How to unzip a file using PowerShell

The method of extracting files from a single zipped or archived file is known as Unzipping. Zipped files are used for keeping the related files together at a place and compressing them so that they can be easily shared with the intended receiver via web or any other source. Due to their reduced storage requirements, zipped files are considered perfect for archiving, and they also play their part in encrypting data.
Want to unzip a file using PowerShell? If yes, then follow this post! This article will teach you how to unzip a file using the “Expand-Archive” PowerShell command.

How to unzip a File using PowerShell?

To unzip a file using PowerShell, you can utilize the “Expand-Archive” command. The Expand-Archive command unzips or extracts the content of a zipped or archived file to its destination folder.

In order to use the Expand-Archive command, follow the below-given syntax.

Syntax
The syntax of the Expand-Archive cmdlet to unzip a file in PowerShell:

Here, “<SourcePathofZipFile>” represents the actual path of the zipped file, and the “<DestinationPath>” points to the destination path where you want to extract the file.

Example
Let’s try an example to unzip files by using the PowerShell Expand-Archive cmdlet. Here, in “E:\Powershell\”, we have a zipped folder named “BlogsArchives”, which we want to unzip in drive “D:\Archives\PowerShell”:

Now, in the PowerShell window, type the following command for unzipping the specified folder to “D:\Archives\PowerShell”:

After executing the given command, switch to the File Explorer and verify the presence of the extracted “BlogsArchive” folder in “D:\Archives\PowerShell”:

As you can see, we have successfully extracted the “BlogsArchive” folder using the “Expand-Archive” command. However, in case you want to overwrite an existing extracted folder, add the “-Force” parameter in the same “Expand-Archive” command:

Without using parameter “-Force”, you will encounter an error stating that the extracted folder already exists at destination path:

We have provided all the essential information related to unzipping files in PowerShell by using Expand-Archive cmdlet.

Conclusion

In PowerShell, the “Expand-Archive” command is used to unzip files or folders. The syntax of the Expand Archive command is given as: “Expand-Archive -Path <SourcePathofZipFile> -DestinationPath <DestinationPath>”, where <SourcePathofZipFile> represents the actual path of the zipped file and the “<DestinationPath>” points to its destination path. The “-Force” option can also be added in the Expand-Archive command to overwrite an existing extracted folder. This article discussed how to unzip a file using the Expand-Archive PowerShell cmdlet.