React Native Zip Archive

Native zip and unzip for React Native and Expo (iOS & Android). Password protection, progress events, selective extract, and AbortSignal cancellation.

Which version?

React Native	Install
< 0.70	npm install react-native-zip-archive@^7.0.0
0.70–0.81	Latest v9 (old architecture works; rebuild native)
0.82+	Latest v9 (New Architecture only)

iOS: v7+ requires deployment target iOS 15.5+.

New Architecture is recommended. See MIGRATION.md for upgrades from v7.

Requirements

	Minimum
React Native	≥ 0.70
React	≥ 18
iOS	≥ 15.5
Android	API 23+

Published version and peer ranges: see package.json.

Installation

React Native

npm install react-native-zip-archive
cd ios && pod install

Expo

Works in development builds / EAS only — not Expo Go (custom native code).

npx expo install react-native-zip-archive

Add the config plugin in app.json:

{
  "expo": {
    "plugins": ["react-native-zip-archive"]
  }
}

See playground-expo for a working example.

Quick start

import {
  zip,
  unzip,
  zipWithPassword,
  unzipWithPassword,
  listContents,
  subscribe,
  cancel,
  ErrorCodes,
} from 'react-native-zip-archive'

// Paths: use react-native-fs (bare) or expo-file-system/legacy (Expo)
import { DocumentDirectoryPath } from 'react-native-fs'
// Expo: const DocumentDirectoryPath = FileSystem.documentDirectory

const archive = `${DocumentDirectoryPath}/bundle.zip`
const outDir = `${DocumentDirectoryPath}/out`

// Zip a folder
await zip(DocumentDirectoryPath, archive)

// Unzip
await unzip(archive, outDir)

// Password
await zipWithPassword(DocumentDirectoryPath, archive, 'secret', 'STANDARD')
await unzipWithPassword(archive, outDir, 'secret')

// List + selective extract + AbortSignal
const controller = new AbortController()
const entries = await listContents(archive)
const assets = entries
  .filter((e) => !e.isDirectory && e.path.startsWith('assets/'))
  .map((e) => e.path)

await unzip(archive, outDir, { entries: assets, signal: controller.signal })
// controller.abort() → rejects with ZipError code ERR_CANCELLED

Progress and cancel:

const sub = subscribe(({ progress, filePath }) => {
  console.log(progress, filePath) // progress: 0…1
})

await unzip(archive, outDir)
sub.remove()

// Or abort the in-flight native op
await cancel() // rejects with ErrorCodes.CANCELLED

API

zip(source, target, compressionLevelOrOptions?)

Zip a folder (string) or files/folders (string[]) to target.

• Single file: zip([file], target).
• Array items may be directories; contents are added recursively (entry paths relative to that directory; empty dirs preserved).
• Third arg: compression level (0–9, or constants below) or { compressionLevel, signal }.

import { BEST_SPEED } from 'react-native-zip-archive'

await zip(sourceDir, targetZip)
await zip([fileA, fileB], targetZip, BEST_SPEED)
await zip(sourceDir, targetZip, { compressionLevel: BEST_SPEED, signal })

Compression constants: DEFAULT_COMPRESSION (-1), NO_COMPRESSION (0), BEST_SPEED (1), BEST_COMPRESSION (9).

zipWithPassword(source, target, password, encryptionTypeOrOptions?, compressionLevel?)

Same sources as zip, with a password.

Encryption types:

Value	Meaning
'STANDARD' (default)	ZipCrypto — readable by Node, Java, stock unzip
'AES-128' / 'AES-256'	WinZip-AES (stronger; many server tools cannot open)

On iOS, both AES options use AES-256 internally. Prefer 'STANDARD' when archives will be unzipped off-device.

await zipWithPassword(sourceDir, targetZip, 'password', 'STANDARD')
await zipWithPassword(sourceDir, targetZip, 'password', {
  encryptionMethod: 'AES-256',
  compressionLevel: BEST_COMPRESSION,
  signal,
})

unzip(source, target, charsetOrEntriesOrOptions?, entries?)

Extract an archive. Optional entries extracts only those paths (directories include nested children).

await unzip(source, target)
await unzip(source, target, 'UTF-8')
await unzip(source, target, ['readme.md', 'docs'])
await unzip(source, target, 'UTF-8', ['readme.md'])
await unzip(source, target, { entries: ['readme.md'], signal })

Charset defaults to UTF-8. On iOS, non-UTF-8 values reject with ERR_UNSUPPORTED.

unzipWithPassword(source, target, password, entriesOrOptions?)

await unzipWithPassword(source, target, 'password')
await unzipWithPassword(source, target, 'password', ['secret.txt'])
await unzipWithPassword(source, target, 'password', { entries: ['secret.txt'], signal })

listContents(source, charset?) → Promise<ZipEntry[]>

type ZipEntry = {
  path: string
  size: number           // uncompressed bytes
  compressedSize: number
  isDirectory: boolean
  isEncrypted: boolean
}

unzipAssets(assetPath, target, options?)

