How to zip a file using cmd line?

If you are using Ubuntu Linux:

1. Install zip

   sudo apt-get install zip
   

2. Zip your folder:

   zip -r {filename.zip} {foldername}
   

If you are using Microsoft Windows:

Windows does not come with a command-line zip program, despite Windows Explorer natively supporting Zip files since the Plus! pack for Windows 98.

I recommend the open-source 7-Zip utility which includes a command-line executable and supports many different archive file types, especially its own *.7z format which offers superior compression ratios to traditional (PKZIP) *.zip files:

1. Download 7-Zip from the 7-Zip home page

2. Add the path to 7z.exe to your PATH environment variable. See this QA:
   How to set the path and environment variables in Windows

3. Open a new command-prompt window and use this command to create a PKZIP *.zip file:

   7z a -tzip {yourfile.zip} {yourfolder}
   

Cross-platform Java:

If you have the Java JDK installed then you can use the jar utility to create Zip files, as *.jar files are essentially just renamed *.zip (PKZIP) files:

jar -cfM {yourfile.zip} {yourfolder}

Explanation:
* -c compress
* -f specify filename
* -M do not include a MANIFEST file