---
id: pyminizip
version: "0.2.6"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: dormant
---

# pyminizip — A minizip wrapper - To create a password encrypted zip file in python.

License: permissive · Maintenance: dormant · Downloads: 427.9K/mo

## What it is and what it does

pyminizip is a thin Python wrapper around the minizip C library that lets you create password-encrypted ZIP archives and extract them, with explicit support for Windows compatibility. It exposes three functions: compress() for single files, compress_multiple() for batches with optional progress callbacks, and uncompress() for extraction. The package has no runtime Python dependencies but requires the zlib system library to be installed before pip install will succeed.

The package is classified as Alpha and has been dormant since late 2023, with its last release in December 2021. It supports both Python 2 and Python 3 according to its classifiers, though the exact version support is unspecified. The lack of recent maintenance combined with two known security vulnerabilities means you should evaluate whether the security posture is acceptable for your use case.

Use it for:

- Encrypt sensitive files with a password before distributing them to Windows users who need to extract them locally.
- Batch-compress multiple files into a single password-protected archive with progress tracking during the operation.
- Create password-protected backups of configuration or data files that need to be extracted on Windows systems.
- Add password protection to ZIP files in a Python application without requiring external command-line tools.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Creates password-encrypted ZIP files that can be extracted on Windows, wrapping the minizip C library for compression and decompression with optional password protection.

Yes-with-conditions. The package does what it claims, but install friction is real (zlib system dependency required), maintenance is dormant (no updates since 2023), and two security vulnerabilities are flagged. Install only if you need Windows-compatible encrypted ZIPs and can verify the vulnerabilities do not affect your threat model; consider alternatives if you need active maintenance.

## Install

pip install pyminizip
uv add pyminizip
poetry add pyminizip

## Installing pyminizip

Before you install: High install friction: requires zlib system library (apt-get on Linux, brew on macOS, xcode-select on macOS). Package is dormant—last release December 2021, no commits since September 2023—so dependency issues or platform-specific build failures are unlikely to be addressed.

License in practice: Permissive zlib/libpng license; no restrictions on use or redistribution in proprietary or open-source projects.

Quickstart:

pip install pyminizip
import pyminizip
pyminizip.compress('/path/to/file.txt', '', '/path/to/output.zip', 'mypassword', 5)
pyminizip.uncompress('/path/to/output.zip', 'mypassword', '/extract/here', 0)

zlib system library must be installed before pip install (apt-get install zlib on Linux, brew install zlib on macOS, xcode-select --install on macOS).

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package still builds cleanly against current zlib versions on modern Python versions.
- Current status of the two known vulnerabilities (GHSA-mq29-j5xf-cjwr, PYSEC-2026-501) and their severity.
- Whether Windows extraction compatibility claim still holds for modern Windows versions.
- Exact Python version support, as classifiers indicate Python 2 and 3 but requires_python is unspecified.

## Package facts

- License: not declared (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: high
- Maintenance: dormant
- Downloads: 427.9K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: 2

## Tags

password protected zip files, encrypted zip creation python, minizip wrapper, zip compression with password, create encrypted archives, compression, encryption, windows-compatible

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/pyminizip) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/pyminizip/)