General Format of a .ZIP file
---------------------------------
Files stored in arbitrary order. Large .ZIP files can span multiple
diskette media or be split into user-defined segment sizes.
Overall .ZIP file format:
[local file header 1]
[file data 1]
[data descriptor 1]
.
.
.
[local file header n]
[file data n]
[data descriptor n]
[archive decryption header] (EFS)
[archive extra data record] (EFS)
[central directory]
[zip64 end of central directory record]
[zip64 end of central directory locator]
[end of central directory record]
A. Local file header:
local file header signature 4 bytes (0x04034b50)
version needed to extract 2 bytes
general purpose bit flag 2 bytes
compression method 2 bytes
last mod file time 2 bytes
last mod file date 2 bytes
crc-32 4 bytes
compressed size 4 bytes
uncompressed size 4 bytes
file name length 2 bytes
extra field length 2 bytes
file name (variable size)
extra field (variable size)
B. File data
Immediately following the local header for a file
is the compressed or stored data for the file.
The series of [local file header][file data][data
descriptor] repeats for each file in the .ZIP archive.
C. Data descriptor:
crc-32 4 bytes
compressed size 4 bytes
uncompressed size 4 bytes
This descriptor exists only if bit 3 of the general
purpose bit flag is set (see below). It is byte aligned
and immediately follows the last byte of compressed data.
This descriptor is used only when it was not possible to
seek in the output .ZIP file, e.g., when the output .ZIP file
was standard output or a non seekable device. For Zip64 format
archives, the compressed and uncompressed sizes are 8 bytes each.
D. Archive decryption header: (EFS)
The Archive Decryption Header is introduced in version 6.2
of the ZIP format specification. This record exists in support
of the Central Directory Encryption Feature implemented as part of
the Strong Encryption Specification as described in this document.
When the Central Directory Structure is encrypted, this decryption
header will precede the encrypted data segment. The encrypted
data segment will consist of the Archive extra data record (if
present) and the encrypted Central Directory Structure data.
The format of this data record is identical to the Decryption
header record preceding compressed file data. If the central
directory structure is encrypted, the location of the start of
this data record is determined using the Start of Central Directory
field in the Zip64 End of Central Directory record. Refer to the
section on the Strong Encryption Specification for information
on the fields used in the Archive Decryption Header record.