Unzip a bundled archive (relative path only — not an absolute filesystem path).

• Android: path under APK assets/ (also accepts content:// URIs)
• iOS: path in the main app bundle

await unzipAssets('./myFile.zip', DocumentDirectoryPath)
await unzipAssets('./myFile.zip', DocumentDirectoryPath, { signal })

getUncompressedSize(source, charset?) → Promise<number>

Total uncompressed size in bytes. Charset is Android-only; iOS ignores it.

isPasswordProtected(source) → Promise<boolean>

cancel() → Promise<void>

Best-effort abort of the in-flight operation. The active promise rejects with ErrorCodes.CANCELLED (ERR_CANCELLED).

Operations are serialized (Android single-thread executor / iOS serial queue). Concurrent calls queue FIFO; cancel() is not blocked behind in-flight work.

subscribe(callback) → { remove() }

subscribe(({ progress, filePath }) => { /* progress 0…1 */ })

• Event is global — match filePath to your operation, then call .remove().
• unzip / unzipWithPassword: byte-weighted after each entry.
• zip / zipWithPassword: per-file.
• unzipAssets (Android): approximate vs compressed size.

Error codes

Stable error.code on both platforms (also on ErrorCodes):

Code	When
ERR_FILE_NOT_FOUND	Source missing
ERR_INVALID_PATH	Bad / null path
ERR_INVALID_ARGS	Empty password, empty entries, etc.
ERR_WRONG_PASSWORD	Decrypt failed
ERR_NOT_PASSWORD_PROTECTED	Password API on a plain archive
ERR_CORRUPT_ARCHIVE	Not a zip / truncated
ERR_UNSAFE_PATH	Zip Slip / path traversal
ERR_CANCELLED	cancel() or AbortSignal
ERR_ZIP / ERR_UNZIP	Generic failure
ERR_UNSUPPORTED	Not available on this platform

ZipError is a factory (not an ES class). Check error.code; do not use instanceof.

Platform support

Feature	iOS	Android
zip / zipWithPassword	✅	✅
unzip / unzipWithPassword (+ selective entries)	✅	✅
listContents	✅	✅
unzipAssets	✅	✅
cancel / AbortSignal	✅	✅
isPasswordProtected / getUncompressedSize	✅	✅
Progress events	✅	✅

Notes

• Encryption: Prefer 'STANDARD' for server-side unzip. AES archives often fail with Node unzipper / Java ZipInputStream.
• Charset: Android supports custom charsets; iOS is UTF-8 only (ERR_UNSUPPORTED otherwise).
• Paths: Decode URL-encoded paths (decodeURIComponent) before passing them — %20 has been mistaken for corrupt archives (#333).
• Interop check: node scripts/validate-zip-header.js /path/to/archive.zip and npm run test:interop.

Old architecture (RN 0.70–0.81)

Stay on v7 only for RN < 0.70. On 0.70+, install latest v9 and rebuild native — do not stay on v7 for old architecture.

v9 loads via TurboModuleRegistry first, then NativeModules.RNZipArchive. On RN 0.82+, the opt-out flags newArchEnabled=false / RCT_NEW_ARCH_ENABLED=0 are ignored (New Architecture only).

CI compile proof for RN 0.81.6: .github/workflows/old-arch.yml. Agent/contributor details: AGENTS.md.

Playgrounds

App	Stack
playground-expo	Expo SDK 55, Expo Router, New Architecture
playground-rn	Bare RN 0.83.9, New Architecture

Both consume the library via file:.. and include Maestro E2E flows under .maestro/.

Comparison

	This library	JSZip	Nitro unzip/archive
Zip / unzip	Native iOS + Android	Pure JS	Native via Nitro
Password zips	Yes	Small in-memory only	Check those packages
Expo Go	No (dev build)	Yes	No (dev build)
Extra native deps	None	None	react-native-nitro-modules
Large files	Native I/O	Memory-heavy	Varies

Use this library for on-device native zip/unzip. Use JSZip for small in-JS archives.

Testing

npm test                 # Jest (JS layer + mocks)
npm run test:interop     # Node/Java unzip of committed fixtures
npm run test:docs-sync   # README ↔ AGENTS.md fact + change pairing

E2E (Maestro): see e2e/README.md.

Migrating

Coming from v7? Start with Upgrade from v7. Full notes: MIGRATION.md.

Security

Supported versions and reporting: SECURITY.md.

Contributing

• Use the playground apps to exercise changes.
• AGENTS.md — canonical agent guide (agents.md standard). README is for humans; keep shared facts in sync (npm run test:docs-sync).
• Review focus areas: REVIEW.md.
• Optional local gate: pre-commit (.pre-commit-config.yaml).

Minor releases

Each minor (vX.Y.0) gets one GitHub Discussion in Announcements.

1. Add .github/announcements/vX.Y.md with an H1 title and <!-- releases: vX.Y.0 -->
2. Merge to master — minor-discussion.yml opens or reuses the Discussion

Related

• ZipArchive (iOS)
• zip4j (Android)

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