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# 📦 Folder Compressor
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A command-line Python script that lets you pick any sub-folder and compress it into a `.7z` archive using **7-Zip** with **no compression (store mode)** — maximum speed, zero CPU overhead.
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---
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## Features
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- Browse and select from all sub-folders in any directory
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- Displays folder sizes before you choose
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- Real-time progress bar with:
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- Percentage complete
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- Elapsed time
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- Live transfer speed (MB/s)
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- File count
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- Currently processing file name
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- Summary report on completion (source size, archive size, time, avg speed)
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- Color-coded terminal output (auto-disabled if not supported)
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- Cross-platform: Windows, macOS, Linux
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---
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## Requirements
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### Python
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Version **3.10 or higher** is required (uses `str | None` union type syntax).
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Check your version:
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```bash
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python --version
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# or
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python3 --version
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```
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No third-party packages are needed — only Python's standard library is used.
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### 7-Zip
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7-Zip must be installed and accessible on your system PATH.
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| Platform | Install command |
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|----------|----------------|
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| **Linux** (Debian/Ubuntu) | `sudo apt install p7zip-full` |
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| **Linux** (Fedora/RHEL) | `sudo dnf install p7zip p7zip-plugins` |
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| **macOS** (Homebrew) | `brew install p7zip` |
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| **macOS** (MacPorts) | `sudo port install p7zip` |
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| **Windows** | Download installer from [https://www.7-zip.org/download.html](https://www.7-zip.org/download.html) |
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> **Windows note:** After installing, make sure `C:\Program Files\7-Zip\` is added to your system PATH, or the script will auto-detect it from the default install location automatically.
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> **Minimum version:** 7-Zip **15.06 or newer** is required for the `-bsp1` progress flag used for real-time output. Most current installs will meet this requirement.
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Verify 7-Zip is available:
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```bash
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7z i
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```
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---
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## Installation
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No installation needed. Just download the script:
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```bash
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# Download compress_folder.py to any directory, then run it directly with Python
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```
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Optionally make it executable on Linux/macOS:
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```bash
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chmod +x compress_folder.py
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```
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---
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## Usage
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### Basic — scan the current directory
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```bash
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python compress_folder.py
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```
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### Specify a directory to scan
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```bash
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python compress_folder.py /path/to/directory
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```
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### On Linux/macOS (if made executable)
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```bash
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./compress_folder.py
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./compress_folder.py /path/to/directory
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```
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### On Windows
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```bash
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python compress_folder.py
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python compress_folder.py C:\Users\YourName\Documents
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```
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---
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## Step-by-step walkthrough
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**1. Launch the script**
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```
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📦 Folder Compressor
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Scanning: /home/user/projects
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```
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**2. Browse the folder list**
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All sub-folders are listed with their sizes:
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```
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Available folders:
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[ 1] archive (240.0 MB)
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[ 2] builds (1.4 GB)
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[ 3] logs (88.3 MB)
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[ 4] source (320.5 MB)
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Enter the number of the folder to compress:
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```
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**3. Select a folder**
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Type the number and press Enter:
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```
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Enter the number of the folder to compress: 2
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✔ Selected: builds
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Calculating source size… 1.4 GB
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```
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**4. Watch real-time progress**
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The progress display updates live in your terminal:
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```
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████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 62% elapsed 0m 08s 178.4 MB/s files: 312
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↳ builds/release/v2.1.0/installer.exe
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```
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| Element | Description |
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|---------|-------------|
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| `████░░░` | Progress bar filling left to right |
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| `62%` | Percentage of files processed |
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| `elapsed 0m 08s` | Time since compression started |
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| `178.4 MB/s` | Rolling average throughput speed |
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| `files: 312` | Number of files added so far |
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| `↳ filename` | The file currently being processed |
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**5. Completion summary**
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```
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✅ Archive created successfully!
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Path : /home/user/projects/builds.7z
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Source : 1.4 GB
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Archive : 1.4 GB
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Time : 0m 09s
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Avg speed: 159.2 MB/s
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```
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The `.7z` archive is saved in the **same parent directory** as the folder you selected.
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---
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## Compression settings
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The script uses the following 7-Zip flags:
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| Flag | Value | Meaning |
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|------|-------|---------|
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| `-t7z` | — | Output format: 7z |
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| `-mx=0` | 0 | Compression level 0 = **store** (no compression) |
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| `-ms=off` | off | Solid archive **disabled** (faster for many files) |
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| `-bsp1` | — | Stream progress output to stdout (enables live display) |
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**Why no compression?**
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Store mode (`-mx=0`) copies files into the archive as-is without compressing them. This is ideal when:
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- Speed matters more than file size reduction
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- The contents are already compressed (videos, images, zip files, etc.)
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- You want to bundle files for transfer without the CPU cost of compression
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---
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## How the real-time progress works
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7-Zip does not write progress on separate lines — instead it continuously overwrites the same terminal line using special control characters. The exact character it uses depends on the platform:
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| Platform | Character used | Code |
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|----------|---------------|------|
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| Linux / macOS | Backspace | `\x08` |
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| Windows | Carriage return | `\r` |
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The script reads 7-Zip's output as a raw binary stream and splits on **both** characters, so progress is captured correctly on every platform. The percentage, file count, and current filename are extracted from each segment using a regex and rendered live into two reserved terminal lines that update in place.
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---
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## Output location
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The archive is always created in the **same directory that contains the selected folder**.
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Example:
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```
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/home/user/projects/ ← scanned directory
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builds/ ← selected folder
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builds.7z ← archive created here
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```
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If an archive with the same name already exists, 7-Zip will update it (adding/replacing files). Delete the existing `.7z` first if you want a clean archive.
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---
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## Troubleshooting
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**`7-Zip not found` error**
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- Ensure 7-Zip is installed (see Requirements above)
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- Confirm `7z` is on your PATH: run `which 7z` (Linux/macOS) or `where 7z` (Windows)
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- On Windows, try re-installing 7-Zip and ticking the "Add to PATH" option, or place `7z.exe` in `C:\Program Files\7-Zip\` which the script checks automatically
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**Progress bar stays at 0% / no stats shown**
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- This was a known bug that has been fixed. Make sure you are using the latest version of the script.
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- The root cause was that Windows 7-Zip uses `\r` to update progress lines while Linux/macOS uses `\x08` (backspace). The old version only handled backspaces, so on Windows the progress stream was never parsed. The current version handles both.
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- If you still see 0% after updating, confirm your 7-Zip version is 15.06 or newer: run `7z i` and check the version line at the top.
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**No progress bar / garbled output**
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- The live progress display requires a terminal that supports ANSI escape codes
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- On older Windows CMD, switch to Windows Terminal or PowerShell
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- Progress and stats are still printed even if color/ANSI is not supported
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**`SyntaxError` on startup**
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- Your Python version is below 3.10 — upgrade to Python 3.10+
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**Permission denied on folder**
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- Run the script with elevated permissions (`sudo` on Linux/macOS, Run as Administrator on Windows)
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- Or select a folder you have read access to
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---
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## Examples
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```bash
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# Compress a folder in the current directory (interactive)
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python compress_folder.py
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# Compress a folder inside a specific path
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python compress_folder.py /mnt/data/backups
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# Windows example
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python compress_folder.py "C:\Users\Alice\Desktop"
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```
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---
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## License
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This script is provided as-is for personal and commercial use. No warranty is expressed or implied.
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