LiveZip¶

Memory-bound, streamable ZIP64 archives — from any source.

LiveZip builds a ZIP file as an iterator of byte chunks. It never holds the archive and never holds a payload: at any moment it keeps only a small descriptor per file, regardless of how large the files are. Where the bytes come from — disk, HTTP, memory, S3 — is a detail, and sources can be mixed in one archive.

from livezip import FileStream, Store, ZipEncoder, ZipFile

path = "clip.mp4"
files = [ZipFile("clip.mp4", Store(FileStream(path), size), modified, is_binary=True)]

encoder = ZipEncoder(files)
encoder.prepare()
print(encoder.file_size)  # exact size, before any byte is read
for chunk in encoder.get_data():  # stream it straight out
    ...

Swapping FileStream for UrlStream, BytesStream or S3Stream is the only change needed to serve a different backend.

Properties¶

• Predictable size — the exact archive size is known before a single payload byte is read, so it can be announced as Content-Length.
• Bounded memory — O(k) in the number of files, O(n) in time; size the machine by file count, not by total weight.
• Any source, mixed — local files, HTTP URLs, in-memory buffers and S3 objects, all through the same encoder.

Documentation¶

The docs target developers integrating or maintaining LiveZip.