ZIP – Cross Platform

First up is ZIP one of the most commonly used compression techniques used across all platforms

To compress

zip -r archive_name.zip folder_to_compress

To extract

unzip archive_name.zip

If you want to make a zip without those invisible Mac resource files such as “_MACOSX” or “._Filename” and .ds store files, use the “-X” option in the command so:

zip -r -X archive_name.zip folder_to_compress

TAR.GZ – Cross Platform

Second up is TAR, an old favorite on Unix/Linux – you add the GZ for the compression – compresses tighter than zip

To compress

tar -zcvf archive_name.tar.gz folder_to_compress

To extract

tar -zxvf archive_name.tar.gz

TAR.BZ2 – Cross Platform

A variation on TAR GZ but with better compression than both tar.gz and zip.

To compress

tar -jcvf archive_name.tar.bz2 folder_to_compress

To extract

tar -jxvf archive_name.tar.bz2

GZ

Without the tar

To extract

gunzip archivename.gz