p7zip

What p7zip is

p7zip is a Unix-like-systems port of 7-Zip, and the project describes this fork as adding codecs and improvements. It runs on Linux and macOS, with additional supported platforms listed as Solaris, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, Cygwin, AIX, BeOS, and Amiga. The current build is command-line only. Supported archive formats include 7z, ZIP, TAR, gzip, bzip2, xz, RAR, and ISO. p7zip can create .7z files using methods such as Zstandard, LZ4, Fast LZMA2, Brotli, LZ5, Lizard, and Lzham. Listed encryption methods include 7zAES and AES256CBC; hashers include CRC32, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-512, BLAKE2sp, and BLAKE3. Multithreading for additional codecs depends on a separate Multithreading Library. The project uses the GNU LGPL license. Its README provides makefile instructions for building the 7zz, 7za, 7zr, and 7z.so binaries from source, and points to a separate p7zip_test_utils project for checking 7zz. The free p7zip-zstd plan is CLI only and requires building from source.

Who it suits

p7zip suits users of Unix-like systems who want command-line tools to create or work with archives. It may fit users who are comfortable building software from source and want the listed archive, encryption, and hashing options.

Limits

The free p7zip-zstd plan is CLI only and requires building from source. Multithreading for additional codecs depends on a separate Multithreading Library.

Getting started

1. Visit the p7zip project on GitHub.
2. Use the README makefile instructions to build the binaries from source.
3. Use the command-line tools on a supported platform.

Verdict

Choose p7zip if you want a free command-line archive tool for a listed Unix-like platform and can build it from source. Its broad format, codec, encryption, and hashing lists are useful for command-line workflows. Look elsewhere if you need a graphical interface or do not want to build from source.