ZIP Extractor & Creator. Archives that never leave your device.

How to use the ZIP Extractor & Creator

This tool does two jobs with ZIP files. In Extract a ZIP it opens an archive, lists what is inside, lets you preview text and images and saves only the files you pick. In Create a ZIP it packs files or a whole folder into a new archive at the compression level you choose. It is for anyone who needs to look inside or build a ZIP without installing an archiver.

Step by step

1. 1
   Open an archive

   Stay on Extract a ZIP, the tab that is open when the page loads. Drop a .zip file on the card that says Drop a .zip archive, or click the card to pick one. The list of files appears as soon as it is read.

2. 2
   Look inside and preview

   Each row shows the file path, its Size and its Modified date. On a narrow phone screen the Size and Modified columns are hidden. Press Preview to read a text or code file up to 1 MB, or to view an image up to 8 MB, in a window over the page. Press Escape or click outside the window to close it.

3. 3
   Save the files you need

   Press the down arrow on a row to save that one file. To save several, tick their boxes, or tick the box in the header row to select all, then press Download selected (.zip) for one new archive or Selected as separate files to save each file on its own. Press Choose another zip to start over.

4. 4
   Add files to a new archive

   Switch to Create a ZIP. Drop files on Drop files to zip or click it to pick them; any file type works. To include a folder with its subfolders, press Add a whole folder instead. Remove a file with the cross on its row, or press Clear all.

5. 5
   Name it and pick a compression level

   Type an Archive name; the default is archive, and .zip is added for you. Under Compression choose Store, no compression (fastest), Fast, light compression, Balanced (recommended), which is the default, or Maximum, smallest file (slowest).

6. 6
   Build and download

   Press Create & download .zip. The status reads Zipping with a progress bar, then shows Done and the final file size as the download starts.

Reading the result

• The line beside the archive name shows the number of files, the size of the ZIP and, when the archive records it, the total size once unpacked. A big gap between the two means the files compressed well.
• In the file list, the folder part of each path is gray and the file name is bold. Empty folders are not listed.
• The counter under the list reads, for example, 3 of 12 selected. The two download buttons stay grayed out until at least one file is ticked.
• Download selected (.zip) names the new file after the original with -selection added, so photos.zip becomes photos-selection.zip, and keeps each file's folder path inside it.
• If the archive is encrypted, a note saying This ZIP is password-protected appears instead of the list. Encrypted ZIPs cannot be opened here.

Tips and common mistakes

• To zip a folder, use Add a whole folder. Dragging a folder onto the drop area does not bring its contents along.
• Files saved one by one, with the down arrow or Selected as separate files, lose their folder path. Use Download selected (.zip) to keep the structure.
• If you select more than 10 files to save separately, your browser may ask once for permission to download several files.
• Photos, videos and existing ZIP files are already compressed, so Maximum barely shrinks them. Use Store or Fast for those and save time.
• Adding a file with the same path as one already in the list replaces the older one instead of adding a copy.
• Text previews stop after 120,000 characters. Download the file to see all of it.

Privacy and limits

Archives are opened and built in your browser with the JSZip library, which loads from this site. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is saved. Everything is held in memory, so very large archives can be slow or fail on a device with little memory, and closing the tab clears it all.

Back to the tool

Everything a ZIP tool should do.

• Open and inspect any .zip instantly, see every file, its size and its modified date before extracting a thing.
• Preview text and images inside the archive, read code, notes or photos in place, no full extraction needed.
• Extract exactly what you want, download single files, re-zip a selection, or save chosen files separately.
• Create a new ZIP from any mix of files, drop them in or add a whole folder with its structure intact.
• Pick a compression level, store, fast, balanced or maximum, with a live progress bar as it builds.
• Stay completely private, the whole thing runs in your browser; your archives are never uploaded.

Frequently asked questions.

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