How to use the command 'ark' (with examples)

The ‘ark’ command is KDE’s archiving tool, designed for managing archives on the Linux platform. It provides a convenient way to extract and create archives.

Use case 1: Extract a specific archive into the current directory

Code:

ark --batch path/to/archive

Motivation: Extracting a specific archive into the current directory can be useful when you want to quickly access the contents of an archive without cluttering the current directory.

Explanation:

• ‘ark’: The command itself.
• ‘–batch’: Extracts the archive without prompting for any inputs.
• ‘path/to/archive’: Specifies the path to the archive that needs to be extracted.

Example output:

Successfully extracted 'archive.zip' into the current directory.

Use case 2: Extract an archive into a specific directory

Code:

ark --batch --destination path/to/directory path/to/archive

Motivation: Extracting an archive into a specific directory allows you to organize the extracted files and prevent clutter in the current directory.

Explanation:

• ‘ark’: The command itself.
• ‘–batch’: Extracts the archive without prompting for any inputs.
• ‘–destination path/to/directory’: Specifies the path to the directory where the archive should be extracted.
• ‘path/to/archive’: Specifies the path to the archive that needs to be extracted.

Example output:

Successfully extracted 'archive.zip' into 'path/to/directory'.

Use case 3: Create an archive if it does not exist and add specific files to it

Code:

ark --add-to path/to/archive path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...

Motivation: Creating an archive with specific files allows you to group related files together for easy storage or sharing.

Explanation:

• ‘ark’: The command itself.
• ‘–add-to path/to/archive’: Specifies the path to the archive where files should be added. If the archive doesn’t exist, it will be created.
• ‘path/to/file1 path/to/file2 …’: Specifies the file(s) that need to be added to the archive.

Example output:

Successfully added 'file1.txt' and 'file2.docx' to 'archive.zip'.

Conclusion:

The ‘ark’ command provides a convenient way to manage archives on the Linux platform. Whether you need to extract specific archives, organize extraction into specific directories, or create archives with specific files, the ‘ark’ command has the necessary functionality to meet your needs.