ZIP Archive Integration in FlowMattic

The ZIP Archive app is a built-in FlowMattic application that lets you create, extract, inspect, and modify ZIP archives from file URLs — with automatic WordPress Media Library integration. No external connection or API key is required.

Overview

The ZIP Archive app enables you to bundle files into ZIP archives, extract contents from existing archives, inspect archive contents, and add or remove files — all within your automated workflows. Created and extracted files are automatically uploaded to the WordPress Media Library.

Connection Setup

The ZIP Archive is a core utility app — no connection setup is needed.

• No API key required
• No external service to configure
• Available immediately in all FlowMattic installations
• Requires PHP’s ZipArchive extension (included in PHP 5.3+)

Simply select ZIP Archive when adding an action step to your workflow.

Available Actions

The ZIP Archive app provides 5 actions for working with ZIP files.

1. Create ZIP Archive

Create a new ZIP archive from file URLs and save it to the WordPress Media Library.

Configuration:

Supported Input Formats for File URLs:

# Comma-separated
https://example.com/file1.pdf, https://example.com/file2.jpg

# JSON array of strings
["https://example.com/file1.pdf", "https://example.com/file2.jpg"]

# JSON array of objects
[{"url": "https://example.com/file1.pdf"}, {"url": "https://example.com/file2.jpg"}]

Output:

Tip: Use the PHP Array > Convert to List action to generate a comma-separated URL list from an array of file URLs.

2. Extract ZIP Archive

Extract files from a ZIP archive and save them to the WordPress Media Library.

Configuration:

Output:

Each extracted file contains:

Note: Extracted files are automatically uploaded to the WordPress Media Library. File types must comply with WordPress upload settings.

3. List ZIP Contents

Inspect all files and folders inside a ZIP archive without extracting it.

Configuration:

Output:

Each entry in the files array contains:

Use Case: Inspect archive contents before extracting, or use the file paths from this action with the “Remove Files from ZIP” action.

4. Add Files to ZIP

Add new files to an existing ZIP archive.

Configuration:

Output:

Note: The existing archive contents are preserved — new files are appended to the archive.

5. Remove Files from ZIP

Remove specific files from an existing ZIP archive.

Configuration:

Output:

Example:

If List ZIP Contents shows these files:

documents/report.pdf
images/photo.jpg
readme.txt

Then File Names to Remove should be:

documents/report.pdf, images/photo.jpg

Important: File paths are case-sensitive and must match exactly as shown in the List ZIP Contents output, including any folder paths.

Workflow Examples

Example 1: Bundle Reports into a ZIP

Generate multiple files and bundle them into a single downloadable archive.

1. HTTP Request — Generate or fetch report files.
2. ZIP Archive > Create ZIP Archive — Bundle all file URLs into monthly-report.zip.
3. Email — Send the ZIP download link to the recipient.

Example 2: Extract and Process Uploaded Files

Extract files from a ZIP uploaded by a user and process each file individually.

1. Webhook Trigger — Receive a ZIP file URL.
2. ZIP Archive > Extract ZIP Archive — Extract all files to Media Library.
3. Iterator — Loop through {ZIPArchive1.extracted_files}.
4. (Process each file — rename, move, send, etc.)

Example 3: Archive Management

Inspect an archive, remove outdated files, and add new ones.

1. ZIP Archive > List ZIP Contents — Inspect archive.zip.
2. ZIP Archive > Remove Files from ZIP — Remove old-report.pdf.
3. ZIP Archive > Add Files to ZIP — Add new-report.pdf.
4. Slack — Notify team that the archive has been updated.

Example 4: Password-Protected Archive Extraction

Extract files from a password-protected ZIP received via webhook.

1. Webhook Trigger — Receive ZIP URL and password.
2. ZIP Archive > Extract ZIP Archive — Extract using {Trigger1.password}.
3. Email — Send extracted file URLs to the admin.

File Storage

• Created ZIP files and extracted files are saved to the WordPress Media Library.
• Physical location: wp-content/uploads/{YYYY/MM}/
• Files are accessible via WordPress media queries and standard URLs.
• Temporary files created during processing are automatically cleaned up.

Error Handling

Note: When some files succeed and others fail, the action still returns status: success with a failed_files array listing the failures. This allows your workflow to continue while still reporting issues.

Tips

• Use List ZIP Contents first — Before removing files, use List ZIP Contents to see exact file paths.
• Organize with Base Folders — Use the Base Folder field to create organized directory structures inside your archives.
• Handle partial failures — Check the failed_files array in the output to handle files that couldn’t be downloaded.
• Dynamic file lists — Pass file URLs from previous workflow steps using dynamic variables like {HTTPRequest1.file_urls}.
• Duplicate filenames — If multiple files have the same name, FlowMattic automatically appends -1, -2, etc. to avoid conflicts.

Limitations

• Cannot create password-protected archives (extraction of password-protected archives is supported).
• File types extracted from ZIPs must comply with WordPress upload settings.
• Large archives may require more server memory and processing time.
• Each file is downloaded individually from its URL during archive creation.

Summary