RAR archives are still common when a recipient asks for a .rar file or an existing handoff process expects that format. On Linux, the rar command can pack a directory tree into one compressed file without changing the source files.
The a action adds files or directories to the archive named immediately after it. Supplying a directory stores its contents recursively, and running the command from the parent directory keeps the archived path names predictable for later extraction.
Linux package and CPU-architecture support differs by distribution, so start after a working rar command is available from a distribution package or the RARLAB command-line build. Use rar l and rar t before sending the file; an archive that merely exists can still have missing paths or unreadable compressed data.
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 7.22 Copyright (c) 1993-2026 Alexander Roshal 1 May 2026 Trial version Type 'rar -?' for help Evaluation copy. Please register. Creating archive demo.rar Adding demo/subdir/file-03.txt 35% OK Adding demo/file-02.txt 64% OK Adding demo/file-01.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 checks the archive format before the archive is copied to another system or attached elsewhere.
- List the archive contents without extracting anything.
$ rar l demo.rar RAR 7.22 Copyright (c) 1993-2026 Alexander Roshal 1 May 2026 Trial version Type 'rar -?' for help Archive: demo.rar Details: RAR 5 Attributes Size Date Time Name ----------- ---------- ---------- ----- ---- -rw-r--r-- 6 2026-06-13 10:15 demo/subdir/file-03.txt -rw-r--r-- 5 2026-06-13 10:15 demo/file-02.txt -rw-r--r-- 6 2026-06-13 10:15 demo/file-01.txt drwxr-xr-x 0 2026-06-13 10:15 demo/subdir drwxr-xr-x 0 2026-06-13 10:15 demo ----------- ---------- ---------- ----- ---- 17 5rar l shows the stored paths and sizes without writing files to disk, so the expected directory tree can be checked before extraction.
- Test the finished archive to verify that all entries can be read successfully.
$ rar t demo.rar RAR 7.22 Copyright (c) 1993-2026 Alexander Roshal 1 May 2026 Trial version Type 'rar -?' for help Testing archive demo.rar Testing demo/subdir/file-03.txt 36% OK Testing demo/file-02.txt 58% OK Testing demo/file-01.txt 80% OK Testing demo/subdir OK Testing demo OK All OK
An All OK result means rar read the archive metadata and compressed file data without errors.
Mohd Shakir Zakaria is a cloud architect with deep roots in software development and open-source advocacy. Certified in AWS, Red Hat, VMware, ITIL, and Linux, he specializes in designing and managing robust cloud and on-premises infrastructures.
