Unzip Archives with Termux

You download a ZIP file on Android. The file manager offers to open it. The extracted files land right in the middle of your Downloads folder, mixed with everything else.

This script takes a different approach: it finds all ZIPs in the Downloads folder, creates a dedicated subfolder for each archive, and extracts into it. One command, all archives, neatly separated.

1. What the Script Does

• Finds all *.zip files in ~/storage/downloads/
• Creates a subfolder for each file using the same name (without .zip)
• Extracts the archive into that subfolder
• Reports errors per file without stopping the batch
• Shows a summary of what was found and processed

Original ZIP files are left in place. The script deletes nothing.

2. Setup: unzip and Termux Storage

If not done yet, set up access to device storage first:

termux-setup-storage

Confirm the dialog ("Allow"). Then install unzip:

pkg update && pkg upgrade

pkg install unzip

Create a scripts folder:

mkdir -p ~/Skripte

3. The Script: unzip_downloads.sh

Create the file:

nano ~/Skripte/unzip_downloads.sh

Paste the content:

#!/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/bash

set -o pipefail

DOWNLOAD_DIR="$HOME/storage/downloads"

# Checks
if [ ! -d "$DOWNLOAD_DIR" ]; then
    echo "Error: Downloads folder not found. Did you run 'termux-setup-storage'?"
    exit 1
fi

command -v unzip >/dev/null || { echo "Error: unzip missing. Install with: pkg install unzip"; exit 1; }

cd "$DOWNLOAD_DIR" || exit

echo "--- Searching for ZIP archives in $DOWNLOAD_DIR ---"

# Nullglob: prevents literal '*.zip' when no files present
shopt -s nullglob
zips=(*.zip)

if [ ${#zips[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "No ZIP files found."
    exit 0
fi

echo "Found: ${#zips[@]} ZIP file(s)."
echo "Starting extraction..."

for zipfile in "${zips[@]}"; do
    echo "Processing: $zipfile"
    foldername="${zipfile%.zip}"
    mkdir -p "$foldername"
    unzip -q "$zipfile" -d "$foldername"

    if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
        echo "  -> Successfully extracted to: $foldername/"
    else
        echo "  -> ERROR extracting $zipfile"
    fi
done

echo "--- Done ---"

(Save in nano: CTRL+O, Enter, then CTRL+X)

Make the script executable:

chmod +x ~/Skripte/unzip_downloads.sh

4. Running the Script

~/Skripte/unzip_downloads.sh

The script scans the Downloads folder and extracts each ZIP into its own subfolder. Example: documents.zip is extracted to documents/.

If the Downloads folder contains no ZIP files, the script reports that and exits cleanly.

5. ZIP vs. Encrypted Archives

This script handles standard ZIP files. The encryption scripts from the same series use a different format:

• encrypt-folder.sh packs a folder with tar and encrypts it with GPG into a .tar.gz.gpg file
• decrypt-folder.sh decrypts and unpacks that file completely

For .tar.gz.gpg archives: use decrypt-folder.sh. For .zip files: use this script.

One command. All archives. No chaos in the Downloads folder.