Browse all guides & formats

A short, memorable page per archive format — the front door for "{format} online" and "open .{ext}". Each opens the format in your browser, no upload.

• .zip onlineOpen, view, or extract a .zip (and the hidden ZIP family) in your browser.
• .rar onlineOpen or extract a .rar — no WinRAR, no upload (WebAssembly unrar).
• .7z onlineOpen or extract a .7z — no 7-Zip install, no upload (WebAssembly 7-Zip).
• .tar.gz onlineOpen or extract a .tar.gz / .tgz — no command line, no upload.
• .tar.zst onlineOpen or extract a .tar.zst / .tzst — Arch packages included, no upload.
• .tar.xz onlineOpen or extract a .tar.xz / .txz — GNU-era source releases, no upload.
• .tar.bz2 onlineOpen or extract a .tar.bz2 / .tbz2 — older Linux packages, no upload.
• .tar onlineOpen or extract a plain, uncompressed .tar archive.
• .gz onlineDecompress (gunzip) a single .gz file — one file inside, not a folder.
• .zst onlineDecompress (zstd -d) a single .zst file — decoded locally, never uploaded.
• .xz onlineDecompress (xz -d) a single .xz file — LZMA2 decoded locally, never uploaded.
• .bz2 onlineDecompress (bunzip2) a single .bz2 file — decoded locally, never uploaded.

Browse, search, and preview archive contents entirely in your browser — your files are never uploaded.

• Open the zip viewerDrop a .zip, .rar, .tar.gz, .apk, .epub, .jar, or .7z and preview its files locally.
• Online zip viewerOpen and browse a zip file online with no upload and no install.
• Online RAR viewerBrowse and preview a .rar in your browser — no WinRAR, no upload.
• Online 7z viewerBrowse and preview a .7z in your browser — no 7-Zip install, no upload.
• Private zip viewerInspect an archive knowing its bytes never leave your device.
• View zip contents without extractingSee the file tree, search, and preview files before downloading.
• Unzip online without uploadingRead an archive in-page instead of sending it to a server.
• Create a zip onlineBuild a new zip from files in your browser.

Get the contents out of an archive — decompressed and on disk — without uploading it. Each format below is extracted 100% in your browser.

• Extract a zip onlineUnzip a .zip (or ZIP-based file) in your browser and download the contents, no upload.
• Extract a RAR onlineUnrar a .rar in your browser via WebAssembly — no WinRAR, no upload.
• Extract a 7z onlineOpen a .7z in your browser via a WebAssembly 7-Zip — no install, no upload.
• Extract a tar.gz onlineUntar a .tar.gz, .tar, or .gz in your browser — no command line, no upload.
• Extract a JAR onlineUnzip or decompress a .jar in your browser — no JDK, no upload.

Repack an archive into another open format — decoded and rebuilt in your browser, no upload.

• Convert RAR to ZIPTurn a .rar into a standard .zip in your browser — no WinRAR, no upload.
• Convert 7Z to ZIPRepack a .7z as a .zip — LZMA decoded in-browser, no 7-Zip, no upload.
• Convert TAR.GZ to ZIPUntar and re-pack a .tar.gz as a .zip — no command line, no upload.
• Convert TAR to ZIPTurn an uncompressed .tar into a compressed .zip — no upload.
• Convert GZ to ZIPWrap the file inside a .gz in a standard .zip — no command line, no upload.
• Convert ZIP to TAR.GZRe-pack a .zip as a gzip-compressed tarball — no command line, no upload.
• Convert ZIP to TARTurn a .zip into a plain, uncompressed .tar — no command line, no upload.

Turn compiled Java back into readable source — CFR on a WebAssembly JVM, entirely in your browser. Your code is never uploaded.

• Java decompiler onlineDecompile .class files and jars in-browser — no JDK, no upload.
• Decompile a JAR onlineBrowse a jar’s package tree, read any class, or download all sources as a zip.
• Decompile a class file onlineDrop a loose .class and read the reconstructed Java immediately.
• Open .class onlineOpen and inspect a Java class file — CAFEBABE, versions, and source.
• What is a class file?Java bytecode explained: structure, versions, and .java/.class/.jar.
• What is a JAR file?Java archives — a ZIP laid out as a JVM classpath (see also decompiling).

Extract text from images and screenshots — Tesseract as self-hosted WebAssembly, entirely in your browser. Your images are never uploaded.

• Extract text from an imageDrop a PNG, JPEG, or WebP and copy the text out — no upload.
• OCR image onlineA full in-browser OCR engine, six languages, nothing installed.
• Screenshot to textCopy error messages, code, and chat text out of screenshots.
• Open .png onlineView any PNG in the browser — where OCR is one click away.
• Open .jpg onlineView any JPEG in the browser — where OCR is one click away.
• Remove background from imageAI cutout in the tab — u2netp on WebAssembly, transparent PNG out.

What each format is, how it works, and how to open it in the browser.

