZIP files
Supports multiple compression methods
Handles reading password-protected ZIP files
Allows adding files with custom archive names
Integrates with file-like objects or streams
Supports reading and writing metadata, including comments and timestamps
Enables appending files to existing archives

Frequently Used Classes and Functions

Object	Type	Description
`zipfile.ZipFile`	Class	Provides a high-level interface to ZIP archives
`zipfile.is_zipfile()`	Function	Tests whether a file is a ZIP archive
`zipfile.ZipInfo`	Class	Represents information about a member of a ZIP archive
`zipfile.PyZipFile`	Class	Extends `ZipFile` for working with Python libraries
`zipfile.ZipExtFile`	Class	Provides a file-like object for reading an archive member
`zipfile.ZipFile.write()`	Method	Adds a file to the ZIP archive
`zipfile.ZipFile.extractall()`	Method	Extracts all members from the archive to the current directory or a specified path
`zipfile.ZipFile.namelist()`	Method	Returns a list of names of the archive contents

Examples

Reads the contents of a ZIP file:

>>> import zipfile

>>> with zipfile.ZipFile("archive.zip", mode="r") as archive:
...     archive.namelist()
['file.txt']

Extracts all files from a ZIP archive:

>>> with zipfile.ZipFile("archive.zip", mode="r") as archive:
...     archive.extractall("extracted_files")
...

Common Use Cases

Backing up directories and files to ZIP files
Inspecting the contents of third-party archives before extraction
Distributing Python projects as compressed archives
Manipulating ZIP files without extracting them to disk
Bundling datasets for reproducible experiments
Securely transmitting files by compressing and encrypting them

Real-World Example

Suppose you want to create a ZIP archive of all Python files in a project/ directory. This example demonstrates how to do that efficiently:

>>> import pathlib, zipfile
>>> project_dir = pathlib.Path("project")
>>> archive_path = project_dir.with_suffix(".zip")

>>> with zipfile.ZipFile(archive_path, mode="w") as zip_file:
...     for file in project_dir.rglob("*.py"):
...         zip_file.write(file, file.relative_to(project_dir))
...

>>> archive_path.exists()
True

In this example, you create a ZIP archive containing all Python files in a directory, illustrating how the zipfile module can automate the archiving process efficiently.

Tutorial

Python's zipfile: Manipulate Your ZIP Files Efficiently

In this guided tutorial, you'll learn how to manipulate ZIP files using Python's zipfile module from the standard library. Through hands-on examples, you'll learn how to read, write, compress, and extract files from your ZIP files quickly.

intermediate python

For additional information on related topics, take a look at the following resources: