KWAJ Commands Reference

Purpose

Complete command-line reference for all KWAJ (Installation File) format operations. This document provides detailed syntax, options, and examples for the 3 KWAJ commands.

References

Concepts

KWAJ commands operate on installation file archives with support for multiple compression methods (none, XOR, SZDD, MSZIP). Each command handles filename embedding and metadata storage.

Command Overview

Command Purpose

kwaj-extract

Extract KWAJ compressed file

kwaj-compress

Compress file to KWAJ format

kwaj-info

Show KWAJ file information

kwaj-extract - Extract KWAJ File

Extract (decompress) a KWAJ compressed file.

Syntax 

cabriolet kwaj-extract [OPTIONS] FILE [OUTPUT]

Parameters

FILE

(required) Path to the KWAJ file to extract

OUTPUT

(optional) Output file path (auto-detected from embedded filename if not specified)

Options

--output, -o

Output file path (alternative to positional argument)

--verbose, -v

Show extraction progress

Returns

  • Exit code 0 on success

  • Exit code 1 on error

  • Exit code 3 if file not found

  • Exit code 4 if permission denied

Description

The kwaj-extract command decompresses KWAJ files using the compression method stored in the header. If the KWAJ file contains an embedded filename, it will be used as the output filename when not explicitly specified.

Examples

Extract with auto-detected name
cabriolet kwaj-extract setup.kwj
Output
Extracted setup.kwj to setup.exe (1,048,576 bytes)
Extract to specific file
cabriolet kwaj-extract setup.kwj output.exe
Extract with verbose output
cabriolet kwaj-extract --verbose setup.kwj
Output
Extracting setup.kwj -> setup.exe
Compression: MSZIP
Data offset: 64 bytes
Uncompressed size: 1,048,576 bytes
Original filename: setup.exe

Decompressing...
  Progress: 100%

Extracted setup.kwj to setup.exe (1,048,576 bytes)
Extract using output option
cabriolet kwaj-extract -o extracted.exe data.kwj
Batch extract
for file in *.kwj; do
  cabriolet kwaj-extract "$file"
done

Common Errors

  • Invalid KWAJ signature: File is not a valid KWAJ file

  • Unsupported compression type: Unknown compression method

  • Decompression failed: Compressed data is corrupted

  • Missing filename in header: Output filename must be specified

See Also

kwaj-compress - Compress to KWAJ Format

Compress a file to KWAJ format with configurable compression method.

Syntax 

cabriolet kwaj-compress [OPTIONS] FILE [OUTPUT]

Parameters

FILE

(required) Path to the file to compress

OUTPUT

(optional) Output file path (default: <filename>.kwj)

Options

--output, -o

Output file path (alternative to positional argument)

--compression=METHOD

Compression method: none, xor, szdd, mszip (default: szdd)

--include-length

Include uncompressed length in header

--filename=NAME

Original filename to embed in header

--extra-data=DATA

Extra metadata to include in header

--verbose, -v

Show compression progress

Returns

  • Exit code 0 on success

  • Exit code 1 on error

  • Exit code 3 if source file not found

  • Exit code 4 if permission denied

Description

The kwaj-compress command creates KWAJ compressed files with configurable compression method and optional metadata embedding.

Examples

Compress with default SZDD
cabriolet kwaj-compress setup.exe setup.kwj
Output
Compressed setup.exe to setup.kwj (524,288 bytes, szdd compression)
Compress with MSZIP
cabriolet kwaj-compress --compression=mszip setup.exe setup.kwj
Compress with embedded filename
cabriolet kwaj-compress --filename=setup.exe --include-length data.bin data.kwj
Compress with no compression
cabriolet kwaj-compress --compression=none data.bin data.kwj
Compress with extra metadata
cabriolet kwaj-compress --extra-data="Version: 1.0.0" setup.exe setup.kwj
Compress with verbose output
cabriolet kwaj-compress --verbose --compression=mszip setup.exe setup.kwj
Output
Compressing setup.exe -> setup.kwj (mszip compression)
Original size: 1,048,576 bytes
Including filename: setup.exe
Including length: yes

Compressing with MSZIP...
  Progress: 100%
  Compressed: 524,288 bytes
  Ratio: 50.0%

Compressed setup.exe to setup.kwj (524,288 bytes, mszip compression)
Batch compress with metadata
for file in dist/*.exe; do
  base=$(basename "$file")
  cabriolet kwaj-compress \
    --compression=mszip \
    --filename="$base" \
    --include-length \
    "$file" \
    "compressed/${base}.kwj"
done

Common Errors

  • Source file not found: Verify input file path

  • Cannot create output file: Check write permissions and disk space

  • Compression failed: Input file may be unreadable

  • Invalid compression method: Use none, xor, szdd, or mszip

See Also

kwaj-info - Show KWAJ Information

Display detailed information about a KWAJ file.

