Make it easier to extend zipfile code

Feature or enhancement

Proposal:

This is follow up from https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/53416

Even if stdlib will never support WinZIP AES encrpyption, it would be useful to allow for downstream project to implement it.

There is pyzipper based on a fork but the code is now very different to what we have in stdlib.

it would help if the stdlib zipfile code is written to allow dependency injection

A very simple proof of concept downstream code is here that can only read AES ZIP files is here

https://github.com/chevah/zipfile-aes

It is using a patch for stdblib that looks like this

--- lib/python3.12/zipfile/__init__.py        2025-07-17 11:19:59.376677338 +0100
+++ src/dev_tools/zipfile_init.py       2025-07-17 11:21:50.797894299 +0100
@@ -1286,6 +1286,9 @@
 
     """
 
+    _ZipInfo = ZipInfo
+    _ZipExtFile = ZipExtFile
+
     fp = None                   # Set here since __del__ checks it
     _windows_illegal_name_trans_table = None
 
@@ -1456,7 +1459,7 @@
                 # Historical ZIP filename encoding
                 filename = filename.decode(self.metadata_encoding or 'cp437')
             # Create ZipInfo instance to store file information
-            x = ZipInfo(filename)
+            x = self._ZipInfo(filename)
             x.extra = fp.read(centdir[_CD_EXTRA_FIELD_LENGTH])
             x.comment = fp.read(centdir[_CD_COMMENT_LENGTH])
             x.header_offset = centdir[_CD_LOCAL_HEADER_OFFSET]
@@ -1592,11 +1595,11 @@
                 "Attempt to use ZIP archive that was already closed")
 
         # Make sure we have an info object
-        if isinstance(name, ZipInfo):
+        if isinstance(name, self._ZipInfo):
             # 'name' is already an info object
             zinfo = name
         elif mode == 'w':
-            zinfo = ZipInfo(name)
+            zinfo = self._ZipInfo(name)
             zinfo.compress_type = self.compression
             zinfo._compresslevel = self.compresslevel
         else:
@@ -1664,7 +1667,7 @@
             else:
                 pwd = None
 
-            return ZipExtFile(zef_file, mode, zinfo, pwd, True)
+            return self._ZipExtFile(zef_file, mode, zinfo, pwd, True)
         except:
             zef_file.close()
             raise
@@ -1762,7 +1765,7 @@
         """Extract the ZipInfo object 'member' to a physical
            file on the path targetpath.
         """
-        if not isinstance(member, ZipInfo):
+        if not isinstance(member, self._ZipInfo):
             member = self.getinfo(member)
 
         # build the destination pathname, replacing
@@ -1838,7 +1841,7 @@
                 "Can't write to ZIP archive while an open writing handle exists"
             )
 
-        zinfo = ZipInfo.from_file(filename, arcname,
+        zinfo = self._ZipInfo.from_file(filename, arcname,
                                   strict_timestamps=self._strict_timestamps)
 
         if zinfo.is_dir():
@@ -1868,8 +1871,8 @@
         the name of the file in the archive."""
         if isinstance(data, str):
             data = data.encode("utf-8")
-        if not isinstance(zinfo_or_arcname, ZipInfo):
-            zinfo = ZipInfo(filename=zinfo_or_arcname,
+        if not isinstance(zinfo_or_arcname, self._ZipInfo):
+            zinfo = self._ZipInfo(filename=zinfo_or_arcname,
                             date_time=time.localtime(time.time())[:6])
             zinfo.compress_type = self.compression
             zinfo._compresslevel = self.compresslevel
@@ -1910,7 +1913,7 @@
             directory_name = zinfo_or_directory_name
             if not directory_name.endswith("/"):
                 directory_name += "/"
-            zinfo = ZipInfo(directory_name)
+            zinfo = self._ZipInfo(directory_name)
             zinfo.compress_size = 0
             zinfo.CRC = 0
             zinfo.external_attr = ((0o40000 | mode) & 0xFFFF) << 16

Would you consider such a patch ?

Thanks

Has this already been discussed elsewhere?

This is a minor feature, which does not need previous discussion elsewhere

Links to previous discussion of this feature:

https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/53416

https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/81719

PR at https://github.com/python/cpython/pull/14957

Start with lib/python3.12/zipfile/init.py, especially ZipFile, ZipInfo, and ZipExtFile, then review issues 53416 and 81719 and PR 14957 for prior design discussion. Done means downstream projects can extend the zipfile implementation for features such as AES support without maintaining a fork, with the accepted extension mechanism validated against the relevant behavior.