Unzip Files

A ZIP file is an archive: a single file that holds other files and folders, usually compressed to take less space. People use ZIPs to send many files at once, such as a set of photos, a project folder or documents for an application, and many downloads arrive as ZIPs. To use the files inside, you open the archive and extract them. Read more in the ZIP format guide.

Windows and macOS can open ZIPs on their own, but there are plenty of situations where that doesn't help: on a work or school computer where you can't install software, on a Chromebook, on an iPhone or iPad where the Files app shows only part of the contents, or on an Android phone without a file manager. You might also just want to look inside a ZIP and grab one file without extracting the whole thing.

This tool shows the full contents of the archive, including folders and file sizes, and lets you download exactly what you need.

Download single files from the list, or use Download All to get everything back with its original folder structure. Large archives with thousands of files work too, limited only by your device's memory. File names in other languages and scripts are shown correctly.

It also opens formats that are ZIP files under the hood, such as DOCX, XLSX and PPTX documents, EPUB e-books and APK app packages, which is a quick way to pull images out of a Word document or an e-book.

On iPhone and iPad, the Files app can expand a ZIP by tapping it, but it extracts everything into the same folder and doesn't show you the contents first, which gets messy with large archives. Android's built-in file managers vary by manufacturer, and some don't handle ZIPs at all. Here you can tap the box to choose a ZIP from Files, Downloads, Google Drive or an email attachment you've saved, see what's inside, and download only the files you actually need to your device.

Downloaded files go to your usual downloads location, ready to open in the right app.

Encrypted, password-protected ZIP files can't be opened here; use 7-Zip on Windows, The Unarchiver on Mac, or your system's built-in archive tool, which ask for the password. RAR, 7Z and TAR.GZ archives use different formats and need those tools too.

If extraction fails with an error, the ZIP may be damaged or only partly downloaded. Try downloading it again before anything else.

Need to go the other way? Zip Files packs files or whole folders into one ZIP, ready to email or upload. Photos, videos and MP3s are already compressed, so zipping them mainly makes sending easier; documents and text files shrink a lot.