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LZFSE file format

.lzfse  ·  compression (single file)  ·  introduced 2016 by Apple

What is a LZFSE file?

LZFSE (Lempel-Ziv Finite State Entropy) is Apple's open-source compression algorithm, used inside iOS, macOS, and watchOS for system payloads. It compresses better than zlib at similar speeds and is exposed to apps via the Compression framework.

Most readers reach this page after double-clicking a .lzfse file and finding their operating system unsure what to do with it. The good news: LZFSE is a well-understood format with mature tooling on every major platform. It is supported in one click by mainstream archivers on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

How to extract a LZFSE file

Opening a .lzfse file is straightforward on every modern operating system. The exact steps depend on which platform you are on:

On Windows

  1. Locate the .lzfse file in File Explorer.
  2. Right-click the file. If you have 7-Zip installed, choose 7-Zip → Extract Here. On Windows 11 the built-in extractor handles ZIP, 7z, RAR and several other formats directly through Extract All…
  3. If prompted, pick a destination folder and click Extract.
  4. The extracted files appear in a folder next to the original archive.

On macOS

  1. Find the .lzfse file in Finder.
  2. Install The Unarchiver from the Mac App Store, or Keka for both creating and extracting.
  3. Right-click the file → Open With → The Unarchiver (or just double-click after Unarchiver is set as the default).
  4. The extracted folder appears next to the archive.

On Linux

  1. Use your file manager: right-click the archive → Extract Here (file-roller on GNOME, Ark on KDE).
  2. On the command line, run one of: 
    7z x archive.lzfse    # works for almost any format
  3. The files appear in the current directory.

How to create a LZFSE file

To pack files into a .lzfse archive, you typically need an archiver that supports writing this format. Not every tool can create every format — for example, only WinRAR can create real RAR files. The sidebar lists the software known to read and write LZFSE.

On the command line, the canonical create command is:

# Use 7-Zip, PeaZip, or the format's reference tool to create .lzfse files.

If you regularly create archives at scale, a dedicated archive automation suite can wrap this command in scheduled jobs, integrity checks, and offsite replication.

Strengths

  • Apple platform native
  • Open source
  • Faster than xz at similar ratios

Weaknesses and limitations

  • Mostly relevant inside Apple ecosystem

Typical use cases

  • iOS/macOS internal payloads
  • Apple system updates

Technical details

LZFSE uses the LZFSE (LZ77 + FSE) algorithm and is identified on disk by the magic byte sequence 62 76 78 32. The standard MIME type is application/x-lzfse. The format is an open specification and is free for any use.

Frequently asked questions

Is LZFSE safe to open?

Archive files are containers — they are only as safe as what they contain. A .lzfse from a trusted source is fine; one received from a stranger can hold malicious executables, scripts, or files engineered to exploit bugs in your archiver. Always keep your archiver updated, and never run unknown executables that come out of an archive. A safe workflow is to extract into a sandbox and scan the contents before opening anything.

What is the maximum file size?

Modern implementations support archives in the multi-terabyte range. The practical limit is your filesystem (FAT32 caps at 4 GB; ext4, NTFS, APFS, and exFAT all comfortably handle multi-TB files).

Can I password-protect a LZFSE?

Some archivers can wrap LZFSE files in an encrypted container, but the format itself does not always include built-in encryption. Check your archiver's documentation.

How does LZFSE compare to other formats?

See our format comparison pages such as ZIP vs 7z, ZIP vs RAR, and tar.gz vs tar.xz for side-by-side feature tables.

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