arc

arc command [archive] [files]

arc creates and manipulates archives in the ARC format, which was widely popular in the MS-DOS era during the 1980s. It supports creating new archives, extracting files, listing contents, and testing archive integrity.The tool handles various compression methods used in historical ARC files, including Squeeze, Crunch, and LZW variants. It is primarily used today for accessing legacy archive files rather than creating new ones, as modern formats like zip and tar.gz offer significantly better compression and features.

a

Add files to archive

Extract files

Extract to current directory

List contents

Test archive

Delete files from archive

Print file contents

View with details

The ARC format is obsolete; use modern formats like zip or tar.gz for new archives. Limited compression compared to modern algorithms. Mainly for legacy compatibility.

The ARC format was created by System Enhancement Associates in 1985 and was one of the first popular file compression formats for personal computers.

unzip(1), tar(1), gzip(1)

Source code