msexpand

msexpand [-v] [-d targetdir] [-f filename | source.cab] source.cab|source.cab filename

-v
    Verbose mode. Prints the name of each file as it is extracted.

-d targetdir
    Specifies the target directory where the extracted files will be placed.

-f filename
    Specifies a particular file to extract from the CAB archive. This option requires both the source CAB file and filename. The filename parameter is the name as stored in the CAB.

source.cab
    The name of the Microsoft Cabinet (.CAB) file to be extracted.

filename
    If a single file is extracted with source.cab filename it is the name of the single file which needs to be extracted.

The msexpand command is a utility for extracting files from Microsoft Cabinet (.CAB) files. These files are often used for distributing software on Windows systems. msexpand allows users on other platforms like Linux to access the contents of these archives. It can extract individual files, rename them during extraction, or extract all files in the CAB archive to a specified directory. msexpand is useful for accessing components or data contained within CAB files when native Windows extraction tools are unavailable. By default, it preserves the file timestamps and other metadata during the extraction process.

The utility provides options for specifying output directories and for verbosely displaying the files being extracted. It is essential for users who need to access Windows-specific files but are working in a non-Windows environment. Properly using msexpand helps to maintain data integrity and preserve file attributes during the extraction process.

msexpand primarily handles simple CAB files. It might not correctly process some complex or corrupted CAB archives. Error messages can be vague.

msexpand returns 0 on success and a non-zero value on failure. Check exit codes for script integration.

To extract all files from 'example.cab' to the current directory: msexpand example.cab
To extract a specific file named 'data.txt' from 'example.cab': msexpand example.cab data.txt
To extract files verbosely to a target directory named 'output': msexpand -v -d output example.cab

cabextract(1)