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1. Create a file with just the file names using the zipinfo utility.
2. Use a while loop to iterate through the list and delete the desired file using the zip -d option.
There are many ways to expand the script to work on multiple zip files but not enough information has been provided.
Yes, you can delete from ZIP files without decompressing the entire archive.
You can't do it with a TGZ archive, because the files are concatenated into a single lump of data before compression, but ZIP files do not work the same way.
This means ZIP archives tend to have less compression, but provides the benefits of being able to view/extract an individual file without decompressing other files, as well as being able to add/update/remove files without recompressing the whole archive.
Some archive formats (e.g. RAR) give you a choice of whether to use solid compression or not.
Just to make this absolutely clear: Yes, you can delete from ZIP files without decompressing the entire archive.
I do it often, though I'm not sure whether the zip is technically fully decompressed or not in the process. It's very simple. Open a terminal or login on a vtty. Type mc. Press <RETURN>. If this returns a not found error, install mc and try again. Mc should be a part of every sensible installation, and may be in your main apps menu. Once mc is running, navigate to the zip file, then press <RETURN>. Then, mark using the INS key, or your mouse, the files you wish deleted. Press F8 or click 8Delete (at the bottom). Exit mc and poof, they're history.
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