How to open archives on Windows 11 / 10
A complete guide to extracting and creating ZIP, RAR, 7z, TAR and other archive formats on Windows 11 / 10.
Overview
Windows is the most common desktop OS for handling archives. Windows 11 added native handling for 7z, RAR, TAR, and a wide set of Unix compression formats in 2023; Windows 10 still needs a third-party tool for anything beyond ZIP.
What Windows 11 / 10 handles out of the box
- ZIP create + extract via File Explorer
- 7z, RAR, TAR, GZIP, BZIP2, XZ, ZSTD extract on Windows 11 (since the libarchive-based update)
- tar.exe command line since Windows 10 1803
Recommended archivers for Windows 11 / 10
- 7-Zip — the gold-standard free archiver
- PeaZip — even more formats with a polished GUI
- WinRAR — when you need to create .rar or .rar5
How to extract any archive
- Right-click the archive in File Explorer
- Choose "Extract All..." (ZIP) or your installed archiver's "Extract here" entry
- Pick a destination folder
- Click Extract — Windows shows a progress dialog
How to create an archive
- Select the files or folders in File Explorer
- Right-click → Send to → Compressed (zipped) folder (ZIP)
- Or right-click → 7-Zip → Add to archive... for 7z, tar.gz, etc.
- Type a filename and (optionally) password, then click OK
Pro tips
Use 7-Zip's AES-256 encryption for any archive that contains sensitive data — never trust legacy ZipCrypto.
Disable the "Hide extensions for known file types" option in Folder Options so you can tell .zip from .zip.exe and avoid SFX malware.
Windows 11's built-in extractor is convenient but slower than 7-Zip on large archives.
Common formats on Windows 11 / 10
The formats most people encounter on Windows 11 / 10:
- ZIP
- RAR
- 7z
- TAR.GZ (tarball)
- TAR.XZ
- GZIP
- XZ
- DMG (Apple Disk Image)
- ISO (ISO 9660 image)
- CAB (Cabinet)
- APK (Android package)
- IPA (iOS App)