GoDaddy Help

Unzip files with SSH

When unzipping large files or if you don't have access to a file manager, you'll need to use a Secure Shell (SSH) connection to extract files.

Required: You'll need an SSH app to complete these steps. We suggest PuTTY for Windows, or Terminal for macOS.
  1. Connect to your hosting with FTP.
  2. Upload your file in the .tar.gz or .zip format to a folder in which you want to unzip the file.
  3. Connect to your hosting account with SSH.
  4. Use the command ls to list files and folders, and cd and ../ to move through directories until you are in the directory to which you uploaded the file.
  5. Use one of the following commands depending on the type of file you uploaded:
    • To extract a .tar.gz file enter:
      tar -xvzf filename.tar.gz
    • To extract a .zip file enter:
      unzip filename.zip
    In the commands above, you should replace filename with the actual name of your file.
  6. Select Enter on your keyboard.

Your file is now extracted in the folder to which you uploaded it.

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