How to Open a Zip File Without Extracting It in Python

1. Use the zipfile.ZipFile() Function to Open a Zip File Without Temporarily Extracting It in Python
2. Use the ZipFile.open() Function to Open a Zip File Without Temporarily Extracting It in Python

This article explains how to open a zip file without temporarily extracting it in the Python software. To open a zip file without temporarily extracting it in Python, use the zipfile Python library.

For this, import the zipfile standard library. Then, use either of the following functions.

• Use the zipfile.ZipFile() function in read-mode.
• Use the ZipFile.open() function in read-mode.

Before we begin, please get the zip file ready. Follow the below steps.

Use the zipfile.ZipFile() Function to Open a Zip File Without Temporarily Extracting It in Python

Below is an example program that shows you how to open a zip file without temporarily extracting it in Python. Use the zipfile.ZipFile() function in read-mode in the following way.

zipfile.ZipFile(file, mode="r")

Here, the file is either:

• A path to a file (a string)
• A file-like object
• A path-like object

For example,

import zipfile

archive = zipfile.ZipFile("mail.zip", "r")
# Let us verify the operation..
txtdata = archive.read("mail.txt")
print(txtdata)

Output:

b'This is from mail.txt'

Use the ZipFile.open() Function to Open a Zip File Without Temporarily Extracting It in Python

Here’s an example that demonstrates how to open a zip file without temporarily extracting it in Python.

Here, we use the open() function in read-mode.

ZipFile.open(name, mode="r")

The member of the zip file is treated as a binary file-like object. The name here can be either:

• The name of a file within the zip
• A ZipInfo object

Here’s an example.

import zipfile

with zipfile.ZipFile("mail.zip") as thezip:
    with thezip.open("mail.txt", mode="r") as thefile:
        # Let us verify the operation..
        print(thefile.read())

Output:

b'This is from mail.txt'