libarchive-c

library5.3pypypi✓ verified 83d ago

libarchive-c is a Python interface to the C library libarchive, allowing users to read, write, and extract various archive formats like tar, zip, and 7z. It leverages `ctypes` for dynamic loading and is actively maintained, with regular releases (e.g., v5.3 released May 22, 2025). It is currently tested with Python 3.12 and 3.13.

serialization

pip install libarchive-c

github ↗package ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · LIBARCHIVE-C

libarchive-c

serializationpythonv5.3

Install

1.5s avg

Import

—

Disk

16MB

Pass rate

10/ 10

Env Coverage10 / 10

glibc

3.9–3.13

musl

3.9–3.13

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v5.3 · pip install

no network on importno background threads

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

py 3.10–3.920 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 0.0s · import 0.000s · 17.9MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.920 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 1.5s · import 0.000s · 18MB

16MB installed

● package 16MB

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

extract_file

✓ from libarchive import extract_file

✗ import libarchive; libarchive.extract_file(...)

This quickstart demonstrates how to create a simple 'tar' archive with a file, and then extract its contents using the high-level `file_writer` and `extract_file` functions.

import libarchive import os # Create a dummy file with open('test_file.txt', 'w') as f: f.write('Hello, libarchive-c!') # Create an archive archive_name = 'my_archive.tar' with libarchive.file_writer(archive_name, 'tar') as archive: archive.add_files('test_file.txt') print(f"Archive '{archive_name}' created.") # Clean up the dummy file os.remove('test_file.txt') # Read and extract the archive extracted_dir = 'extracted_content' os.makedirs(extracted_dir, exist_ok=True) os.chdir(extracted_dir) libarchive.extract_file(os.path.join('..', archive_name)) # Extract from parent dir os.chdir('..') # Verify extraction extracted_path = os.path.join(extracted_dir, 'test_file.txt') if os.path.exists(extracted_path): with open(extracted_path, 'r') as f: content = f.read() print(f"Content extracted: {content}") else: print("Extraction failed.") # Clean up archive and extracted directory os.remove(archive_name) os.remove(extracted_path) os.rmdir(extracted_dir)

Debug

Known issues

breakingIf you use the `archive_read_class` or `archive_write_class` arguments for custom archive handling, the classes you provide will now receive a `codec` name as a second positional argument.

fix

Update custom class constructors to accept `codec` argument: `__init__(self, obj, codec)`.

affects: 5.0+

breakingArchive extraction functions now pass `SECURE_NODOTDOT`, `SECURE_NOABSOLUTEPATHS`, and `SECURE_SYMLINKS` flags by default, unless extracting to the root directory. This enhances security but might alter behavior for paths containing '..' or absolute paths within archives, or symbolic links.

fix

Review extraction logic, especially when dealing with potentially malicious archives or specific path structures. Explicitly pass desired `flags` to extraction functions if default behavior is not suitable.

affects: 4.0+

breakingThe `ArchiveEntry` properties `atime`, `mtime`, `ctime`, `birthtime`, and `size` now return `None` instead of `0` when the corresponding metadata is unset in the archive.

fix

Update code that checks these properties to explicitly handle `None` values (e.g., `if entry.size is not None: ...`).

affects: 4.0+

breakingThe `ArchiveEntry.pathname` property now attempts to decode bytes using UTF-8 by default, which may break reading archives containing non-UTF-8 filenames that coincidentally resemble UTF-8.

fix

When reading archives with non-UTF-8 metadata, specify the correct `header_codec` argument to `file_reader` (e.g., `libarchive.file_reader('archive.zip', header_codec='cp437')`).

affects: 4.0+

breakingSupport for Python 2.7 has been dropped.

fix

Migrate your project to Python 3.

affects: 3.0+

gotchaThe `libarchive-c` Python package is a wrapper around the native `libarchive` C library. This C library must be installed on your system for `libarchive-c` to function.

fix

Install `libarchive` via your system's package manager (e.g., `sudo apt-get install libarchive-dev` on Debian/Ubuntu, `brew install libarchive` on macOS). On Windows, you may need to download the `libarchive.dll` and its dependencies and ensure it's in your system PATH or specified via the `LIBARCHIVE` environment variable.

affects: All versions

gotchaOlder or obsolete versions of the `libarchive` C library (especially those bundled with some operating systems like macOS) may not work correctly or support all features. Python `libarchive-c` is tested against newer versions.

fix

Ensure you have a recent version of the `libarchive` C library installed. If issues persist, consider installing a newer version via `brew` (macOS) or compiling from source, and point `libarchive-c` to it using the `LIBARCHIVE` environment variable.

affects: All versions

Upgrade

Version history

5.3latest on PyPI · released May 22, 2025

Audit

Dependencies

libarchive (C library)requiredRequired for `libarchive-c` to function as it's a CFFI binding. Users often need to install this separately via system package managers (e.g., `apt`, `brew`) or by providing its path via the `LIBARCHIVE` environment variable.

Agent activity

23 hits · last 30 days

node

Amazon

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/Changaco/python-libarchive-c ↗

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/libarchive-c/ ↗