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7-Zip provides extensive command-line switches to control compression, extraction, and archive operations.

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Switch Syntax

Switches start with - (dash) or / (forward slash) on Windows: 
7z a -mx=9 -mfb=273 archive.7z files/
7z a /mx=9 /mfb=273 archive.7z files/

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General Switches

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-o
string
Output directory for extracted files
7z x archive.7z -o/path/to/output
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-p
string
Set password for archive
7z a -pMyPassword archive.7z files/
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-r
flag
Recurse subdirectories
7z a archive.7z *.txt -r
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-t
string
Set archive type (7z, zip, tar, gzip, etc.)
7z a -tzip archive.zip files/
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-x
string
Exclude files by pattern
7z a archive.7z * -x!*.tmp -x!*.log
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-y
flag
Assume Yes on all queries
7z x archive.7z -y

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Compression Switches

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-mx
number
Set compression level (0-9)
  • -mx=0 - Copy mode (no compression)
  • -mx=1 - Fastest compression
  • -mx=5 - Normal compression (default)
  • -mx=7 - Maximum compression
  • -mx=9 - Ultra compression
7z a -mx=9 archive.7z files/
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-m
string
Set compression method
  • -m0=LZMA2 - Use LZMA2
  • -m0=LZMA - Use LZMA
  • -m0=PPMd - Use PPMd
  • -m0=BZip2 - Use BZip2
7z a -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9 archive.7z files/
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-md
string
Set dictionary size (e.g., 16m, 32m, 64m)
7z a -md=64m archive.7z files/
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-mfb
number
Set number of fast bytes (5-273) for LZMA
7z a -mfb=273 archive.7z files/
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-ms
string
Set solid archive mode (on/off or block size)
# Solid archive
7z a -ms=on archive.7z files/

# Solid blocks of 1GB
7z a -ms=1g archive.7z files/

# Non-solid
7z a -ms=off archive.7z files/
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-mmt
number
Set number of CPU threads
# Use 4 threads
7z a -mmt=4 archive.7z files/

# Use all available threads
7z a -mmt=on archive.7z files/

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Update Switches

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-u
string
Update options
  • -u- - Disable archive update
  • -up0q0r2x2y2z0w2 - Complex update mode
7z u archive.7z newfile.txt -u-
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-w
string
Set working directory
7z a -w/tmp archive.7z files/

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Archive Handling

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-v
string
Create volumes (multi-part archives)
# 100MB volumes
7z a -v100m archive.7z files/

# CD-sized volumes (700MB)
7z a -v700m archive.7z files/
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-sdel
flag
Delete files after compression
7z a -sdel archive.7z files/
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-sfx
string
Create self-extracting archive
7z a -sfx archive.exe files/
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-ssw
flag
Compress locked files
7z a -ssw archive.7z files/

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Overwrite Mode

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-ao
string
Overwrite mode for extraction
  • -aoa - Overwrite all
  • -aos - Skip existing files
  • -aou - Auto rename
  • -aot - Auto rename existing
7z x archive.7z -aoa

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Listing Options

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-slt
flag
Show technical information
7z l -slt archive.7z
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-ba
flag
Disable archiver messages
7z a -ba archive.7z files/

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Examples

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Maximum Compression

7z a -t7z -m0=lzma2 -mx=9 -md=64m -mfb=273 -ms=on -mmt=on archive.7z files/

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Fast Compression with Multi-threading

7z a -mx=1 -mmt=4 archive.7z files/

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Password-Protected Solid Archive

7z a -pMySecretPassword -mhe=on -ms=on archive.7z files/

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Split Archive with Exclusions

7z a -v100m -x!*.tmp -x!*.log archive.7z files/
Switches can be combined in any order. For switches that take values, use = without spaces.

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See Also

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