$ Linux Command

Files

unrar

Extract, test, and list RAR archive files.

rararchiveextractcompressionwinrar

Additional Notes

unrar extracts files from RAR archives, a proprietary compression format developed by Eugene Roshal. It supports both the older RAR2 and the newer RAR3/RAR5 formats. While unrar is open source (provided under a GPL-compatible license), the rar compression tool is proprietary.

unrar can list archive contents, test archive integrity, and extract files with or without directory structure. It supports password-protected archives, multi-volume archives, and archives split across multiple files (.part1.rar, .part2.rar, etc.).

Syntax

unrar <command> [options] archive [files...] [path]

Commands

  • e: Extract files without archive paths.
  • x: Extract files with full path.
  • l: List archive contents.
  • t: Test archive integrity.
  • v: Verbose listing of archive contents.
  • p: Print file to standard output.

Parameters

  • options: Flags that change how unrar behaves.
  • target: Optional file, device, interface, user, service, or command target when the command supports one.

Common Options

  • -o+: Overwrite existing files.
  • -o-: Do not overwrite existing files.
  • -p password: Decrypt with the given password.
  • -r: Recurse subdirectories.
  • -y: Assume yes to all queries.
  • -ad: Append archive name to destination path.
  • -x file: Exclude the specified file from extraction.

Examples

unrar x archive.rar

Extract with full directory structure.

unrar e archive.rar /tmp/output

Extract all files to /tmp/output (no subdirectories).

unrar l archive.rar

List the contents of the archive.

unrar t archive.part1.rar

Test integrity of a multi-volume archive.

unrar x -psecret123 archive.rar

Extract a password-protected archive.

Practical Notes

  • The free unrar supports extraction only. Use the proprietary rar command to create RAR archives.
  • For multi-volume archives, point to the first volume (.part1.rar).
  • RAR5 archives (created with newer WinRAR) are fully supported.
  • 7z (p7zip) can also extract RAR files and supports more archive formats.