How to extract .war files in java? ZIP vs JAR

Question

I have a web program where I want the user to be able to import a .war file and I can extract certain files out of the .war file. I have found two class libraries: java.util.zip.* and java.util.jar.*. From what I understand, a WAR file is a special JAR file which is a special ZIP file. So would it be better to use java.util.jar? If ZIP and JAR files are pretty much the same why is there a need for two different libraries?

What will you do with the files inside the war file? – Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen Oct 24 '11 at 22:47 — Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen, Oct 24 '11 at 22:47

score 138 · Answer 1 · edited Aug 31 '16 at 18:03

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WAR file is just a JAR file, to extract it, just issue following jar command –

jar -xvf yourWARfileName.war

If the jar command is not found, which sometimes happens in the Windows command prompt, then specify full path i.e. in my case it is,

 c:\java\jdk-1.7.0\bin\jar -xvf my-file.war

edited Aug 31 '16 at 18:03

marko

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answered Jan 29 '13 at 16:54

iltaf khalid

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I used this command and extrated .war file.. but all these goes to bin folder.. can u paste the command for choosing extracting location – Gnanam R Jan 07 '14 at 08:27
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/15830952/extracting-jar-to-specified-directory – iltaf khalid Jan 09 '14 at 10:48
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In Java, asked the OP. – Dave Newton Aug 04 '15 at 17:44

score 25 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 24 '11 at 22:38

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If you look at the JarFile API you'll see that it's a subclass of the ZipFile class.

The jar-specific classes mostly just add jar-specific functionality, like direct support for manifest file attributes and so on.

It's OOP "in action"; since jar files are zip files, the jar classes can use zip functionality and provide additional utility.

answered Oct 24 '11 at 22:38

Dave Newton

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Downvotes on correct and accepted answers are appreciated. – Dave Newton Jun 15 '16 at 11:20

score 13 · Answer 3 · edited Feb 05 '16 at 13:48

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Just rename the .war into .jar and unzip it using Winrar (or any other archive manager).

edited Feb 05 '16 at 13:48

Tom11

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answered Nov 27 '13 at 14:51

Mehdi

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score 4 · Answer 4 · edited Feb 05 '16 at 13:19

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If you using Linux or Ubuntu than you can directly extract data from .war file.

A war file is just a jar file, to extract it, just issue following command using the jar program:

jar -xvf yourWARfileName.war

edited Feb 05 '16 at 13:19

Ferrybig

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answered Feb 03 '15 at 05:36

Karan

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score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 18 '18 at 08:57

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You can use a turn-around and just deploy the application into tomcat server: just copy/paste under the webapps folder. Once tomcat is started, it will create a folder with the app name and you can access the contents directly

answered Nov 18 '18 at 08:57

M. Dhaouadi

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score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 04 '20 at 15:51

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For mac users: in terminal command :

unzip yourWARfileName.war

answered Mar 04 '20 at 15:51

Olivier Royo

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score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Oct 24 '11 at 22:37

Like you said, a jar is a zip file (not a special type, but just a plain old zip), so either library could be made to work. The reasoning is that the average person, seeing a *.zip extension, tends to unzip it. Since the app server wants it unzipped, a simple rename keeps people from unzipping it simply out of habit. Likewise, *.war file also should remain uncompressed.

java.util.jar basically just adds additional functionality to java.util.zip with very little extra overhead. Let the java.util.jar be a helper in posting, etc... and use it.

score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Oct 24 '11 at 22:39

Jar class/package is for specific Jar file mechanisms where there is a manifest that is used by the Jar files in some cases.

The Zip file class/package handles any compressed files that include Jar files, which is a type of compressed file.

The Jar classes thus extend the Zip package classes.

How to extract .war files in java? ZIP vs JAR

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