Getting started

ZiFile is currently a Stage 3 Release Candidate and has not shipped through Microsoft Store or WinGet. Use only candidate artifacts from this repository’s GitHub Releases or the project maintainer. Exact installation channels will be added when the stable release exists. Never import an unknown root certificate or disable Windows security checks to install a development package.

Open and inspect an archive

1. Start ZiFile and choose Open archive, or press Ctrl+O.
2. Select a ZIP, 7z, RAR, CAB, TAR, or supported compression stream. A known archive can also be dropped onto the window.
3. Filter paths with search. Large archives are displayed in bounded pages of 500 rows.
4. Run an integrity test before extraction when appropriate. If a 7z or RAR archive also encrypts its file list, the first failure retains the selected file and presents a password retry view. Passwords are never stored in settings and are cleared before another archive is opened.

Detection uses both signatures and extensions. If an extension disagrees with the content, ZiFile reports a detection or parsing error instead of forcing the wrong decoder.

Extract safely

Select all or individual entries, choose a destination and conflict policy, then start extraction. ZiFile rejects traversal, absolute paths, Windows device names, case collisions, unsafe links, and content beyond entry-count, expanded-size, or compression-ratio limits. Treat such a rejection as a reason to verify the archive’s source, not as a prompt to disable safety boundaries.

Work runs in an isolated Worker. Pressing Escape or choosing Cancel requests cooperative cancellation and terminates the Worker when necessary. Files already completed are not presented as if extraction had transactional rollback.

Create an archive

1. Choose Create archive or press Ctrl+N.
2. Add files or folders, or drop sources onto the window.
3. Choose a format, compression level, optional password, and output path.

ZIP, 7z, and TAR compositions accept multiple files and folders. gzip, Zstandard, XZ, Bzip2, LZ4, and Brotli are single-file streams and require exactly one existing file; use the matching TAR composition for a directory. RAR and CAB are read-only and cannot be created.

Queue and settings

Open, test, extract, or create requests can be submitted while another operation runs. ZiFile keeps at most 32 operations and executes them in order. Clear queue removes only waiting work; Cancel affects only the active operation. Language and light/dark theme are stored in %LOCALAPPDATA%\ZiFile\settings.conf; paths, recent history, and passwords are not stored.

The About page identifies the running version, MIT license, format-family count, project address, and local-processing privacy boundary; press F1 to open it directly. Use this version when reporting a problem rather than relying only on the installer filename.

Command line

zifile formats
zifile list archive.zip
zifile test archive.7z
zifile extract archive.zip output --conflict rename
zifile create output.7z files --format seven-zip --level 9

The COMPRESSION_LEVEL column in zifile formats gives each format’s inclusive range; fixed means the encoder has no adjustable level and --level must be omitted. Adjustable formats default to level 6 when the option is omitted; an out-of-range value is reported instead of continuing with a different level.

Encrypted operations read a password from standard input. ZiFile does not accept a plaintext password argument that would enter process arguments or ordinary shell history:

$password | zifile test archive.7z --password-stdin
$password | zifile extract archive.7z output --password-stdin

See Troubleshooting for common failures and Format support for the capability matrix.