A Linux download arrived as a .tar.gz and the Windows app you need it for only accepts ZIP? This free tar to zip converter unpacks the TAR archive and repacks its files into a standard ZIP. Everything runs in your browser, so nothing is uploaded and no account is needed.

How to use this tar to zip converter

Three quick steps — no signup, no cost.

1Open the TAR file

Select your .tar or .tar.gz file. Its entries are read in your browser.

2Unpack and repack

The archive is decompressed and its files are packed into a new ZIP, with folder paths kept.

3Download the ZIP

One standard ZIP downloads, ready for any app or system that accepts .zip.

Why this tar to zip converter is the bridge between two worlds

Linux-style archives, repacked for the tools that only speak ZIP.

Genuine conversion, not a rename

The archive is actually unpacked and repacked — changing the extension alone would leave a TAR file wearing a .zip name.

Folder paths preserved

Files keep their places in subfolders, so the repacked ZIP mirrors the original structure.

Opens anywhere afterwards

The result is a standard ZIP, which every current operating system opens with built-in tools.

Private by design

Unpacking and repacking happen on your device, so the archive never leaves it.

Renaming is not converting — and metadata does not always survive

Two traps that catch people moving archives between systems.

A renamed archive is still the old format. A .tar.gz file renamed to .zip is still a gzip-compressed TAR stream inside. ZIP readers check the format, not the name, so they reject it. Real conversion means decompressing the stream, reading the TAR entries, and writing fresh ZIP entries.

Contents survive; Unix metadata may not. Documents, images, and source code come through conversion unchanged. But TAR records permissions, ownership, and links that ZIP does not carry in the same way, so an executable package or a backup restored from the converted ZIP may behave differently. For those, keep the original archive.

When in doubt, convert a copy. Work from a duplicate of the archive and keep the original untouched until you have opened the ZIP and confirmed the files you need are inside it.

TAR to ZIP Converter FAQs

Short, direct answers to the questions readers ask most.

TAR archives, including gzip-compressed ones (.tar, .tar.gz, and .tgz). It does not handle .zip files, or TAR files compressed with other methods such as bzip2.

No. Renaming changes only the name; the bytes inside are still a TAR archive, and ZIP tools will refuse to open it. The contents must be unpacked and repacked.

Not necessarily. Gzip compresses one whole TAR stream, while ZIP compresses each file separately, so the result can be larger or smaller.

Not reliably. Ordinary file contents survive intact, but permissions, ownership, and symbolic links may not — keep the original if the archive is an executable package or a system backup.

Yes. It converts archives entirely in your browser — no account, no signup, and no watermark on the result.