• Archive file formats overviewHow ZIP, RAR, 7z, and tar.gz differ, and the hidden ZIP family.
• Formats that are secretly ZIPdocx, APK, EPUB, JAR, wheels — the formats built on the ZIP container.
• What is an APK file?Android app packages — a ZIP with a manifest and compiled code.
• What is an EPUB file?Ebook containers — a ZIP with a strict spine and reading order.
• What is a JAR file?Java archives — a ZIP laid out as a JVM classpath.
• What is a WHL file?Python wheels — a ZIP whose filename encodes install tags.
• What is a RAR file?RAR — a high-ratio proprietary archive from WinRAR.
• What is a 7z file?7z — an open format using LZMA/LZMA2 for strong compression.
• What is a tar.gz file?A tar archive compressed with gzip — the Unix source-bundle standard.
• What is a zip bomb?Malicious archives that expand catastrophically — and how to spot them.
• What is Zip Slip?The path-traversal vulnerability in naive archive extractors.

Step-by-step ways to open, extract, and create archives without uploading.

• All how-to guidesThe full set of browser-based archive how-tos.
• How to open a zip fileOpen a .zip in your browser and preview its contents.
• How to open a RAR fileExtract or browse a .rar without WinRAR or an upload.
• How to open a 7z fileOpen a .7z — including password-protected archives — in-page.
• How to open a tar.gz fileBrowse a .tar.gz without the command line.
• How to open a zip on iPhoneOpen a .zip on iOS with the Files app or in Safari.
• How to extract a zip fileGet files out of an archive, all client-side.
• How to create a zip fileBundle files into a new archive in your browser.
• How to create a zip on MacMake a .zip on macOS with Finder or in the browser.
• Open a zip on LinuxOpen and preview a .zip on Linux with no apt install and no upload.
• How to unzip on LinuxUnzip with the `unzip` command, a GUI manager, or in the browser.
• How to create a zip on LinuxCreate a .zip on Linux with `zip -r`, a GUI, or the browser tool.
• How to password-protect a zip fileAdd a password to an archive before sharing it.

Why client-side processing is safer, and the archive attacks to know about.

• Security & privacy overviewWhat local processing does and does not guarantee.
• Zip bombsHow decompression bombs work and how to defend against them.
• Zip SlipPath traversal during extraction — and why it matters.
• Malware in zip filesHow archives deliver malware — and why opening ≠ running.
• Why client-side is saferIn-browser processing vs upload sites, and how to verify no-upload.
• Check if a zip is safePreview the tree, spot bomb signatures, and vet a file before opening.
• Zip encryption explainedWeak ZipCrypto vs strong AES, and why some zips fail to open.
• Unzip without uploadingThe privacy case for never sending an archive to a server.
• Private zip viewerInspect archives with a verifiable no-upload guarantee.

ZipTool opens these and many other file types directly in your browser — text and source code, CSV/TSV tables, Word documents, spreadsheets and presentations, images, audio, video, PDFs, knap templates, 3D models (blend/stl/obj/gltf/glb), camera RAW photos (cr2, cr3, NEF, NRW, ARW, DNG, RAF, ORF, RW2, PEF — developed fully in-browser), and Apple HEIC photos (heic/heif/hif, decoded in-browser). Each opens as a single in-page view, 100% client-side; these are a few of the most common, and the full set spans dozens of extensions.

