Extract .tar.gz Files Online

How to extract a tar.gz file online (free)

1. Drop your .tar.gz or .tgz file onto the box above, or click to choose it.
2. The gzip layer and the tar inside are unwrapped together, and you see the files as a folder tree you can search and preview.
3. Download one file, a ticked selection, or all of it as a .zip, .7z, .tar.gz or .tar. Chrome and Edge can save the whole tree to a folder.

Tarballs, without the command line

A .tar.gz is the standard bundle format of the Linux world — source code releases, server backups, npm packages. On Windows or macOS, opening one usually means the terminal (tar -xzf) or installing an archive manager. This tool does it in the browser instead, using 7-Zip compiled to WebAssembly.

One step, not two

Some desktop tools make you extract the .gz into a .tar, then open the .tar separately. Here the tarball is unwrapped automatically and you go straight to the files. The same happens for .tar.bz2, .tar.xz and .tar.zst.

If the person you are sending the files to would rather have a ZIP, the TAR.GZ to ZIP converter repacks the tarball in one go.

Why one file from a big tarball can take a moment

Gzip compresses the whole tar as a single stream. To reach a file in the middle, everything before it has to be decompressed first, so previewing or downloading one file from a multi-gigabyte tarball is not instant. The tarball is read from disk in pieces and the output goes to your browser’s temporary storage, so the work is limited by time and free disk space, not by memory.

Frequently asked questions

What is a .tar.gz file?

A .tar.gz (or .tgz) is two formats in one: a tar archive that bundles many files into one, compressed with gzip. It is the standard way software and backups are distributed on Linux and Unix.

How do I open a tar.gz file on Windows?

Drop it on this page. The tarball is opened in your browser with no command line, WSL or extra software. Because it runs in the browser, it works the same on a Mac or a Linux machine.

Do I have to extract the .gz first and then the .tar?

No. That two-step routine is only needed with some desktop tools. Here the compressed tarball is unwrapped automatically, so you see the files and not an inner .tar.

Does it handle .tar.bz2 and .tar.xz too?

Yes. Bzip2, xz and Zstandard tarballs open the same way, as do plain uncompressed .tar files.

Are my files uploaded to a server?

No. Everything runs locally in your browser with WebAssembly. Your files never leave your device, and the page keeps working offline once it has loaded.

Is there a size limit?

There is no fixed cap. The tarball is read from your disk in pieces rather than loaded into memory, and what you extract is written to your browser’s temporary storage, which is normally a share of your free disk space.