As a Linux user, you might often come across situations where you need to compress files into a single archive. One of the popular formats for file compression is RAR. In this article, we will explore the steps to create RAR file archives in Linux.
Introduction to RAR File Archive
RAR stands for Roshal Archive and is a proprietary archive file format developed by Eugene Roshal. The RAR format supports various compression algorithms, including RAR, ZIP, and GZIP. RAR files can be split into multiple smaller files for easier transfer or storage, and they can also be protected with a password.
The RAR format is not natively supported in Linux, but you can still create and extract RAR files using third-party tools.
Install RAR Tool
Before creating RAR archives, you need to install the RAR tool on your Linux system. The RAR tool is available for Linux as a command-line utility. You can install it using the following command in the terminal:
sudo apt-get install rarIf you are using a different Linux distribution, you can install the RAR tool from your package manager.
Creating RAR File Archives
Once you have installed the RAR tool, you can create a RAR archive using the following command syntax:
rar a [archive_name] [file1] [file2] ...In the above command, replace [archive_name] with the name of the RAR archive you want to create, and [file1], [file2] with the names of the files or directories you want to add to the archive. You can add as many files and directories as you want, separated by spaces.
For example, to create a RAR archive named my_archive.rar containing two files named file1.txt and file2.txt, use the following command:
rar a my_archive.rar file1.txt file2.txtThe above command will create a RAR archive named my_archive.rar in the current directory containing file1.txt and file2.txt.
Splitting RAR File Archives
If you want to split a large RAR archive into smaller files, you can use the -v option followed by the size of each split file. The size can be specified in bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, or gigabytes.
For example, to split a RAR archive named my_archive.rar into 100 MB files, use the following command:
rar a -v100M my_archive.rar file1.txt file2.txtThe above command will create multiple files with the prefix my_archive.part followed by a number and the extension .rar. To extract the original archive from the split files, use the rar command with the -v option and the name of the first split file. For example:
rar x my_archive.part1.rarPassword-Protecting RAR File Archives
You can password-protect your RAR archives to prevent unauthorized access. To add a password to a RAR archive, use the -p option followed by the password you want to set.
For example, to create a password-protected RAR archive named my_secure_archive.rar containing two files named file1.txt and file2.txt, use the following command:
rar a -pmy_password my_secure_archive.rar file1.txt file2.txtThe above command will create a RAR archive named my_secure_archive.rar in the current directory containing file1.txt and file2.txt with the password my_password.
To extract the password-protected archive, you need to use the rar command with the -p option and the password you set. For example:
rar x -pmy_password my_secure_archive.rarConclusion
Creating RAR archives in Linux can be quickly done using the RAR tool, which is available as a command-line utility. This article explored the steps to install the RAR tool, create RAR archives, split RAR archives, and password-protect RAR archives.
With this knowledge, you can efficiently manage and compress your files into RAR archives in Linux. The RAR format is a popular choice for file compression and can be helpful in various situations where you need to store or transfer multiple files.
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