KingZip How-To

kz.exe Examples

kz.exe is KingZip's command-line tool. From the console you can compress, extract, list and integrity-test ZIP / 7z / TAR / GZ / BZ2 / XZ / KZ / WIM / Zipx and more. It's ideal for automating with batch files or PowerShell scripts.

• Quick Start
• Commands
• Switches
• Per-command Examples
• Scenarios
• Environment Variables
• Exit Codes

Quick Start (TL;DR)

kz l archive.zip                          REM list contents
kz x archive.zip -o:C:\Out -y             REM extract (keep full paths)
kz c -fmt:zip out.zip file1 dir1\         REM create ZIP (fast)
kz c -fmt:7z -l:5 out.7z file1 dir1\      REM create 7z (LZMA2 mt)
kz t archive.7z                           REM integrity test

Commands at a Glance

Basic syntax

kz <command> [<switches>...] <archive> [<files>...] [<path_to_extract>]

• <command> exactly one (a/c/d/e/l/rn/t/v/x)
• <switches> zero or more (-l:5, -p:password, -y, etc. — order-independent)
• <archive> path to the archive to process
• <files> input/target file list (when compressing, or as a filter for partial extract/delete)
• <path_to_extract> extract location for some commands (or use -o:)

All Switches (Options)

Values accepted by -fmt:: zip, 7z, tar, gz/gzip/tgz, bz2/tbz2, xz/txz, wim, kz/kip, zipx (zipx maps to internal ZIP).

-l: level → internal mapping

Per-command Examples

3.1 l / v — list contents

REM simple list
kz l photos.zip

REM verbose (modified time, CRC, ratio, etc.)
kz v backup.7z

REM password-protected: -p required if headers are encrypted; otherwise the list shows without a password
kz v secret.7z -p:password

3.2 t — integrity test

REM decode every entry and verify CRC
kz t backup.7z

REM password + auto-continue
kz t secret.zip -p:password -y

REM hide progress, results only
kz t big.7z -bd

Exit code 0 = OK, non-zero = corrupted/error (see the Exit Codes table).

3.3 x — extract (keep folder structure)

REM extract to the current folder (default)
kz x sources.zip

REM to a specific folder
kz x sources.zip -o:C:\workspace

REM auto-Yes (don't ask before overwriting)
kz x sources.zip -o:C:\workspace -y -aoa

REM extract into a folder named after the archive (sources.zip -> C:\out\sources\)
kz x sources.zip -o:C:\out -target:name

REM partial extract (specific files/folders only)
kz x sources.zip -o:C:\out  src\main.c  README.md

REM password + auto-rename on conflict
kz x archive.zip -p:password -aou

3.4 e — extract (flat, ignore folder structure)

REM flatten all files into one folder (subdir/foo.txt -> foo.txt)
kz e archive.zip -o:C:\flat

REM auto-rename when same-named files collide
kz e archive.zip -o:C:\flat -aou

3.5 c — create a new archive

REM ZIP (auto-detected from the extension)
kz c out.zip file1 file2 dir1

REM specify ZIP method + default level (5)
kz c -fmt:zip -mm:deflate -l:5 out.zip file1 dir1\

REM 7Z (LZMA2 multithreaded)
kz c -fmt:7z -l:5 out.7z file1 dir1\

REM ZIP password default: ZipCrypto
kz c -fmt:zip -mm:deflate -l:5 -p:password secret.zip confidential\

REM ZIP AES-256
kz c -fmt:zip -mm:deflate -l:5 -p:password -mem:aes256 secret-aes.zip confidential\

REM 7Z maximum compression + password (AES-256)
kz c -fmt:7z -l:9 -p:password secret.7z confidential\

REM non-recursive (don't descend into directories)
kz c out.zip -r- topfile.txt some_dir\

REM split archive (100 MB each)
kz c -v:100m parts.7z huge_folder\

REM SFX (self-extracting EXE — 7z only)
kz c -fmt:7z -sfx installer.exe payload\

REM custom SFX module
kz c -fmt:7z -sfx:custom.sfx out.exe payload\

REM limit to 8 CPU threads
kz c -mmt8 out.zip dir\

REM TAR + GZ in one step (.tar.gz uses -fmt:gz or the .tgz extension)
kz c out.tar.gz src\
kz c -fmt:tgz out.tgz src\

REM TAR + BZ2
kz c -fmt:bz2 out.tar.bz2 src\
kz c -fmt:tbz2 out.tbz2 src\

REM TAR + XZ
kz c -fmt:xz out.tar.xz src\

REM WIM (Windows Imaging Format)
kz c -fmt:wim sysimage.wim system\

3.6 a — add to an existing archive

REM add files to a ZIP/7z (recursive by default)
kz a out.zip newfile.txt newdir\

REM overwrite all on conflict
kz a out.zip changed_file.txt -aoa

3.7 d — delete entries inside an archive

REM delete a specific file from a ZIP (updates metadata only, no re-extract)
kz d archive.zip docs\old.pdf

REM delete an entire folder
kz d archive.zip   build\

3.8 rn — rename inside an archive

REM old -> new (pass one pair at a time)
kz rn archive.zip   src\old.cpp   src\new.cpp

REM multiple pairs at once
kz rn archive.zip   a.txt aa.txt   b.txt bb.txt

Common Scenarios

4.1 Daily backup script (Batch)

@echo off
set DATE=%date:~0,4%%date:~5,2%%date:~8,2%
kz c -fmt:7z -l:7 -p:!secret! ^
     "D:\backup\proj-%DATE%.7z" ^
     "C:\projects\my_repo" ^
     -bd -y
if errorlevel 1 echo BACKUP FAILED & exit /b 1
echo Done: D:\backup\proj-%DATE%.7z

• -bd hides progress → clean logs
• -y auto-Yes → unattended runs
• -l:7 Maximum (good speed/size balance)

4.2 Large-folder ZIP

REM ZIP with 16 threads (full CPU)
kz c -mmt16 -l:5 huge.zip    big_folder\

In Task Manager you can watch kz.exe CPU usage rise across 16 threads.

4.3 Split 7z in 100 MB volumes

kz c -fmt:7z -l:5 -v:100m bundle.7z   src\
REM result: bundle.7z.001, bundle.7z.002, ...

4.4 SFX (self-extracting archive)

kz c -fmt:7z -sfx kingzip_payload.exe   files\
REM when the user runs kingzip_payload.exe, the 7-Zip-zstd SFX extracts it

4.5 Structure-preserving extract + overwrite on conflict

kz x src.zip -o:D:\restore -y -aoa

4.6 Test then extract (automation)

kz t src.7z -bd && kz x src.7z -o:D:\out -y

&& runs the next command only when the previous one returns 0 (success). In PowerShell: if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { ... }.

4.7 Password ZIP — quick verification

kz l secret.zip -p:password > nul && echo OK || echo WRONG

4.8 Auto-try multiple password candidates

for %P in (pwd1 pwd2 pwd3) do @kz l x.zip -p:%P > nul 2>&1 && echo Found: %P && goto :end
:end

Environment Variables (tuning)

Thread-count defaults

• -mmt0 or unspecified: registry HKCU\Software\KingZip\MaxCoreCount (or the core count if absent). Cap 32 (MAX_WORKER_THREADS).
• -mmtN (N>0): force N threads.

Exit Codes

Use in scripts (Batch)

kz t in.zip -bd
if errorlevel 1 (
    echo TEST FAILED
    exit /b 1
)

PowerShell

& kz t in.zip -bd
if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { Write-Host "FAILED" -ForegroundColor Red }