Create a ZIP archive
Bundle files, or a whole folder, into a single ZIP archive.
Processed in your browser. This file is converted on your device and is never uploaded.
Converter
Any file type up to 250 MB each. You can also drag files here.
No file selected.
About this tool
Sending a folder of files by email or chat usually means bundling them first. This tool builds a ZIP archive from the files or folder you choose, using your browser's own compression rather than a server.
Because nothing is uploaded, the practical limit is your device's memory rather than an upload quota, and large archives are not slowed down by your connection.
Supported formats and limits
- Input
- *
- Output
- .zip (application/zip)
- Output name
- The archive name you choose, with a .zip extension.
- File size limit
- 250 MB
- Processing
- In your browser. The file is not uploaded.
How to use it
- Choose files, or choose a folder to keep its structure inside the archive.
- Name the archive and pick a compression setting.
- Select Convert, then download the .zip file.
Limitations
- Folder selection uses a browser feature that most desktop browsers support but many mobile browsers do not. Where it is missing, choose the files individually.
- Dragging files onto the page works, but dragging a folder does not: the browser hands over no files in that case. Use the folder button instead.
- Empty folders are not preserved. An archive is built from files, so a folder with nothing in it leaves no trace.
- Encrypted or password-protected archives are not supported.
- Two files that end up with the same name inside the archive get a counter appended, so neither is lost.
- File timestamps come from what the browser exposes, and permissions and symbolic links are not preserved.
Common problems
The file was refused before anything started.
Create a ZIP archive checks the extension before it reads a byte, and it accepts *. Browsers report file types inconsistently enough that the extension is what decides.
Rename the file if the extension is simply wrong, or convert it to one of those first. A file whose extension does not match its contents is refused for the same reason, and that one needs converting rather than renaming.
It said the file was too large.
The limit here is 250 MB. It is not a policy but a measurement: everything runs on your own device, and past that size a phone runs out of memory rather than finishing slowly.
Split the file, reduce it before converting, or use a desktop program for that one. A machine with more memory will manage more, but the limit does not know which machine it is on.
Nothing happened for a long time on the first run.
Create a ZIP archive downloads a library before it can begin, and it is fetched once and then reused. That wait is before the conversion rather than during it, which is why the progress bar sits still.
Leave the tab open and in the foreground; a background tab is throttled by the browser. Every conversion after the first one in a session skips this.
The tab reloaded itself part-way through.
The browser ran out of memory and restarted the page. At sizes approaching 250 MB this is the failure a phone hits first, and it looks like a crash rather than an error.
Try a smaller file, close other tabs, or run it on a computer. Nothing was uploaded or lost — the original file is untouched on your device.
The result opened in the wrong program.
The output is a .zip file, and your system opens that extension with whatever it was told to. Nothing about the conversion decides it.
Open it from inside the program you want, or change the default for .zip in your system settings. The file itself is correct.
Frequently asked questions
- Are my files uploaded?
- No. The archive is built entirely in your browser. The files never leave your device and no request carrying their contents is made.
- When should I turn compression off?
- When the files are already compressed. Photos, video, audio, and PDFs barely shrink, so storing them without compression finishes much faster for the same result.
- Why is my archive nearly the same size as the files?
- ZIP compresses each file separately, and formats such as JPEG, MP4, and MP3 are already compressed. Text, spreadsheets, and code compress well; media does not.
- How large an archive can I build?
- Each file is limited to 250 MB, and the whole archive is held in memory while it is built, so the real limit is what your device can hold. A phone will manage far less than a desktop.
- Do I need to install anything or create an account to use Create a ZIP archive?
- No, to all of it. Create a ZIP archive runs inside the browser you already have, with no sign-up, no download, no watermark on the result, and no cap on how many files you convert. There is nothing to uninstall afterwards either, because nothing was installed.
- Does Create a ZIP archive work offline?
- Once the page has loaded, yes. The conversion runs on your device, so it needs no connection to do the work. The first visit fetches the page and the code that does the converting; after that a lost connection stops nothing, and a converted file appears exactly as it would online.
- How large a file can Create a ZIP archive handle?
- The limit is 250 MB. It is a deliberate one rather than a technical ceiling: the real constraint is memory, and a file that decodes to more than the device can hold fails in a way that is hard to explain. Phones run out well before laptops do, which is why the limit is set where it is.
- Can I convert a whole folder with Create a ZIP archive?
- Yes. You can choose several files, or a folder, and the structure inside it is kept. Everything is processed in sequence rather than in parallel, because running conversions simultaneously is the fastest way to exhaust the memory of a phone.