File compression in cPanel: zip and extract files

Compression packages many files into one archive. It is useful for downloading a site copy, uploading many small files faster, preparing files, or moving a folder inside cPanel File Manager.

Why compress files?

• Upload one ZIP instead of thousands of small files over FTP.
• Download a folder as a single archive.
• Move or copy a site section more reliably.
• Keep a temporary file snapshot before editing major files.

Compression is not a replacement for full account backups. Use cPanel Backup for account-level backup workflows.

Create an archive

1. Open cPanel File Manager.
2. Select the files or folders you want to archive.
3. Click Compress.
4. Choose Zip Archive, Tar Archive, or GZiped Tar Archive if available.
5. Choose the destination path and archive name.
6. Click Compress File(s).

Extract an archive

1. Upload or locate the archive in File Manager.
2. Select the archive.
3. Click Extract.
4. Confirm the extraction path.
5. Review the extracted files before deleting the archive.

Avoid mistakes

• Check whether the archive contains a top-level folder before extracting.
• Do not extract over a live website unless you have a backup.
• Delete temporary archives after downloading them because they count toward disk usage.
• Do not leave full site ZIP files publicly accessible under public_html.

Command-line archive tools (VPS/Dedicated only)

Standard shared hosting does not include SSH access. If you are using a Cloud VPS or Dedicated Server, you can use command-line archive tools which can be faster for large sites. For shared hosting, always use File Manager or FTP.

zip -r site-copy.zip public_html/
unzip site-copy.zip
tar -czf site-copy.tar.gz public_html/
tar -xzf site-copy.tar.gz

Related: FTP and SFTP access: upload files to your cPanel account | cPanel File Manager: upload, edit, organize, and delete files | Disk and bandwidth usage in cPanel: find storage and traffic problems | Backup best practices for web hosting

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