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About Bandizip for macOS
Comparison between Bandizip & Bandizip 365 Bandizip in comparison with other archivers
Features & Technical Terms
How to use Multi-core Compression How to use the Finder’s right-click menu for Bandizip How to set Bandizip as the default app to open archives How to open RAR files on Mac How to open ALZ and EGG files on Mac How to use Extract Here (Smart) How to split a large file into smaller files with Bandizip How to view a list of files in an archive How to modify an archive without decompression How to set a password for an archive How to encrypt filenames in archives How to preview image, document, and music files in an archive How to use Bandizip's built-in image viewer How to move files to Recycle Bin (Trash) when deleting How to use presets when compressing files How to use Parallel Extraction How to use the Password Manager How to use the Auto Password How to use Repair Archive How to use the Password Recovery
Troubleshooting
How to troubleshoot when codepage auto-detection doesn’t work correctly How to troubleshoot when Error 22 occurs and Mac Finder on Catalina can’t extract a ZIP archive How to troubleshoot when a split archive can’t be decompressed How to troubleshoot when an error occurs saying split archive files are needed How to troubleshoot when an extracted app file can’t be opened How to troubleshoot when it takes too long to open archives How to troubleshoot when a badge icon for files doesn’t appear in the Finder How to troubleshoot when the Finder displays for external volumes incorrectly in the sidebar How to troubleshoot when the right-click menu for Bandizip does not appear in a cloud synced folder How to troubleshoot when files are automatically extracted from archives downloaded via Safari How to use the right-click menu for Bandizip on Ventura How to troubleshoot when a file downloaded through Chrome cant be opened. How to troubleshoot when you archive files in an external volume on Sonoma but the archive does not appear How to use the right-click menu for Bandizip on Sequoia How to change the Unicode normalization form used for filenames How to enable App Nap for Bandizip How to hide the services of Bandizip in the Finder's right-click menu How to extract symlinked archives on macOS How to troubleshoot when I can’t uninstall Bandizip How to troubleshoot when Finder file icons do not revert after uninstlling Bandizip How to troubleshoot when I can’t install Bandizip on the App Store How to request a refund for Bandizip that you bought from the App Store How to manage Bandizip 365 subscription from the App Store How to cancel a subscription to Bandizip 365

command line parameter

Bandizip for macOS can be run in the terminal using the following command line parameters.

How to run Bandizip in terminal

How to run Bandizip in terminal

1. Run the app file using the open command

open /Applications/Bandizip.app --args <archive>
open /Applications/Bandizip.app --args <command> [<switches>...] <archive> [<files>...] [<path_to_extract>]
open /Applications/Bandizip.app --args <bcommand> [<switches>...] [<files>...]

In this case, only one app runs as if running from Finder, and it cannot be run multiple times.

2. Run the executable file directly

Apps for macOS are composed of a special type of folder called Package, and the actual executable file exists inside.

For Bandizip, the location of the actual executable file is as follows.

/Applications/Bandizip.app/Contents/MacOS/Bandizip

The parameters that follow can be used in the same form as above.

open /Applications/Bandizip.app --args <archive>
open /Applications/Bandizip.app --args <command> [<switches>...] <archive> [<files>...] [<path_to_extract>]
open /Applications/Bandizip.app --args <bcommand> [<switches>...] [<files>...]
Bandizip <archive>
Bandizip <command> [<switches>...] <archive> [<files>...] [<path_to_extract>]
Bandizip <bcommand> [<switches>...] [<files>...]

<archive> - Archive

Performs the default operation specified in preferences. Normally you just open the compressed file.


<command> - Command

a Add files to archive
x Extract files with full paths
t Test integrity of archive
d Delete files from archive
c Create new archive (Overwrite existing one with the same name)
rn Rename files in archive

<bc> - Batch Commands

bc Compress multiple files/folders with the name of each.
If existing archives have the same name, (archive-name) (2), (archive-name) (3) … are created. If a destination folder is not specified, the archives are created in the folder where each of the original files exists.
bx Extract files from multiple archives to a destination folder.
If a destination folder is not specified, the files are extracted to the folder where each of the archives exists.
bt Test integrity of each archive.

