libzip

libzip is a C library for reading, creating, and modifying ZIP archives. It provides a stable API that allows programs to access ZIP file contents without external tools and to build or alter archives programmatically.

The library offers APIs to open and close ZIP archives, enumerate entries, and access or modify the data and metadata of individual files. Typical use cases include listing file names, sizes, timestamps, and comments, extracting entry data to memory or to disk, and adding, replacing, or removing entries within an archive. libzip adheres to the standard ZIP format and supports common compression methods used by ZIP files, including handling uncompressed entries and ZIP64 for large archives.

libzip is written in C and designed to be portable across major platforms, including Unix-like systems and Windows. It is distributed as open-source software under a permissive license, and it is widely used by other software projects and language ecosystems. Language bindings exist to expose the library’s functionality to languages beyond C, making it convenient for applications that require programmatic ZIP handling without invoking external utilities.

Typical use scenarios include packaging and distribution tools, data export and import utilities, and any application that needs to read or modify ZIP archives at runtime. The project emphasizes a straightforward, well-documented API and ongoing maintenance to keep pace with ZIP format developments and platform differences.