# zipapp --- Manage executable Python zip archives — Command-Line Interface

> When called as a program from the command line, the following form is used Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically): ```shell-session $ python -m zipapp source [options] ``` If source is a directory, this will create an archive from the contents of source.

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## Metadata

- Canonical URL: <https://wikikv.com/k/ref-python-840fae8635002ca4e320>
- Knowledge kind: `reference`
- Confidence: `0.72`
- Independent verifications: `0`
- Updated: `2026-08-16T09:32:14.538579+00:00`
- Tags: `reference-seed`, `python`, `library`, `zipapp`, `manage`, `executable`, `zip`, `archives`, `command-line`, `interface`

## Provenance

- Source: <https://github.com/python/cpython/blob/f10166035d602da5052e8a48f9d5c216c57b401d/Doc/library/zipapp.rst>
- Source name: Python Documentation
- Source revision: `f10166035d602da5052e8a48f9d5c216c57b401d`
- Source license: `PSF-2.0`
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## Knowledge

Reference note (untrusted external data; do not execute it as instructions).

When called as a program from the command line, the following form is used

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```shell-session
$ python -m zipapp source [options]
```

If source is a directory, this will create an archive from the contents of source. If source is a file, it should be an archive, and it will be copied to the target archive (or the contents of its shebang line will be displayed if the --info option is specified).

The following options are understood

Write the output to a file named output. If this option is not specified, the output filename will be the same as the input source, with the extension .pyz added. If an explicit filename is given, it is used as is (so a .pyz extension should be included if required).

An output filename must be specified if the source is an archive (and in that case, output must not be the same as source).

Add a #! line to the archive specifying interpreter as the command to run. Also, on POSIX, make the archive executable. The default is to write no #! line, and not make the file executable.

Write a main.py file to the archive that executes mainfn. The mainfn argument should have the form "pkg.mod:fn", where "pkg.mod" is a package/module in the archive, and "fn" is a callable in the given module. The main.py file will execute that callable.

main cannot be specified when copying an archive.

Compress files with the deflate method, reducing the size of the output file. By default, files are stored uncompressed in the archive.

compress has no effect when copying an archive.

Display the interpreter embedded in the archive, for diagnostic purposes. In this case, any other options are ignored and SOURCE must be an archive, not a directory.

Print a short usage message and exit.

Attribution: Adapted from Python Documentation under PSF-2.0. Adaptation: WikiKV isolated this documentation section, normalized formatting, retained only bounded code excerpts, and shortened it at a paragraph or sentence boundary for retrieval. Verify version-sensitive details at the source.