Does Windows have a built-in ZIP command for the command line?

Since Windows Explorer (since at least Windows XP) has some basic support for ZIP files, it seems like there should be a command-line equivalent, but I can't seem to find any sign of one.

Does Windows (XP, Vista, 7, 8, 2003, 2008, 2013) ship with a built-in command-line zip tool, or do I need to stick with third-party tools?

Solution 1:

It's not built into Windows, but it's in the Resource Kit Tools as COMPRESS,

C:\>compress /?

Syntax:

COMPRESS [-R] [-D] [-S] [ -Z | -ZX ] Source Destination
COMPRESS -R [-D] [-S] [ -Z | -ZX ] Source [Destination]

Description:
Compresses one or more files.

Parameter List:
-R Rename compressed files.

-D Update compressed files only if out of date.

-S Suppress copyright information.

-ZX LZX compression. This is default compression.

-Z MS-ZIP compression.

Source Source file specification. Wildcards may be
used.

Destination Destination file | path specification.
Destination may be a directory. If Source is
multiple files and -r is not specified,
Destination must be a directory.

Examples:

COMPRESS temp.txt compressed.txt
COMPRESS -R *.*
COMPRESS -R *.exe *.dll compressed_dir

Solution 2:

Not that I'm aware of. As far as third party tools goes, 7zip has a pretty nice command line interface and the binary can be distributed with your app in the app's directory, so you don't have to rely on it being installed ahead of time.

Solution 3:

Powershell does. See:

Compress Files with Windows PowerShell then package a Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget

Solution 4:

.Net 4.5 has this functionality built in, and it can be leveraged by PowerShell. You'll need to be on Server 2012, Windows 8, or have .Net 4.5 installed manually.

[Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.IO.Compression.FileSystem")
$Compression = [System.IO.Compression.CompressionLevel]::Optimal
$IncludeBaseDirectory = $false

$Source = "C:\Path\To\Source"
$Destination = "C:\CoolPowerShellZipFile.zip"

[System.IO.Compression.ZipFile]::CreateFromDirectory($Source,$Destination,$Compression,$IncludeBaseDirectory)