How to use the command atool (with examples)

The atool command is a tool used for managing archives of various formats. It provides an easy and efficient way to list files in archives, extract archives, and create new archives with multiple files. The atool command is especially useful when working with different types of archives and performing batch operations.

Use case 1: List files in a zip archive

Code:

atool --list path/to/archive.zip

Motivation: By listing the files in a zip archive, you can quickly get an overview of its contents without the need to extract the entire archive. This is helpful when you want to preview the files or ensure that the necessary files are present before extracting.

Explanation:

• atool: The command itself.
• --list: Specifies that we want to list the files in the archive.
• path/to/archive.zip: The path to the zip archive that you want to list the files from.

Example output:

archive.zip:
  - file1.txt
  - file2.txt
  - subdirectory/
    - file3.txt

Use case 2: Unpack a tar.gz archive into a new subdirectory (or current directory if it contains only one file)

Code:

atool --extract path/to/archive.tar.gz

Motivation: When you want to extract a tar.gz archive, the --extract option allows you to unpack the archive into a new subdirectory. This helps to organize the extracted files and prevents cluttering of the current directory.

Explanation:

• atool: The command itself.
• --extract: Specifies that we want to extract the files from the archive.
• path/to/archive.tar.gz: The path to the tar.gz archive that you want to extract.

Example output:

Extracting archive.tar.gz to directory 'archive':
  - archive/file1.txt
  - archive/file2.txt
  - archive/subdirectory/
    - archive/subdirectory/file3.txt

Use case 3: Create a new 7zip archive with two files

Code:

atool --add path/to/archive.7z path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...

Motivation: Sometimes you may need to create a new archive with specific files. The --add option allows you to create a new 7zip archive and add multiple files to it, making it easy to bundle and share multiple files together.

Explanation:

• atool: The command itself.
• --add: Specifies that we want to create a new archive and add files to it.
• path/to/archive.7z: The path to the new 7zip archive that you want to create.
• path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...: The paths to the files that you want to add to the archive.

Example output:

Creating archive.7z:
  - file1.txt
  - file2.txt

Use case 4: Extract all zip and rar archives in the current directory

Code:

atool --each --extract *.zip *.rar

Motivation: When dealing with a directory containing multiple zip and rar archives, the --each option allows you to extract all of them at once. This saves time and effort compared to extracting each archive individually.

Explanation:

• atool: The command itself.
• --each: Specifies that we want to perform the following operation on each matching archive.
• --extract: Specifies that we want to extract the files from the archive.
• *.zip *.rar: The patterns for matching zip and rar archives in the current directory.

Example output:

Extracting archive1.zip to directory 'archive1'...
Extracting archive2.zip to directory 'archive2'...
Extracting archive3.rar to directory 'archive3'...

Conclusion:

The atool command is a versatile tool for managing archives of various formats. Its capabilities include listing files in archives, extracting archives, and creating new archives with specific files. By using the atool command, you can efficiently work with archives and perform batch operations, saving time and effort.