How to update one file in a zip archive

Question

Is it possible to replace a file in a zip file without unzipping deleting the old file adding the new file and rezipping it back?

Reason is I have a zip file which i

Answer 1

There is also the -f option that will freshen the zip file. It can be used to update ALL files which have been updated since the zip was generated (assuming they are in the same place within the tree structure within the zip file).

If your file is named /myfiles/myzip.zip all you have to do is

zip -f /myfiles/myzip.zip

Answer 2

Try the following:

zip [zipfile] [file to update] 

An example:

$ zip test.zip test/test.txt
updating: test/test.txt (stored 0%)

Answer 3

Use the update flag: -u

Example:

zip -ur existing.zip myFolder

This command will compress and add myFolder (and it's contents) to the existing.zip.

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Advanced Usage:

The update flag actually compares the incoming files against the existing ones and will either add new files, or update existing ones.

Therefore, if you want to add/update a specific subdirectory within the zip file, just update the source as desired, and then re-zip the entire source with the -u flag. Only the changed files will be zipped.

If you don't have access to the source files, you can unzip the zip file, then update the desired files, and then re-zip with the -u flag. Again, only the changed files will be zipped.

Example:

Original Source Structure

ParentDir
├── file1.txt
├── file2.txt
├── ChildDir
│   ├── file3.txt
│   ├── Logs
│   │   ├── logs1.txt
│   │   ├── logs2.txt
│   │   ├── logs3.txt

Updated Source Structure

ParentDir
├── file1.txt
├── file2.txt
├── ChildDir
│   ├── file3.txt
│   ├── Logs
│   │   ├── logs1.txt
│   │   ├── logs2.txt
│   │   ├── logs3.txt 
│   │   ├── logs4.txt <-- NEW FILE 

Usage

$ zip -ur existing.zip ParentDir 
> updating: ParentDir/ChildDir/Logs (stored 0%)
>   adding: ParentDir/ChildDir/Logs/logs4.txt (stored 96%)

Answer 4

7zip (7za) can be used for adding/updating files/directories nicely:

Example: Replacing (regardless of file date) the MANIFEST.MF file in a JAR file. The /source/META-INF directory contains the MANIFEST.MF file that you want to put into the jar (zip):

7za a /tmp/file.jar /source/META-INF/

Only update (does not replace the target if the source is older)

7za u /tmp/file.jar /source/META-INF/