README

dtrx - Intelligent archive extraction
=====================================

Introduction
------------

dtrx extracts archives in a number of different formats; it currently
supports tar, zip, cpio, rpm, deb, gem, 7z, cab, and rar files.  It can
also decompress files compressed with gzip, bzip2, lzma, or compress.

In addition to providing one command to handle many different archive
types, dtrx also aids the user by extracting contents consistently.  By
default, everything will be written to a dedicated directory that's named
after the archive.  dtrx will also change the permissions to ensure that the
owner can read and write all those files.

Running dtrx
------------

To run dtrx, simply call it with the archive(s) you wish to extract as
arguments.  For example::

   $ dtrx coreutils-5.*.tar.gz

dtrx supports a number of options to mandate specific behavior:

-r, --recursive
   With this option, dtrx will search inside the archives you specify to see
   if any of the contents are themselves archives, and extract those as
   well.

--one, --one-entry
   Normally, if an archive only contains one file or directory with a name
   that doesn't match the archive's, dtrx will ask you how to handle it.
   With this option, you can specify ahead of time what should happen.
   Possible values are:

   inside
      Extract the file/directory inside another directory named after the
      archive.  This is the default.

   rename
      Extract the file/directory in the current directory, and then rename
      it to match the name of the archive.

   here
      Extract the file/directory in the current directory.

-o, --overwrite
   Normally, dtrx will avoid extracting into a directory that already exists,
   and instead try to find an alternative name to use.  If this option is
   listed, dtrx will use the default directory name no matter what.

-f, --flat
   Extract all archive contents into the current directory, instead of
   their own dedicated directory.  This is handy if you have multiple
   archive files which all need to be extracted into the same directory
   structure.  Note that existing files may be overwritten with this
   option.

-n, --noninteractive
   dtrx will normally ask the user how to handle certain corner cases, such
   as how to handle an archive that only contains one file.  This option
   suppresses those questions; dtrx will instead use sane, conservative
   defaults.

-l, -t, --list, --table
   Don't extract the archives; just list their contents on standard output.

-m, --metadata
   Extract the metadata from .deb and .gem archives, instead of their normal
   contents.

-q, --quiet
   Suppress warning messages.  Listing this option twice will cause dtrx to
   be silent.

-v, --verbose
   Show the files that are being extracted.  Listing this option twice will
   cause dtrx to print debugging information.

--help
   Display basic help.

--version
   Display dtrx's version, copyright, and license information.

Other Useful Information
------------------------

dtrx 6.3 is copyright ⓒ 2006, 2007, 2008 `Brett Smith`_ and others.  Feel
free to send comments, bug reports, patches, and so on.  You can find the
latest version of dtrx on `its home page`_.

.. _`Brett Smith`: mailto:brettcsmith@brettcsmith.org
.. _`its home page`: http://www.brettcsmith.org/2007/dtrx/

dtrx is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software
Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later
version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for
more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
with this program; if not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.