Extract a .tar.gz
The archive Windows will not open.
Drop files here
or click to choose from your deviceAccepted: TAR, GZ, TGZ
One file per runUp to 20 MB per file5 runs per dayRemove limits with Pro✓ Works offline
Your files stay on your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and you can even turn off your internet connection before you start.
Example
Example: photos-2026.tar.gz opened on Windows without installing anything
A friend sends photos-2026.tar.gz (6.4 MB): holiday photos in two sub-folders, a notes folder, a README and a link called latest.jpg. Drop it on the page.
- The gzip layer is undone first, then the tar headers are read one by one; folders themselves are skipped.
- A download cannot create folders, so each path becomes the file name with _ in place of /: the two beach.jpg files stay apart.
- The page notes: 5 files, 6.1 MB. Folders are flattened: a download cannot make directories.
| In the archive | Downloaded as | Size |
|---|---|---|
| photos-2026/README.txt | photos-2026_README.txt | 116 bytes |
| photos-2026/day1/beach.jpg | photos-2026_day1_beach.jpg | 2.4 MB |
| photos-2026/day1/sunset.jpg | photos-2026_day1_sunset.jpg | 2.1 MB |
| photos-2026/day2/beach.jpg | photos-2026_day2_beach.jpg | 1.9 MB |
| photos-2026/notes/trip-plan.csv | photos-2026_notes_trip-plan.csv | 1.4 KB |
| photos-2026/latest.jpg (a link) | left out | — |
Five files, to save one by one or as a zip. The archive is hardly smaller than the photos inside, because JPGs are already compressed; a .tar.gz of text files shrinks far more.
How it works
- Add the .tar, .tar.gz or .tgz file.
- The contents are listed with their sizes.
- Download what you need, or take the lot as a zip.
- The archive is never uploaded — it is read in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
- Why will Windows not open these?
- It will now, mostly — Windows 11 added tar.gz support to Explorer in 2023, and the tar command has shipped since Windows 10. On an older machine, in a locked-down office, or when Explorer just shows the archive as a single unknown file, this page is the quicker route than installing something.
- What is the difference between .tar and .tar.gz?
- A .tar bundles files together without compressing them; .gz compresses a single file. A .tar.gz is both, in that order, which is why the size drops so much and why you cannot list the contents without decompressing first. .tgz is the same thing with a shorter name.
- Does it handle long paths?
- Yes. Deeply nested names go past the 100-byte limit in the original header, and the archive stores them in an extra GNU or PAX record instead. Both are read, so a deep path comes out with its full name rather than truncated.
- Can it do .rar or .7z?
- No. Those need large decoders and, for RAR, a licence that does not permit this. Zip and tar are the two that can be done properly in a browser, and both are here.
- Why are the folders gone?
- A browser download cannot make folders, so the path goes into the name: photos/day1/beach.jpg is saved as photos_day1_beach.jpg. Files with the same name in different folders stay apart, and the names still sort by folder.
- What happens to links in the archive?
- Symbolic and hard links are left out, as are the folder entries themselves; only real files are extracted. A link usually points at a file that is in the archive anyway.
- Are my files uploaded?
- No. Everything happens in your browser — the files never leave your computer.
Related tools
☷ Extract a ZIP Open an archive and take out the files, on a device that has no unzip program. ☷ Create a ZIP Bundle files into one archive. Nothing is uploaded, so nothing has to be trusted. ⋈ Split a file Numbered pieces small enough to send. ⋈ Join split files The pieces back into the file they came from.