How to create a RAR archive in Linux
Creating a RAR archive in Linux packs files and directories into one compressed file that is easier to upload, move, or hand off without flattening the original directory layout. That is useful for project folders, log collections, or any bundle that needs to stay together as a single file.
The rar command writes the archive with the a action, then rar l lists the stored paths and rar t tests the finished archive without extracting it. That keeps the workflow centered on one archive file while still providing a quick proof that the expected files were stored and can be read cleanly.
Package availability still differs across current Linux distributions and architectures. Ubuntu 24.04 exposes rar from multiverse on amd64, RARLAB publishes the current Linux x64 build, and other environments ship only readers such as unrar or omit the writer entirely. The steps below assume a working rar command is already available in the shell.
Related: How to extract RAR files in Linux
Steps to create a RAR archive in Linux:
- Change to the parent directory that contains the files or folders to store.
$ cd /tmp/rar-demo
Paths passed after the archive name are stored relative to the current directory. Starting from the nearest useful parent keeps the archived path names predictable.
- Create the archive by naming the new .rar file first, followed by the file or directory paths to add.
$ rar a demo.rar demo RAR 7.20 Copyright (c) 1993-2026 Alexander Roshal 1 Feb 2026 Trial version Type 'rar -?' for help Evaluation copy. Please register. Creating archive demo.rar Adding demo/file-02.txt 29% OK Adding demo/file-01.txt 64% OK Adding demo/subdir/file-03.txt 100% OK Adding demo/subdir OK Adding demo OK Done
The a action adds files recursively when a directory name is supplied, so demo stores both its files and the nested subdir content in one archive.
- Confirm that the new file is a RAR archive before moving or uploading it.
$ file demo.rar demo.rar: RAR archive data, v5
The file output is a quick format check before the archive is copied to another system or attached elsewhere.
- List the archive contents without extracting anything.
$ rar l demo.rar RAR 7.20 Copyright (c) 1993-2026 Alexander Roshal 1 Feb 2026 Trial version Type 'rar -?' for help Archive: demo.rar Details: RAR 5 Attributes Size Date Time Name ----------- ---------- ---------- ----- ---- -rw-rw-r-- 5 2026-04-14 12:51 demo/file-02.txt -rw-rw-r-- 6 2026-04-14 12:51 demo/file-01.txt -rw-rw-r-- 6 2026-04-14 12:51 demo/subdir/file-03.txt drwxrwxr-x 0 2026-04-14 12:51 demo/subdir drwxrwxr-x 0 2026-04-14 12:51 demo ----------- ---------- ---------- ----- ---- 17 5rar l shows the stored paths and sizes without writing files to disk, which is the fastest way to confirm that the expected directory tree made it into the archive.
- Test the finished archive to verify that all entries can be read successfully.
$ rar t demo.rar RAR 7.20 Copyright (c) 1993-2026 Alexander Roshal 1 Feb 2026 Trial version Type 'rar -?' for help Testing archive demo.rar Testing demo/file-02.txt 30% OK Testing demo/file-01.txt 52% OK Testing demo/subdir/file-03.txt 77% OK Testing demo/subdir OK Testing demo OK All OK
An All OK result confirms that the archive metadata and compressed file data can both be read cleanly, which is a stronger final check than only confirming that demo.rar exists.