- Stop switch parsing
-l:<0...9> Set compression level (0: store, 1: fast, 5: default, 9: maximum)
-r- Disable recurse subdirectories (default)
-r Enable recurse subdirectories
-aoa Overwrite existing files without prompt
-aos Skip and not overwrite existing files
-aou Auto-rename extracted files
For example, name.txt → name (2).txt
-zopfli Use Zopfil as default encoder (slow)
-p:{password} Set password for archive
-o:{dir} Specify destination folder
Only with x command and batch commands (bc, bx, bt)
-storeroot:<yes|no> -storeroot:yes Store root directory as top-level folder of archive
-storeroot:no Store no top-level folder of archive
-y Assume Yes on all queries
Close (de)compression windows on task completion if no error occurs
-ex:{list} Specify list of files to exclude when compressing
-ex:hello.txt
-ex:"*.bak"
-ex:"*.bak;*.tmp"
-ex:*\.git
-root:{dir} Specify root directory in archive when compressing
(-root:top_folder)
-fmt:{fmt} Specify archive format
(zip, zipx, exe, tar, tgz, lzh, iso, 7z, gz, xz)
-v:{size} Specify volume size
(-v:1000000 -v:1440k -v:100MB ...)
-cmt:{comment} Set ZIP file comment
(-cmt:Hello, -cmt:"Hello World!")
-cmtfile:{filepath} Specify path of txt file used as ZIP file comment
(-cmtfile:mycomment.txt, -cmtfile:"c:\test\my comment.txt")
-t:NN Specify number of CPU threads used when compressing
(-t:10, -t:1, -t:0)
-cp:NN Specify code page used when opening or extracting files
(Bandizip x -cp:932 japanese.zip)

Examples of available code page
- Chinese Simplified: 936
- Chinese Traditional: 950
- Japanese: 932
- Korean: 949
- UTF-8: 65001
-target:auto Extract files to a destination folder using Extract Here (Smart) feature.
If a destination folder is not specified, the files are extracted to the folder where each of the archives exists.
-target:name Extract files to an archive-name folder in a destination folder.
If a destination folder is not specified, the files are extracted to the archive-name folder in the folder where each of the archives exists.

Examples

Bandizip execution path settings

The examples below require the following path to be added to the execution path.

/Applications/Bandizip.app/Contents/MacOS


For the file that specifies the execution path, edit the .zshrc file in the root of the user folder, enter the following content and save it, and then open a new terminal to apply the execution path.

export PATH=/Applications/Bandizip.app/Contents/MacOS/:$PATH


Caution

Because Bandizip is an app subject to sandbox restrictions, when it is run in the terminal, the current path is not known.

Because of this, you cannot specify the file's path relative to the current folder.

The path to the file must be specified as an absolute path or a folder relative to the account home folder, such as ~/Documents/sample.zip.

Open archive

Bandizip ~/Documents/sample.zip

Create new archive (Overwrite existing one with the same name)

Bandizip c ~/Documents/sample.zip ~/Documents/src1

Bandizip c ~/Documents/sample.zip ~/Documents/src1 ~/Documents/src2

Add files to archive

Bandizip a ~/Documents/sample.zip ~/Documents/src/sample.txt

Bandizip a ~/Documents/sample.zip ~/Documents/src/sample1.txt ~/Documents/src/sample2.txt

Bandizip a ~/Documents/sample.zip ~/Documents/src/*.txt ~/Documents/src/*.jpg

Delete files from archive

Bandizip d ~/Documents/sample.zip ~/Documents/sample.txt

Bandizip d ~/Documents/sample.zip ~/Documents/*.txt

Extract files to destination folder

Bandizip x -o:~/Documents/dest ~/Documents/sample.zip

Add files to archive, set password as Passw0rd, overwrite existing files without prompt, and close the dialog box

Bandizip a -y -p:Passw0rd ~/Documents/test.zip ~/Documents/src ~/Documents/src

Extract files from multiple archives to one folder

Bandizip bx -o:~/Documents/dst ~/Documents/a.zip ~/Documents/b.zip ~/Documents/c.zip

Extract files from multiple archives to a destination folder using Extract Here (Smart) feature

Bandizip bx -o:~/Documents/dst -target:auto ~/Documents/a.zip ~/Documents/b.zip ~/Documents/c.zip

Compress multiple folders (a, b, c) with the name of each folder (a.zip b.zip c.zip)

Bandizip bc ~/Documents/a ~/Documents/b ~/Documents/c

Specify top-level folder of archive

Bandizip c -root:top ~/Documents/test.zip ~/Documents/abc.txt



Rename files in archive

Rename abc.txt to xyz.txt

Bandizip rn ~/Documents/test.zip abc.txt xyz.txt

Rename in subfolder abc.txt to xyz.txt

Bandizip rn ~/Documents/test.zip top/abc.txt top/xyz.txt



Rename AAA.txt to XXX.txt and BBB.txt to YYY.txt

Bandizip rn ~/Documents/test.zip AAA.txt XXX.txt BBB.txt YYY.txt

Compress multiple folders individually

Compress folders with the name of each, and create the archives in the destination folder

Bandizip bc -aoa -o:~/Documents/backup ~/folder1 ~/folder2 ~/folder3

~/folder1 → ~/Documents/backup/folder1.zip
~/folder2 → ~/Documents/backup/folder2.zip
~/folder3 → ~/Documents/backup/folder3.zip