Extract a zip online
Extracting a zip online usually means one of two things, and most "online unzip" sites only do the worse one: you upload the file, a server decompresses it, and sends the listing back. ZipTool does the other thing. You open the page, drop the .zip onto it, and the archive is decompressed entirely inside your browser tab. Your file is never transmitted to a server, never stored, and never handed to a third party.
Because the work happens locally, "online" here describes where the tool runs (a web page), not where your data goes. You can prove that to yourself in a few seconds: drop a zip in, then disconnect from the internet — browsing the file tree, searching, previewing, and extracting all keep working. That is the difference between an online extractor and an upload-based one, and it matters the moment the archive holds something you would rather not put on someone else's disk.
How to extract a zip in your browser
The workflow is the same browse-then-extract pattern whether the archive has two files or two thousand. Nothing is unpacked to disk until you choose to.
- Add the archive. Drag the
.ziponto the page, use the file picker, or paste a direct URL. The browser reads the bytes locally — there is no upload step. - Browse the file tree. The archive's contents render as a folder tree on the left. Expand folders, search by name across the whole archive, and click any entry to preview it before you commit to extracting.
- Extract. Use the extract-all control in the file-tree toolbar. On Chrome and Edge you pick a real destination folder and the original files are written there, recreating the archive's folder structure; on Firefox and Safari (which lack the directory-writing API) the contents are bundled into a clean new zip you can download.
- Or grab single files. If you only need one entry, preview it and download just that file — no full extraction required.
Extraction versus previewing
It helps to be precise, because the two are easy to confuse. Previewing leaves the archive intact and renders one file at a time on demand — you look inside without changing your disk. Extracting decompresses the entries and writes them out as real files and folders you can open, edit, and run elsewhere. Previewing is read-only inspection; extraction is the step that puts the files on disk for keeps.
Most of the time you want to preview first and extract second: glance at the tree, confirm the archive contains what you think it does, and only then unpack it. For the preview-only workflow, see viewing the contents of a zip without extracting. When you do want the real files out, the steps above do it without an upload.
What you can extract: plain zip and the hidden ZIP family
A huge number of file types are ZIP containers under a different extension, so one extractor covers far more than just .zip. ZipTool opens plain .zip plus the ZIP family — .apk (Android packages), .epub (ebooks), .jar and .war (Java artifacts), .whl (Python wheels), .xpi, and Office OOXML (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx) — and extracts their contents the same way. Each of these is a ZIP whose bytes start with the PK signature, so the same code that reads a .zip reads them.
Beyond the ZIP family, the same extract workflow handles non-ZIP formats ZipTool decodes directly: .rar (via a WebAssembly unrar), .7z (via a WebAssembly 7-Zip), and .tar.gz, .tar, and .gz (via the browser's native decompression). See extract a RAR online, extract a 7z online, and extract a tar.gz online. For the bigger picture on which extensions are secretly ZIP, see the archive file formats reference.
Why a no-upload extractor matters
Extraction, by definition, exposes the archive's full contents — every file, at its real size, ready to open. That is exactly what you want, and exactly why the upload model is risky for some archives. When you upload a zip to a server-based extractor, that server now holds a complete, decrypted copy of everything inside it: source code, contracts, credentials, client files. You are trusting that server to not keep it, scan it, leak it, or hand it on. Most are honest; some are not, and you cannot tell from the outside which is which.
A client-side extractor removes that trust requirement entirely. The bytes are decompressed in your tab and written to a folder you chose on your own machine; no complete copy ever exists anywhere else. That is the same reason this matters on a shared, loaner, or managed computer — there is no server-side copy to outlive your session. For the privacy case in depth, see unzipping online without uploading and the private zip viewer. One honesty caveat: client-side processing is a privacy improvement, not a safety guarantee — a malicious archive is still malicious once you extract and run it.
Honest limits
An in-browser extractor is genuinely useful, but it has real limits worth knowing before you rely on it for something important.
- Extract-to-folder needs Chrome or Edge. Writing a real directory tree uses the File System Access API, which Firefox and Safari do not implement. On those browsers you still get every file — bundled as a downloadable zip that preserves the folder structure — you just do not get a native folder written directly to disk.
- Encrypted entries need the password. ZipTool can decrypt password-protected ZIP and 7z archives (including AES) when you supply the password; it cannot decrypt RAR, and it cannot bypass encryption you do not have the key for. For the weak-vs-strong distinction, see zip encryption explained.
- Large archives and zip bombs. A browser tab has finite memory. An archive engineered to decompress to a size many orders of magnitude larger than the file on disk (a "zip bomb") can freeze or crash the page. Extract archives from sources you trust, and be wary of tiny files that claim enormous uncompressed sizes. See what is a zip bomb.
- Path traversal is defended against. When entries are written out, each path is sanitized so an archive can never write outside the folder you picked (the Zip Slip attack). That defense is built into the extractor, not left to you.
Frequently asked questions
How do I extract a zip file online?
Open the page, drop your .zip onto it (or use the file picker or paste a URL), and the archive is parsed in your browser. Browse the file tree to confirm what is inside, then use the extract-all control. On Chrome and Edge you pick a destination folder and the original files are written there with their folder structure intact; on Firefox and Safari the contents download as a zip. Nothing is uploaded to a server.
Do you upload my zip when I extract it?
No. The archive is decompressed entirely in your browser tab; your file contents are never transmitted to a server, never stored, and never handed to a third party. You can confirm this in DevTools — the Network tab shows no upload of the file — and by disconnecting from the internet after the page loads: browsing, searching, previewing, and extracting all keep working.
What is the difference between extract and unzip?
Nothing, in practice — "unzip" is just the everyday word for extracting a ZIP. Both mean decompressing the archive and writing its contents out as real files and folders. (Technically unzip is also a specific command-line program, but in common use the two terms are interchangeable.)
Can I extract a zip on my phone or a work computer without installing anything?
Yes. ZipTool runs in any modern browser with no install and no account, which makes it useful on locked-down work machines, loaner laptops, or phones where you cannot (or do not want to) install software. Open the page, drop or pick the file, and extract. On mobile browsers that lack the directory-writing API, the contents download as a zip instead of a folder. On an iPhone specifically, see how to open a zip file on iPhone; on Linux, see how to unzip on Linux.
Can it extract password-protected zips?
Yes, when you have the password. ZipTool decrypts password-protected archives — including modern AES-encrypted ZIPs that the built-in Windows and macOS tools often reject — once you enter the password. It cannot open an encrypted archive without the key; no honest tool can bypass encryption.
Does this work for files that are secretly ZIP, like .apk or .docx?
Yes. Android .apk, .epub, Java .jar/.war, Python .whl, Office .docx/.xlsx/.pptx, and .xpi are all ZIP containers internally — their bytes start with the same PK signature as a .zip. ZipTool opens and extracts them with the same workflow as a plain zip.