Extract Archive

How Extract Archive works

Drop an archive and every file inside is listed with its own download button, with the folder it came from shown alongside. It works for ZIP, RAR (including RAR5), 7Z, TAR and TAR.GZ, which covers almost every archive you will be sent.

The archive is opened by libarchive, the library many operating systems use, compiled to WebAssembly so it runs inside this page. That matters on phones and work computers where you cannot install 7-Zip or WinRAR: the browser is enough.

Everything is unpacked into your browser's memory, so very large archives of several gigabytes are better opened with a desktop program. Password-protected archives cannot be opened without the password.

Files inside folders are listed with their full path, so you can see where each came from, and each download keeps the original file name. Nothing inside an archive is ever run or opened: the files are only unpacked and offered for saving, which makes this a safe way to look inside an archive before deciding what to keep. The engine is about 1 MB and loads the first time you press the button. It works on phones as well, which is often the easiest way to get one document out of a ZIP or RAR sent by email. Password prompts never appear, because protected archives are reported as unsupported.

Extract Archive options explained

When to use it

Extracting in the browser helps when you receive a RAR or 7Z on a computer without an archive program, when a phone will not open an archive, or when you only need one file out of a large download.

If you want everything back as a single ZIP that any system opens, use RAR to ZIP or 7Z to ZIP instead; extraction here is best when you need a few individual files.

About these archive tools

Extraction uses libarchive, the library built into many operating systems, compiled to WebAssembly; creating ZIPs uses fflate, a small and fast compression library. Both run inside this tab. Archives are lossless, so every file comes out byte for byte identical to what went in. Everything is held in memory while it works, which is fine for the documents, photos and downloads people usually zip and unzip, but for backups of many gigabytes a desktop program such as 7-Zip is the better tool. To change an archive from one format to another in one step, such as RAR to ZIP, use the archive converter.

Extract Archive troubleshooting

"The archive is empty"

The archive holds only folders, or it is damaged. Try opening it on another device to check.

The archive will not open

It is probably password protected, split into parts, or not really an archive. Check the extension matches the file with our file viewer pages.

Only 300 files appear

Very large archives list their first 300 files. Convert the archive to ZIP to keep everything together instead.

How to use Extract Archive, step by step

1. Press "Choose an archive" or drag files onto the box.
2. Set the options if you need to; the defaults suit most uses.
3. Press "Extract files". The work happens on your device.
4. Save the result with its download button.

Is it safe to do this online?

With most online tools, "online" means your file is uploaded to a company's server, processed there and kept for a while before it is deleted. Here it is not. The page downloads the tool's code to your browser, and your file is read and processed inside the tab on your own device. It is never sent to TapToConvert or anyone else.

You can check this yourself: once the page and its engine have loaded, turn off Wi-Fi and the tool still works. That also means there is no queue, no daily limit and no file size cap set by a server; the only limit is the memory your browser gives a single tab.