How to Unzip Folders on the Server Using a Simple PHP Script

I have been installing WordPress MU and BuddyPress a lot recently as I test and test and test it for a client’s website.  The uploading of files via ftp has been the biggest consumer of time during this process.

Yesterday, I discovered a simple PHP script that makes installing WPMU, BuddyPress, WordPress, or really anything else a quick and painless process.  All you need is a zipped folder!  Here is the script:

or Download the PHP file here (but make sure to change the file extension from .txt to .php).

Simply:

  1. Upload your zipped file to the server (in my case, “wpmu.zip”).
  2. Edit unzip.php to point to your file (download unzip.php above).
  3. Upload unzip.php to the same folder as your zipped file.
  4. Open a browser and point it to http://mydomain.com/unzip.php (make sure to change “mydomain.com” to your domain).

That’s it!

Posted in ,

7 Comments

  1. Paul Alvares on March 22, 2010 at 8:31 pm

    Champ! it works great =]



  2. RB on May 25, 2010 at 1:26 pm

    You are fantastic!!! Saved me so much time after spending a couple of hours trying to figure out(I’m new to this)…thank you! (O:



  3. be on September 18, 2010 at 6:23 am

    Warning: system() has been disabled for security reasons…

    it doesn’t work.



    • Toby on September 28, 2010 at 9:22 am

      That is an issue with your hosting provider.



  4. raoul on August 19, 2011 at 8:54 am

    hm.. no luck. Script runs fine. Just no result.



  5. toby on August 30, 2011 at 12:17 pm

    @raoul and @be – The issue is likely your server setup. Contact your hosting provider and ask them to support the function listed above.



  6. Vasu on December 22, 2011 at 6:00 am

    Here’s an alternate method:

    $zip = new ZipArchive;
      $zipped = $zip->open('test.zip');
      if ( $zipped ) {
      $zip->extractTo(dirname(__FILE__).'test');
      $zip->close();
    }
    


RSS From Toby’s Blog

  • How Digital Ocean Cost Us Thousands of Dollars in a Single Day
    Here’s the rub for me: My belief is that bad stuff happens, and you need to own it. Digital Ocean definitely did not own it in this case. I wonder how the original founders of Digital Ocean would have reacted had they been in charge… For example, wouldn’t it be nice if an actual human… […]
  • Where uncertainty exists, don’t order specific.
    4 Idiot Case Studies with 2 simple age-old business lessons. The post Where uncertainty exists, don’t order specific. appeared first on Toby Cryns, WordPress Trainer in Minneapolis, MN.
  • “Now THAT was a good meeting!”
    A single effective meeting can change the course of history for a company. Imagine if you could lead effective meetings EVERY DAY! You can, but it takes curiosity & practice. This article is a good place to start your journey to a more effective you. The post “Now THAT was a good meeting!” appeared first […]

More posts from themightymo.com

How to merge multiple csv files via command line

How to merge multiple .csv files via command line

By The Mighty Mo! Design Co. | May 17, 2023

Today I downloaded 29 csv files with tax information. I could import those files 1 at a time into WooCommerce, but wouldn’t it be nice if I could merge them first and then only import a single file? The unix command is simple – just navigate to the folder with all the csv files and…

WordPress Security Services

15 Best WordPress Support and Maintenance Services for 2023: Ensuring Your Website Stays in Top Shape

By The Mighty Mo! Design Co. | April 27, 2023

Small business owners and non-profit leaders know that keeping your website secure, fast, and fully-functional is critical to success.  Here’s the unspoken truth: You can either learn how to do all that tech maintenance and development stuff yourself, or hire someone else to do it. But let’s face it, doing it yourself isn’t always the…

how to set up Cloudflare whitelist for ip

How to Whitelist SEM Rush IPs in Cloudflare

By The Mighty Mo! Design Co. | April 24, 2023

Alright, I’m going to show you how to whitelist a set of IPs on CloudFlare. In our case we use SEMrush and we want to make sure the SEMrush has full access to our sites.

RSS From Toby’s Blog

  • How Digital Ocean Cost Us Thousands of Dollars in a Single Day
    Here’s the rub for me: My belief is that bad stuff happens, and you need to own it. Digital Ocean definitely did not own it in this case. I wonder how the original founders of Digital Ocean would have reacted had they been in charge… For example, wouldn’t it be nice if an actual human… […]
  • Where uncertainty exists, don’t order specific.
    4 Idiot Case Studies with 2 simple age-old business lessons. The post Where uncertainty exists, don’t order specific. appeared first on Toby Cryns, WordPress Trainer in Minneapolis, MN.
  • “Now THAT was a good meeting!”
    A single effective meeting can change the course of history for a company. Imagine if you could lead effective meetings EVERY DAY! You can, but it takes curiosity & practice. This article is a good place to start your journey to a more effective you. The post “Now THAT was a good meeting!” appeared first […]