Extract 7Z Files

Open 7Z files online without 7-Zip: extract 7z archives in your browser and download single files or all of them as a ZIP. Free, private, no upload.

Files are processed in your browser and never uploaded.

Encrypted 7Z archives cannot be opened in the browser.

How to extract a 7Z file

  1. Drop the .7z archive onto the drop zone above, or click Choose a file to pick it.
  2. Ignore Password (only if the archive is encrypted). It is used for encrypted ZIPs; encrypted 7Z archives are not supported in the browser.
  3. Click Extract files and wait while the archive is decompressed.
  4. Save single files with their Download buttons, or press Download all (ZIP) to collect everything in one ZIP.

Decompression is done by libarchive running as WebAssembly in your browser tab. The archive never leaves your computer, and you do not need to install 7-Zip.

About the 7z format

7z is the native format of 7-Zip, the free and open-source archiver written by Igor Pavlov. It was designed for high compression ratios and is built around the LZMA family of algorithms (Lempel-Ziv-Markov chain), which use a large dictionary to find repeated data far apart in the input. Newer versions of 7-Zip default to LZMA2, a variant that handles incompressible data and multiple threads better.

Two features explain why 7z files are often noticeably smaller than ZIPs of the same content:

  • Solid compression. 7-Zip can compress many files as one continuous stream, so similar files (for example a folder of text documents or source code) share a dictionary. ZIP compresses each file separately.
  • Large dictionaries. LZMA can look back over many megabytes, while ZIP's Deflate only looks back 32 KB.

The trade-off is speed and compatibility. Compressing to 7z takes longer than ZIP, and the format is not opened by older built-in tools. 7z archives can also be encrypted with AES-256, including the file names, which is why an encrypted 7Z cannot even be listed without the password.

Opening 7z on your own computer

Recent Windows 11 updates let File Explorer extract 7z archives directly; on Windows 10 install 7-Zip and use its context menu. macOS Archive Utility does not open 7z, so a third-party app is needed. On Linux, 7z x archive.7z extracts with folder paths intact (the command comes from the p7zip or 7zip package, depending on the distribution).

Tips

  • Sending the files to someone without 7-Zip? 7Z to ZIP repacks them as a ZIP that opens with a double-click on Windows and macOS.
  • To peek inside without unpacking everything, use ZIP Viewer, which reads 7Z archives too.
  • Need to make a 7z yourself? Create 7Z packs files and folders with LZMA compression.
  • For RAR, TAR or ISO files, use the general Archive Extractor.

Frequently asked questions

Can I open a 7z file without installing 7-Zip?

Yes. This page extracts unencrypted 7z archives directly in your browser, on Windows, macOS, Linux or a Chromebook.

My 7z file asks for a password. What can I do?

Encrypted 7z archives cannot be opened in the browser. Extract them with 7-Zip using the password. Nobody can recover a lost 7z password with this site.

Are multi-gigabyte 7z files supported?

The archive and the extracted files must fit in browser memory. Inputs over roughly 700 MB are slow, and files above 2 GB are refused. Use desktop 7-Zip for very large archives.

Why is extraction slower than for a ZIP?

LZMA decompression does more work per byte than ZIP's Deflate, and it runs as WebAssembly rather than native code. A large solid archive may take a little while.

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