rar
Create and manage RAR compressed archives
TLDR
Create archive
SYNOPSIS
rar command [-switches] archive [files]
DESCRIPTION
rar creates and manages RAR archives. It provides high compression ratios and features like recovery records and solid archives.
Compression levels range from 0 (store) to 5 (maximum). Higher levels take more time but produce smaller files.
Recovery records protect against corruption. They add redundancy that can repair damage up to the specified percentage.
Header encryption (-hp) hides filenames in addition to content. Standard password protection (-p) encrypts data but shows names.
Volume splitting creates multi-part archives. Size can be specified in bytes, kilobytes, or megabytes.
Solid archives compress files together, improving ratios for similar files. Extraction of single files requires processing earlier files.
PARAMETERS
a
Add files to archive.x
Extract with full paths.e
Extract without paths.l, v
List archive contents.t
Test archive.d
Delete from archive.u
Update files.-m N
Compression level (0-5).-p [PASSWORD]
Set password.-r
Recurse subdirectories.-rr [N]
Add recovery record (percent).-v SIZE
Create volumes.-y
Yes to all queries.-o+, -o-
Overwrite mode.-hp [PASSWORD]
Encrypt headers too.
CAVEATS
Proprietary format - requires rar or unrar. Free version is command-line only. Linux version available but not open-source.
HISTORY
RAR was created by Eugene Roshal (Roshal ARchive) in 1993. It became popular for distributing large files, especially before broadband. The format continues development with improved compression and encryption.