Convert TAR.GZ to ZIP online
Drop a .tar.gz and download a standard .zip — decompressed and re-packed entirely in your browser, no command line, no upload.
Drop your .tar.gz anywhere on this page
The tar.gz is decompressed and re-packed as a ZIP entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
A .tar.gz is two formats stacked: tar packs many files into one stream (keeping their names and folder structure), and gzip squeezes that stream. It is the standard way Unix systems distribute source code — the source tarball behind virtually every open-source release. Converting a .tar.gz to a .zip means decompressing the stream, unpacking the tar, and re-packaging the files as a standard ZIP. People do it for one main reason: ZIP opens natively everywhere, while a tar.gz on Windows has historically meant installing 7-Zip or reaching for a terminal.
ZipTool does the whole conversion in your browser. You open the page, drop the .tar.gz (or .tgz) onto it, and the file tree renders locally — the gzip layer uses the browser's own decompression support and the tar is parsed in-page, with no decoder to download. Click Convert in the file-tree toolbar, pick ZIP, and download the rebuilt archive. Nothing is uploaded; the network is only ever used to load the page itself. For the format background, see what is a tar.gz file.
How to convert TAR.GZ to ZIP in your browser
No command line, no upload. The browser decodes the .tar.gz and writes the .zip locally.
- Go to ZipTool and drag the
.tar.gzonto the page (or use the file picker, or paste a URL). The archive is decoded in your browser and the file tree opens. - Click Convert in the file-tree toolbar (next to Extract-all). The converter reads the TAR.GZ entries that are already in memory.
- Choose ZIP as the output format. The entries are re-packed into a standard
.zipwith Deflate compression and a central directory - Download the
.zip. The rebuilt archive is produced locally and handed to you as a download — your original TAR.GZ and its contents are never transmitted anywhere.
Is it really private?
Yes. "Online" here describes where the tool runs — a web page — not where your data goes. The .tar.gz is decoded by the browser's built-in gzip decompression and an in-page tar reader running inside your tab, the entries are re-packed into a ZIP in memory, and the result is offered as a download. No server ever receives your file, its contents, or the converted archive.
You can prove it to yourself in a few seconds. Drop a .tar.gz onto the page, wait for the file tree to open, then disconnect from the internet. The convert-to-ZIP step still works, because nothing about it depends on a network request. A tool that fails the moment you go offline was uploading your data. ZipTool does not. For the broader privacy case, see why client-side is safer than uploading.
Why convert TAR.GZ to ZIP?
The motivation is almost always the recipient. A .tar.gz is second nature on Linux and macOS, but Windows Explorer only learned to open it in recent Windows 11 releases — before that, a tar.gz on Windows meant installing 7-Zip or opening a terminal. A .zip, by contrast, has opened with a double-click on Windows since XP. If you are sending a source bundle to someone on Windows, converting to ZIP removes the friction before it happens.
There is also a structural difference worth knowing: a tar.gz is one solid stream — to read the last file, a reader must decompress everything before it — while a ZIP stores each file separately and keeps an index at the end. That is why you can jump straight to any file inside a ZIP but must wait for a full pass on a tar.gz. If you would rather keep the tar.gz and just read it, see extracting a tar.gz online; to browse it as-is, start at the tar.gz format page. For the wider picture, see archive file formats.
Honest limits
Conversion is a real capability here, with a few real boundaries worth knowing.
- You cannot convert TO RAR or 7Z. RAR encoding is proprietary to WinRAR — no browser (and no honest free tool) can *create* a
.rar. ZipTool converts in the other direction only: RAR, 7z, tar.gz, tar, and gz *into* ZIP, TAR, or TAR.GZ. See creating a zip online. - Unix metadata does not survive. A tar records Unix permission bits, ownership, and symbolic links; a ZIP stores plain files and folders. Symlinks come across as regular (usually tiny) files, and permissions are normalized. For distributing Unix software where the metadata matters, keep the tar.gz.
- Browser memory is the ceiling. The tab holds the decoded entries and the rebuilt ZIP in memory, so a very large
.tar.gzcan get slow. For multi-gigabyte archives a desktop tool is more reliable.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert a tar.gz to a ZIP online?
Open the page and drop your .tar.gz (or .tgz) onto it. The archive is decompressed and unpacked in your browser, the file tree opens, and you click Convert in the toolbar, choose ZIP, and download the rebuilt .zip. No command line, no install, no upload.
Do you upload my tar.gz to convert it?
No. The gzip layer is decompressed by the browser itself and the tar is parsed in-page; the entries are re-packed into a ZIP in memory and the result is downloaded locally. This conversion has no decoder download at all — your file never leaves the tab. Confirm it in DevTools (the Network tab shows no upload) and by converting with the internet disconnected, which still works.
Does this work on Windows without installing anything?
Yes — that is the point. The conversion runs in the browser you already have, using its built-in gzip decompression. Windows Explorer historically could not open a .tar.gz; it has opened .zip files since XP, so the converted archive just double-clicks open.
Will the ZIP be smaller or larger than the tar.gz?
About the same, usually. gzip and ZIP's Deflate are closely related algorithms, so re-compressing the same files lands within a few percent either way; very small archives may grow slightly because a ZIP carries per-file headers. The files inside are identical.
Can I convert a ZIP back to tar.gz?
Yes — the converter targets TAR.GZ as well as ZIP and TAR. Open the ZIP, click Convert in the file-tree toolbar, and choose TAR.GZ as the output.