Extract a ZIP archive
Inspect an archive's contents, then extract the files you actually want.
Processed in your browser. This file is converted on your device and is never uploaded.
Converter
.zip up to 250 MB. You can also drag a file here.
No file selected.
About this tool
Sometimes you only need one file out of an archive, and unpacking the whole thing to get it is a waste. This tool reads the archive's directory first, shows you everything inside, and extracts only the entries you tick.
Reading the listing decompresses nothing, so you can inspect an archive that would be too large to extract on the device you are using.
Supported formats and limits
- Input
- .zip
- Output
- Whatever file types the archive contains
- Output name
- Each extracted file keeps its path with folder separators replaced by hyphens, for example docs/readme.txt becomes docs-readme.txt.
- File size limit
- 250 MB
- Processing
- In your browser. The file is not uploaded.
How to use it
- Choose a .zip file. Its contents are listed straight away.
- Tick the files you want, or use Select all.
- Select Convert, then download each extracted file.
Limitations
- Extracted files are offered as individual downloads, because a browser cannot write a folder tree to your disk. Each file keeps its path in its name, with separators replaced by hyphens.
- Entries whose stored path points outside the archive, such as one containing .., are listed but cannot be extracted. This is what stops a crafted archive from writing outside the folder you expect.
- Encrypted entries are listed but cannot be extracted. Password-protected archives are not supported.
- Only ZIP is supported. RAR, 7z, TAR, and GZIP are not.
- Every selected file is held in memory at once, so extracting a very large selection can exhaust a phone.
- Folder entries are shown for context but are not themselves downloadable.
Common problems
The file was refused before anything started.
Extract a ZIP archive checks the extension before it reads a byte, and it accepts .zip. 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.
I selected several files and only one converted.
This tool takes one file at a time. Doing several at once would multiply the memory in use, which is the thing most likely to fail on a phone.
Convert them one after another. Nothing is kept between them, so there is no state to reset.
Nothing happened for a long time on the first run.
Extract 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 * 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 * in your system settings. The file itself is correct.
Frequently asked questions
- Is my archive uploaded?
- No. The archive is read and extracted entirely in your browser. It never leaves your device and no request carrying its contents is made.
- Why can I not extract every entry?
- Two kinds of entry are blocked. Encrypted entries need a password, which is not supported. Entries whose path escapes the archive root are a known attack against extraction tools, so they are shown but refused.
- Why are the downloaded names different from the paths?
- A browser download goes to a single folder and cannot create directories. Folding the path into the filename keeps files from different folders distinct, and shows where each one came from.
- Can I extract a password-protected archive?
- No. Encrypted ZIP support is deliberately out of scope.
- What if the archive is damaged?
- Reading stops with an explanation rather than producing partial files. A truncated download is the usual cause, so fetching the archive again is worth trying.
- Do I need to install anything or create an account to use Extract a ZIP archive?
- No, to all of it. Extract 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 Extract 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 Extract 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 several files at once with Extract a ZIP archive?
- Not here: this tool takes one file at a time, because what it does depends on choices you make about that particular file. Convert them one after another, or look at the batch converters in the same category, which are built for a folder at a time.