Disable Unrar Percentage Progress Bar

When extracting files with the command-line version of unrar, the utility displays a real-time percentage progress bar by default. This guide demonstrates how to suppress this percentage indicator using built-in command switches, which is particularly useful when running automated bash scripts, logging terminal output, or executing batch extraction tasks.

The -idp Switch

To turn off only the percentage progress indicator while retaining other extraction messages, append the -idp switch to your command. The -id parameter controls information display, and the p character specifically targets the percentage indicator.

Basic syntax:

unrar x -idp archive.rar

To extract files to a specific directory without the percentage bar:

unrar x -idp archive.rar /path/to/destination/

Completely Suppressing Terminal Output

If your goal is to silence all output, including filenames and extraction percentages, you have two options depending on your needs.

1. Quiet Mode (-idq)

To run unrar in quiet mode—which displays only error messages and prompts—use -idq:

unrar x -idq archive.rar

2. Total Silence (-inul)

To completely disable all console messages, including errors and prompts, use the -inul (input null) switch:

unrar x -inul archive.rar

Combining Display Switches

You can combine multiple display-control characters under a single -id flag. For example, to disable both the copyright banner (c) and the percentage bar (p), run:

unrar x -idcp archive.rar