# `sax`
[](https://crates.io/crates/sax)
[](https://github.com/rahmerh/sax/actions/workflows/publish.yml)
A simple but *s*mart *a*rchiving and e*x*traction tool.
Will automatically detect archive type and extract correctly, you no longer need to look up tar flags.
sax is developed for linux only, I have no interest into testing targets I don't personally use, but feel free to contribute.
sax can create and extract zip, tar, tar.gz, tgz, tar.xz, txz, tar.bz2,
tbz2, tar.zst, tzst, and 7z archives. RAR archives can only be extracted.
## Installation
### From the AUR
Arch users can install the [`sax-git`](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/sax-git)
package with an AUR helper such as [`yay`](https://github.com/Jguer/yay):
```bash
yay -S sax-git
```
### From crates.io
```bash
cargo install sax
```
## Usage
Arguments are positional: input(s) come first and the output is always last. When
the output is omitted, sax prompts for it.
#### Extracting archives
```bash
sax <archive> <out>
```
Extracts the contents of an archive into the output directory, creating it if needed.
#### Archiving files and directories
```bash
sax <input>... <archive>
```
Creates an archive containing one or more input files or directories, creating
all required subdirectories.
### Configuration
sax stores configuration in `~/.config/sax/config.yaml` by default, or
`$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/sax/config.yaml` when `XDG_CONFIG_HOME` is set.
- `extract_prefs.strip_top_level_dir`: controls whether sax removes a single
top-level directory from an archive before extracting into the output
directory. Defaults to `true`.
### Optional flags
These flags override configuration settings for a single execution.
- `--strip` removes a single top-level directory.
- `--no-strip` keeps a single top-level directory.