• SQLite viewer onlineBrowse .db tables and schema — CSV per table, no DBMS, no upload.
• TIFF viewer onlineView .tiff/.tif the browser can't render — multi-page, no upload.
• DOCX viewer onlineRead a Word document in the browser — headings, lists, tables, no upload.
• Knap playground onlineRender Obsidian knap templates against JSON variables, live and in-browser.
• Open .json onlineView a JSON file in the code editor with syntax highlighting.
• Open .html onlineRead an HTML file as source — markup only, nothing executed.
• Open .css onlineInspect a stylesheet and search for any selector.
• Open .js onlineRead JavaScript source without running it.
• Open .jsx onlineRead React component markup and logic — no execution.
• Open .py onlineView a Python script as text — no execution.
• Open .md onlineRead a Markdown file as readable plain text.
• Open .txt onlineOpen any plain-text or log file instantly.
• Open .sql onlineRead SQL statements without running them against a database.
• Open .csv onlineView a CSV as a table — sticky header, row numbers, delimiter auto-detect.
• Open .tsv onlineView a tab-separated file as a table — the tab delimiter is detected automatically.
• Open .xlsx onlineRead an Excel workbook as a grid — per-sheet tabs, values only.
• Open .xls onlineOpen a legacy Excel 97-2003 workbook as a table, no Excel needed.
• Open .pptx onlineStep through PowerPoint slides as static images — no upload.
• Open .png onlineView a PNG image — decoded locally, nothing uploaded.
• Open .jpg onlineView a JPEG photograph directly in the browser.
• Open .avif onlineView an AVIF image — decoded natively by the browser, no upload.
• Open .pdf onlineRender a PDF page by page, entirely in your browser.
• Open .mp4 onlinePlay an MP4 video without installing a player.
• Open .mp3 onlinePlay an MP3 audio file locally in the browser.
• Open .blend onlineRender a Blender 5+ scene in WebGL — meshes, transforms, materials.
• Open .stl onlineInspect a 3D-printing mesh — orbit, zoom, wireframe check.
• Open .obj onlineView a Wavefront OBJ model with geometry and groups.
• Open .gltf onlineRender a self-contained glTF JSON scene in WebGL.
• Open .glb onlineUnpack and orbit a binary glTF — one file, everything in.
• Open .cr2 onlineDevelop a Canon RAW 2 photo in-browser — real demosaic, no upload.
• Open .cr3 onlineDevelop a Canon RAW v3 photo in-browser — real demosaic, no upload.
• Open .nef onlineDevelop a Nikon NEF in-browser — every compression variant, no upload.
• Open .arw onlineDevelop a Sony ARW in-browser — judge compression at 100% zoom.
• Open .dng onlineDevelop an Adobe DNG in-browser — mosaic and linear, no upload.
• Open .raf onlineDevelop a Fujifilm RAF in-browser — X-Trans demosaic, no upload.
• Open .orf onlineDevelop an Olympus/OM System ORF in-browser — Hi-Res files too, no upload.
• Open .rw2 onlineDevelop a Panasonic Lumix RW2 in-browser — MFT and full-frame, no upload.
• Open .pef onlineDevelop a Pentax PEF in-browser — Pixel Shift files too, no upload.
• Open .nrw onlineDevelop a Nikon Coolpix NRW in-browser — superzoom RAWs, no upload.
• Open .heic onlineDecode an Apple HEIC photo in-browser — full HEVC decode, no upload.

SQLite files open as real databases — every table a grid, every CREATE statement on hand, entirely in your browser.

• Open .db onlineBrowse a SQLite .db — tables, schema, CSV export, no upload.
• Open .sqlite onlineThe explicit SQLite spelling — same engine, same privacy.
• Open .db3 onlineThe legacy db3 spelling — identical format inside.

Camera RAW developed in your browser by LibRaw (WebAssembly) — a real demosaic with camera white balance, not the embedded preview. Canon, Nikon, Sony and Adobe files open straight out of zips, and photos never leave your device.

• Online RAW viewerView CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW and DNG at full resolution — zoom, folder browsing, zips included.
• RAW to JPGBatch-develop a folder of RAWs to JPEG in the tab — one zip out, no upload.
• Photo cullingCull a shoot in the tab — thumbnail wall, zoom to 100%, delete rejects from the zip.
• Open .cr2 onlineCanon RAW from the 2003–2018 bodies, developed locally.
• Open .cr3 onlineCanon RAW v3 (2018 on), developed locally.
• Open .nef onlineNikon NEF — lossless, compressed and uncompressed alike.
• Open .arw onlineSony ARW — inspect what cRAW compression preserved at pixel level.
• Open .dng onlineAdobe DNG — camera-native writes and conversions, both open.

iPhone photos decoded in your browser by libheif (WebAssembly) — view them, zoom them, convert them to JPG. Photos never leave your device, where most HEIC sites upload them.

• HEIC to JPGConvert iPhone photos to JPEG in the tab — no upload, no watermark.
• Online HEIC viewerView HEIC at full resolution — zoom, folder browsing, zips included.
• Open .heic onlineOne HEIC, one click, decoded locally with metadata-free honesty.

Chrome, Firefox, and Edge cannot render TIFF at all — this viewer decodes it in the browser tab, page by page for scans and faxes.

• Open .tiff onlineView a TIFF image — multi-page navigation, per-page PNG export.
• Open .tif onlineThe DOS-era spelling — identical format, same viewer.

Reference terms for compression and the ZIP format — evergreen and low-competition.

• Glossary indexAll compression & archive terms.
• DEFLATEZIP’s default compression algorithm.
• LZ77The sliding-window matcher DEFLATE builds on.
• Huffman codingEntropy coding used by DEFLATE.
• LZMAThe high-ratio algorithm behind 7z.
• Dictionary codingReplacing repeats with references.
• Lossless compressionRecovering bytes exactly.
• Compression ratioHow much smaller the output is.
• ChecksumDetecting bit-level corruption.
• CRC32The integrity check ZIP uses per entry.
• Local file headerPer-entry metadata at the front of a ZIP.
• Central directoryThe index at the end of a ZIP.
• Data descriptorTrailing size/CRC for streamed entries.
• EOCDEnd of central directory record.
• ZIP64Extensions for archives over 4 GB.
• Store methodPackaging without compression.
• Solid archiveCompressing many files as one stream.
• TarballA tar archive, often gzipped.

Who makes ZipTool and the policies that apply.

• AboutWhat ZipTool is and the privacy promise behind it.
• ContactGet in touch with feedback or questions.
• Privacy policyHow client-side processing and analytics work.
• TermsTerms of use for the tool and content.