Syntax 

cabriolet kwaj-info [OPTIONS] FILE

Parameters

FILE

(required) Path to the KWAJ file to analyze

Options

--verbose, -v

Show additional technical details

Returns

  • Exit code 0 on success

  • Exit code 1 on error

  • Exit code 3 if file not found

Description

The kwaj-info command displays metadata about a KWAJ file, including compression method, data offset, embedded filename, and extra data.

Examples

Basic information
cabriolet kwaj-info setup.kwj
Output
KWAJ File Information
==================================================
Filename: setup.kwj
Compression: MSZIP
Data offset: 64 bytes
Uncompressed size: 1,048,576 bytes
Original filename: setup.exe
Extra data: 16 bytes
  Version: 1.0.0.0
File without embedded filename
cabriolet kwaj-info data.kwj
Output
KWAJ File Information
==================================================
Filename: data.kwj
Compression: SZDD
Data offset: 12 bytes
Uncompressed size: unknown
Verbose information
cabriolet kwaj-info --verbose setup.kwj
Output
KWAJ File Information
==================================================
Filename: setup.kwj
File size: 524,288 bytes

Header:
  Signature: KWAJ (0x4B 0x57 0x41 0x4A)
  Compression type: 3 (MSZIP)
  Data offset: 64 bytes
  Flags: filename, length

Compression: MSZIP (DEFLATE-based)
Uncompressed size: 1,048,576 bytes
Original filename: setup.exe (9 bytes)

Extra data: 16 bytes
  Hex: 56 65 72 73 69 6F 6E 3A 20 31 2E 30 2E 30 2E 30
  Text: Version: 1.0.0.0

Compression Statistics:
  Compressed size: 524,288 bytes
  Uncompressed size: 1,048,576 bytes
  Compression ratio: 50.0%
  Space saved: 524,288 bytes (50.0%)
Check multiple files
for file in *.kwj; do
  echo "=== $file ==="
  cabriolet kwaj-info "$file"
  echo
done

Common Errors

  • Invalid KWAJ signature: File is not a valid KWAJ file

  • Unsupported compression type: Unknown compression method in header

See Also

Global Options

All KWAJ commands support these global options:

--verbose, -v

Enable verbose output with detailed progress

--help, -h

Display command help

--version

Show Cabriolet version

See Global Options for complete details.

Exit codes

Code Meaning

0

Success

1

General error

2

Invalid arguments

3

File not found

4

Permission denied

5

Corrupt file

6

Unsupported format

Compression Methods

Method Description Use Case

none

No compression

Pre-compressed files, testing

xor

Simple XOR obfuscation

Minimal obfuscation, very fast

szdd

LZSS compression

Good for text files, balanced

mszip

DEFLATE compression

Best ratio, general purpose

Common Workflows

Extract Installation Files 

# Extract all KWAJ files from installer
mkdir -p extracted
for file in installer/*.kwj; do
  cabriolet kwaj-extract "$file" "extracted/$(basename "$file" .kwj)"
done

Create Installer Package 

# Compress installation files with metadata
version="2.1.0"

for file in dist/*; do
  base=$(basename "$file")
  cabriolet kwaj-compress \
    --compression=mszip \
    --filename="$base" \
    --include-length \
    --extra-data="Version: $version" \
    "$file" \
    "installer/${base}.kwj"
done

Verify Package Integrity 

# Check all KWAJ files before distribution
echo "Verifying KWAJ package..."
for file in package/*.kwj; do
  if ! cabriolet kwaj-info "$file" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "ERROR: Invalid file: $file"
    exit 1
  fi
done
echo "All files verified successfully"

Convert Between Compression Methods 

# Convert SZDD to MSZIP for better compression
for file in *.kwj; do
  # Extract
  cabriolet kwaj-extract "$file" temp.dat

  # Re-compress with MSZIP
  cabriolet kwaj-compress \
    --compression=mszip \
    --filename="$(basename "$file" .kwj)" \
    temp.dat \
    "optimized/$file"

  rm temp.dat
done

Next steps

Bibliography