zip

Compress files into zip file

Syntax

zip(zipfilename,filenames)

zip(zipfilename,filenames,rootfolder)

entrynames = zip(___)

Description

zip(zipfilename,filenames) compresses the contents of filenames into the zip file zipfilename. zip recursively compresses the content in folders. The resulting zip file contains the paths of filenames relative to the current folder. The zip file does not store absolute paths.

zip(zipfilename,filenames,rootfolder) specifies the paths for filenames relative to rootfolder rather than the current folder.

entrynames = zip(___) returns a cell array of character vectors containing the names of the files included in zipfilename. You can use this syntax with any of the input argument combinations in the previous syntaxes.

Examples

Compress a File

Create a zip file of the file membrane.m. Save the zip file tmwlogo.zip in the current folder.

zip('tmwlogo','membrane.m');

Compress Selected Files

Compress the files membrane.m and logo.m into a file named tmwlogo.zip.

zippedfiles = zip('tmwlogo.zip',{'membrane.m','logo.m'});

Compress all Code in Current Folder

Compress all .m and .mlx files in the current folder to the file backup.zip.

zip('backup',{'*.m','*.mlx'});

Compress a Folder

Compress the contents of a folder including all subfolders, and store the relative paths in the zip file.

Create a folder myfolder containing a subfolder mysubfolder and the files membrane.m and logo.m.

mkdir myfolder;
movefile('membrane.m','myfolder');
movefile('logo.m','myfolder');
cd myfolder;
mkdir mysubfolder;
cd ..

Compress the contents of myfolder, including all subfolders.

zippedfiles = zip('myfiles.zip','myfolder');

Compress Files Into Specified Folder

Suppose that you have the files thesis.doc and defense.ppt located in the folder d:/PhD. Compress these files into thesis.zip, one level up from the current folder.

zip('../thesis.zip',{'thesis.doc','defense.ppt'},'d:/PhD');

Input Arguments

zipfilename — Name of zip file

character vector | string scalar

Name of zip file to create, specified as a character vector or string scalar. If zipfilename does not have a .zip extension, MATLAB^® appends the .zip extension.

zipfilename must include a path relative to the current folder or an absolute path.

Data Types: char | string

filenames — Names of files or folders

character vector | cell array of character vectors | string array

Names of files or folders to compress, specified as a character vector, a cell array of character vectors, or a string array.

Files that are on the MATLAB path can include a partial path. Otherwise, files must include a path relative to the current folder or an absolute path.

Folders must include a path relative to the current folder or an absolute path. On UNIX^® systems, folders also can start with ~/ or ~username/, which expands to the current user's home folder or the specified user's home folder, respectively. You can use the wildcard character * when specifying files or folders, except when relying on the MATLAB path to resolve a file name or partial path name.

Data Types: char | string

rootfolder — Root paths

character vector | string scalar

Root paths for the files to compress, specified as a character vector or string scalar.

Data Types: char | string

Alternative Functionality

To zip files in the Current Folder browser, select the file, right-click to open the context menu, and then select Create Zip File.

Compatibility Considerations

zip can compress any number of files of any size

Behavior changed in R2021a

• zip can compress any number of files with a single function call.

• zip can compress an individual file of any size.

zip selects the permissions of the file rather than those of its symbolic link

Behavior changed in R2021a

• Starting in R2021a on Linux^® and macOS, if you pass a symbolic link to a file to zip, it saves the file permissions of the file itself in the archive rather than those of the symbolic link.