---
name: "archivemount"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "archivemount"
version: "1b-1"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/archivemount"
---

# archivemount(1)

mount an archive for access as a filesystem

## NAME

**archivemount** – mount an archive for access as a filesystem

## SYNOPSIS

**archivemount** \[**-hVdf**\] \[**-o** *option*\[,*option*\]…\]… *archive* *mountpoint*

## DESCRIPTION

Mounts, through fuse(8), a file tree contained in *archive* on directory *mountpoint*. **umount** and **fusermount** **-u** can undo this mapping.

## EXAMPLES

```
$ ls
files.tar.gz    mnt/
$ tar -tf files.tar.gz
file1           file2
$ archivemount files.tar.gz mnt
$ ls mnt
file1           file2
$ echo zupa > mnt/file3
$ rm mnt/file1
$ umount mnt
$ ls
files.tar.gz    files.tar.gz.orig       mnt/
$ tar -tf files.tar.gz
file2           file3
```

```
$ tar -tf voreutils.tar.gz
src/            src/…
man/            man/aliases              man/basename.1
README.md
$ archivemount -o subtree=man voreutils.tar.gz mnt
$ ls mnt
aliases         basename.1
```

## OPTIONS

See fuse(8) for a complete list of the baseline FUSE options supported. The following options are handled specially by **archivemount**:

- **-h**, **--help**

  Write usage and all available options to standard error stream, then exit.

- **-V**, **--version**

  Write version of **archivemount**, libarchive, and FUSE to the standard output stream, then exit.

- **-r**, **-o** **ro**, **-o** **readonly**: Disable writes entirely.

  - **-o** **password**

  Prompt for archive passphrase.

- **-o** **nobackup**

  When saving writes, the original *archive* is moved to "*archive*.orig". This flag removes that file afterward.

- **-o** **nosave**

  Allow writes in memory, but don't actually write them out on unmount.

- **-o** **subtree**=*regex*

  Hide files not matching *regex*, and on those that do match, remove the matched prefix (cf. second example above). *regex* is a basic regular expression that behaves as-if prepended with the equivalent of "^.?". Implies **-r**.

- **-o** **formatraw**

  *archive* is actually a compressed file, made available under *mounpoint**/**saved-filename* or *mounpoint**/data*. Implies **-r**.

## BUGS

Writing archives, probably.

## ARCHIVE FORMATS

See [libarchive(3)](/libarchive/3.md) for a definitive list, but all kinds of **tar**/ustar/**pax**/**cpio** archives, 7-Zip, ISO9660, **ar**, and RAR/Zip may be read. These may be compressed with [gzip(1)](/gzip/1.md), [xz(1)](/xz/1.md), [zstd(1)](/zstd/1.md), &c. and are processed transparently. The same applies for writing (except you can't write RARs).

## SEE ALSO

[fusermount(1)](/fusermount/1.md), [libarchive(3)](/libarchive/3.md), [regex(7)](/regex/7.md), fuse(8), [umount(8)](/umount/8.md)