Archive Creator

What is an archive creator?

An archive creator packages many files and folders into a single, compressed container — a ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR.GZ or similar file. Instead of emailing or uploading dozens of separate documents, you bundle them into one tidy file that is smaller, easier to share and quicker to download.

This Archive Creator runs entirely in your browser. When you add files, they are read, analyzed, compressed and (optionally) encrypted locally on your device using real, byte-correct engines — the same ZIP DEFLATE algorithm and WinZip AES encryption that desktop tools like 7-Zip, WinRAR and WinZip produce. Nothing is ever sent to a server, so even confidential files never leave your machine.

• Bundle hundreds or thousands of files into one container
• Shrink total size with industry-standard DEFLATE / gzip compression
• Protect contents with AES-256 or ZipCrypto passwords
• Split large archives into email- or disk-friendly volumes
• Build self-extracting archives anyone can open without software

Why create archives?

Archiving solves a surprising number of everyday problems. A single compressed file is faster to transfer, cheaper to store, and impossible to scatter or lose pieces of. Compression alone can cut text, code and document collections by 60–90%.

• Easier file sharing — one attachment instead of fifty
• Reduced file size — less bandwidth, faster uploads and downloads
• Backup creation — snapshot a project or folder in one file
• Software distribution — ship releases as a clean, versioned package
• Secure storage — encrypt sensitive documents with a password
• Team collaboration — send a complete, structured bundle that preserves folders

How to create an archive

ZIP vs RAR vs 7Z — which should you use?

ZIP is the universal default: every operating system opens it natively, and modern ZIP supports strong AES-256 encryption. 7Z (7-Zip) usually produces the smallest files thanks to LZMA2 and solid compression, but the recipient needs a 7-Zip-compatible app. RAR sits in between with good ratios and recovery records, but it is proprietary — only WinRAR can create it.

Because RAR and 7Z encoders are closed-source or too heavy to run safely in a browser, this tool creates ZIP, TAR.GZ, GZIP, TAR and self-extracting archives with full fidelity, and offers RAR/7Z/XZ/BZIP2/CAB through the processing API. For most people, an AES-256 ZIP or a solid TAR.GZ is the right answer.

Choosing the best archive format

There is no single “best” format — it depends on who opens the file and what is inside it.

• ZIP — best compatibility. Opens everywhere, supports AES-256. The safe default for sharing with anyone.
• TAR.GZ / TGZ — best for Linux, servers and source code. Solid compression squeezes many similar files smaller than ZIP.
• GZIP — best for compressing a single file (a log, a database dump, one big CSV).
• 7Z — best raw compression ratio (via API). Ideal for large backups where size matters most.
• Self-extracting (HTML) — best when the recipient may not have any archive software; it opens in any browser.

Supported output formats

Real AES-256 encryption, in your browser

Sensitive files deserve real protection. This tool implements genuine WinZip AES (AE-2) encryption — AES-128, AES-192 or AES-256 — with PBKDF2 key derivation and HMAC-SHA1 authentication, exactly as the ZIP specification requires. The resulting archive opens in 7-Zip, WinRAR, WinZip and any AES-aware unzipper, and only with the correct password.

For maximum compatibility you can also choose traditional ZipCrypto, which every unzip tool supports but is cryptographically weak. We recommend AES-256 for anything confidential. Passwords are processed locally and never stored or transmitted — which also means there is no password recovery, so keep yours safe.

Splitting archives into volumes

Need to email a 200 MB archive through a 25 MB limit, or fit a backup onto multiple drives? Split the archive into fixed-size volumes — 10 MB, 25 MB, 100 MB, 1 GB or a custom size. You get numbered parts like archive.zip.001, archive.zip.002 and so on.

To restore, simply rejoin the parts: on macOS or Linux run “cat archive.zip.* > archive.zip”, and on Windows run “copy /b archive.zip.001 + archive.zip.002 archive.zip”. This is the same universally-restorable splitting that 7-Zip uses for single files.

Self-extracting archives without an installer

A traditional self-extracting archive is a Windows .exe that unpacks itself — but .exe files are blocked by many mail systems and only run on Windows. This tool builds a smarter, cross-platform self-extracting archive: a single .html file that the recipient double-clicks to open in any browser, on any operating system, then extracts the original files with one click.

The payload stays compressed inside the page and is inflated on-device using the browser’s native decompression — no software, no installer, no security warnings.

Smart compression: analysis, estimates and deduplication

Before you create anything, the tool analyzes your files: total size, file-type breakdown, the largest and smallest items, and how compressible the data is. It estimates the resulting ZIP, RAR, 7Z and TAR.GZ sizes so you can choose with confidence.

It also detects exact duplicate files by hashing their contents, so you can strip redundant copies and shrink the archive further. Already-compressed media (JPEG, MP4, MP3) is recognized automatically, so the tool won’t waste time trying to compress what can’t shrink.

Built for large datasets

The engine streams compression through the browser’s native, off-main-thread CompressionStream API, so it stays responsive even with large folders and tens of thousands of files. Duplicate detection uses size-bucketing so only genuine collision candidates are hashed.

Because everything runs locally, the practical limit is your device’s available memory rather than any upload cap. For multi-gigabyte enterprise datasets, the Archive API offers server-side streaming and async jobs.

Privacy and security by design

Most “online” archive tools upload your files to a server, compress them there, and ask you to trust their retention policy. This tool does the opposite: your files are read with the File API and processed in-page. No upload, no temporary server copy, no third party — which is the only way to be certain confidential data is never exposed.

Because there is no server round-trip, there is also nothing to delete afterwards and no risk of a breach exposing your documents. The optional API, for the heavy proprietary formats, applies MIME validation, rate limiting and automatic deletion of any processed file.

Recommended settings by scenario

Archive any file type

Archive Creation API

Generate archives at scale, or produce RAR/7Z/XZ that browsers can't build. The REST API exposes the same compression, packaging and encryption engine with batch jobs, webhooks, API keys and usage analytics.

Frequently asked questions

Troubleshooting