Arch Linux

Barkester

Member

Registered: 2017-07-01

Posts: 24

Selective extraction from 7z in the terminal

Possible?

    My goal is to extract a single file from a 7z file. Sure sounds easy.

    7z e and 7z  x with -i  . Tried -r on the end ... haven't worked in any configurations I've tried. Is there perhaps a very super special and unique syntax?

    Seems to be the horrible file names full of special characters and spaces. Also get errors from the -i! . Enclosing in quotes with or without -i! errors...
    Tried all the simple stuff. \ for every special character and space. Different orders. Adding slashes to 7z commands. Tried wildcards, but they only represent something previous to the end which may help some, but all the thousands of files here are the same type. Tried just the file names sans folder and with folders and with wildcard for folders .... Dunno.

   A text full of failures grepped from history, if its helpful Every comand I tried is here: https://bpa.st/7YZA

   Possibly, a different extractor may do better, if any are known. Any command line option is appreciated. Thnx.

Jiwan

Member

Registered: 2026-06-24

Posts: 2

Re: Selective extraction from 7z in the terminal

try the following

7z x *.zip -o* [wild card type of file to be extracted eg. *.tif or *.jpg] -r -aou

or

7z x *.zip -o* -aou -ir![type of file to be extract in wild card format]

Barkester

Member

Registered: 2017-07-01

Posts: 24

Re: Selective extraction from 7z in the terminal

In 7z,  * does mean suffix with wild card. Weird. Found and tried. 

Problem is all the thousands of files are exactly the same filetype. All .zipmod

Thus, this gets extract all, same as 7z x. Maybe minus the folders. Thanks for trying.

Some way to accomplish *Android* in recursive fashion would be ideal. How to grab the middle?

dimich

Member

From: Kharkiv, Ukraine

Registered: 2009-11-03

Posts: 720

Re: Selective extraction from 7z in the terminal

My goal is to extract a single file from a 7z file.

Can you show an example of archive content, i.e. tree like in "7z l" output, and exact file name you want to extract?

Possibly, a different extractor may do better, if any are known.

bsdtar from libarchive can work with 7z format.

Barkester

Member

Registered: 2017-07-01

Posts: 24

Re: Selective extraction from 7z in the terminal

Heres the output from 7z l followed by | grep x for a random sampling as the paste don't want to save the whole. Over 250k.

https://bpa.st/H55Q Should give a view of the overall "structure" they used. I have a recursive renumerator for files like this, but not in a 7z. Can't rename. 

Last: the actual file : Sideloader Modpack - Studio/GDC/[GDC] Android 21 v1.0.0.zipmod.
Hundreds end with "v1.0.0.zipmod".

Failed attempts grepped from history are in the paste above.

7z l finds Android instantly. Got to be a way.

Last edited by Barkester (2026-07-08 03:33:03)

frostschutz

Member

Registered: 2013-11-15

Posts: 1,649

Re: Selective extraction from 7z in the terminal

If you give the filename path within the archive, it should extract only that one

7z x archive.7z 'Sideloader Modpack - Studio/GDC/[GDC] Android 21 v1.0.0.zipmod'

7z wildcards are a bit weird, you can try something like

7z x archive.7z -i'!*/*/*Android*'

In general with wildcards you have to quote them or the shell expands them before 7z even sees it.

Last edited by frostschutz (2026-07-08 04:39:45)

Barkester

Member

Registered: 2017-07-01

Posts: 24

Re: Selective extraction from 7z in the terminal

Tried both of those. Im actually really comfortable with regex. Dont work with 7z, tho'. They got thier own freestyle thing going, I guess.

Not Wildcard does not mean wildcard as we know it. it only kinda wild. Only works with suffix. Nothing else.

Both tried just for verification really. My first 50 attempts are in the paste up top. Again, maybe 7z can't do it. Really can't think of anything else other than possibly creating a plugin, but man. What a rabbit hole.

Thanks for trying.

dimich

Member

From: Kharkiv, Ukraine

Registered: 2009-11-03

Posts: 720

Re: Selective extraction from 7z in the terminal

Heres the output from 7z l followed by | grep x for a random sampling as the paste don't want to save the whole. Over 250k.
Last: the actual file : Sideloader Modpack - Studio/GDC/[GDC] Android 21 v1.0.0.zipmod.

There is no such file in the list you provided.

I created sample archive with the same tree as in your list above. Let's try to extract some existing file, e.g.

Sideloader Modpack - Studio/GDC/[GDC] Chlenomet Sex Machine. Gun v1.0.0.zipmod

The command

$ 7z x archive.7z 'Sideloader Modpack - Studio/GDC/[GDC] Chlenomet Sex Machine. Gun v1.0.0.zipmod'

works perfectly.

If you want to place the file to the current directory rather than under leading directories, use 'e' instead of 'x'. Also you can

$ 7z x archive.7z -so ...

to output file content to stdout.

If this is not what you expect for "to extract a single file from a 7z file", please describe the actual issue in more details.