Extracting and Creating RAR and ZIP Archives with PHP

PHP, a classic server‑side scripting language, can handle both RAR and ZIP archives for extraction and creation.

Extracting a RAR archive

To extract a RAR file you need the RarArchive extension. After confirming the extension is installed, use the RarArchive class as shown below.

$archive = RarArchive::open('example.rar'); // 打开RAR压缩包
if ($archive === false) {
    die("无法打开RAR文件");
}
$entries = $archive->getEntries(); // 获取RAR文件的实体
foreach ($entries as $entry) {
    $entry->extract('path/to/extract'); // 解压缩RAR文件到指定目录
}
$archive->close(); // 关闭RAR压缩包

The code opens the archive, iterates over each entry, extracts it to the specified directory, and finally closes the archive.

Extracting a ZIP archive

ZIP extraction is simpler because PHP provides the built‑in ZipArchive class with no extra dependencies.

$zip = new ZipArchive();
if ($zip->open('example.zip') === true) { // 打开ZIP压缩包
    $zip->extractTo('path/to/extract'); // 解压缩ZIP文件到指定目录
    $zip->close(); // 关闭ZIP压缩包
} else {
    die("无法打开ZIP文件");
}

This snippet opens the ZIP file, extracts its contents, and closes the archive.

Creating a ZIP archive

To create a ZIP file, use ZipArchive::CREATE and add files with addFile .

$zip = new ZipArchive();
if ($zip->open('example.zip', ZipArchive::CREATE) === true) { // 创建ZIP压缩包
    $zip->addFile('path/to/file1.txt', 'file1.txt'); // 向ZIP压缩包中添加文件
    $zip->addFile('path/to/file2.txt', 'file2.txt');
    $zip->close(); // 关闭ZIP压缩包
} else {
    die("无法创建ZIP文件");
}

The example creates example.zip , adds two files, and closes the archive.

Compressing a folder into a RAR archive

Compression to RAR uses the same RarArchive class. The following function recursively adds a directory and allows a Chinese comment to be set.

<?php
/**
 * 使用RarArchive压缩文件夹，并添加中文注释
 * @param string $source       目标文件夹路径
 * @param string $destination  压缩文件保存路径
 * @param string $comment      压缩文件的中文注释
 * @return bool  压缩成功返回true，否则返回false
 */
function compressFolderWithComment($source, $destination, $comment)
{
    $archive = RarArchive::open($destination, RarArchive::CREATE);
    if ($archive === false) {
        return false;
    }
    $rar_comment = iconv("UTF-8", "GBK", $comment);
    $files = scandir($source);
    foreach ($files as $file) {
        if ($file == "." || $file == "..") {
            continue;
        }
        $fullPath = $source . '/' . $file;
        if (is_dir($fullPath) {
            // 如果是文件夹，则递归压缩
            if (!compressFolderWithComment($fullPath, $destination, $comment)) {
                return false;
            }
        } else {
            // 如果是文件，则添加到压缩文件
            $rar_file = iconv("UTF-8", "GBK", $file);
            $entry = $archive->addFile($fullPath, $rar_file);
            // 设置文件的注释
            $entry->setComment(null, $rar_comment);
        }
    }
    $archive->setComment($rar_comment);
    $archive->close();
    return true;
}
// 使用示例
$source = '/path/to/source/folder'; // 源文件夹路径
$destination = '/path/to/destination/archive.rar'; // 压缩文件保存路径
$comment = '这是压缩文件的中文注释'; // 压缩文件的中文注释
if (compressFolderWithComment($source, $destination, $comment)) {
    echo '文件夹压缩成功！';
} else {
    echo '文件夹压缩失败。';
}
?>

These examples demonstrate that handling RAR and ZIP archives in PHP is straightforward using built‑in classes or extensions, enabling developers to extract, create, and compress files efficiently.