ZIP to TAR.GZ Converter
Drop a .zip file below and get a gzip-compressed tarball for Linux servers, Docker builds and CI jobs. The ZIP is unpacked and repacked in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
- Runs in your browser
- No upload
- No signup or watermark
- Free
Convert ZIP to TAR.GZ free and private, in your browser
To convert ZIP to TAR.GZ free and private, drag your .zip file onto the converter above (or click it to browse), check that “Convert to” says TAR.GZ (it is preselected here) and press Convert to TAR.GZ. The ZIP is unpacked and repacked as a gzip-compressed tarball inside your browser, and a download named after your file appears, so site.zip becomes site.tar.gz. Nothing is uploaded, as the Network tab in DevTools will confirm, and password-protected ZIPs can be unlocked locally.
A .tar.gz is what Linux servers, Docker builds, CI pipelines and package managers expect. TAR records permissions, modification times, folders and symbolic links as a matter of course, and every Linux and macOS system unpacks one with tar -xzf. The tarball written here uses the POSIX pax format, which GNU tar, bsdtar, 7-Zip and Python’s tarfile read: long paths, non-English names and fractional timestamps go into pax headers instead of being cut short.
The opposite direction has its own pages: TAR.GZ to ZIP for tarballs you received (and TAR.XZ to ZIP or TAR.BZ2 to ZIP for the xz and bzip2 kinds). Archives from Windows tools have their own pages too: RAR to ZIP and 7Z to ZIP. Windows-made ZIPs carry no Unix permissions, so the table shows what the tarball gets instead.
Your files stay on this device
This converter runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded. When you add your first archive, the page fetches its engine, a WebAssembly build of libarchive of about 1 MB, from zipconvert.com. Your ZIP file is then read from disk and rewritten as TAR.GZ inside the tab. To check, open DevTools, switch to the Network tab and convert a file: apart from those engine files, no request carries it. The privacy policy covers the rest of the site.
Table of Use: ZIP to TAR.GZ for common ZIPs
| Your ZIP | What to do | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| A ZIP made on macOS or Linux (Info-ZIP, Archive Utility, bsdtar) | Drop it and press Convert to TAR.GZ | Permissions, executable bits included, and symbolic links are written into the tarball |
| A ZIP made by Windows File Explorer or another Windows tool | The same steps | No permissions were stored, so files get rw-r--r-- and folders rwxr-xr-x; run chmod +x on scripts after extracting |
| A password-protected ZIP (ZipCrypto or WinZip AES) | Press Convert, enter the password in the “Password required” box and choose Unlock & convert | The ZIP is decrypted in the tab; the tarball itself is not encrypted |
| A ZIP from a Mac with __MACOSX and ._ files | Leave “Keep macOS metadata files” unticked | Those files are left out and the summary says how many |
| A ZIP you need as a plain .tar or a single .gz | Pick TAR or GZIP (single file) in the “Convert to” menu | TAR is the same pax archive uncompressed; GZIP works only for a ZIP holding exactly one file, otherwise TAR.GZ is written and the summary says why |
| A ZIP with accented or non-Latin file names | The same steps | Names stored as UTF-8 (the ZIP’s UTF-8 flag set) are kept and extract correctly with tar -xzf. A ZIP that stores names in a regional code page without that flag is read as code page 437, so those names can come out garbled |
Docker can read a gzip-compressed tarball as a build context, so a ZIP of your project converted here can be piped straight into docker build. To confirm the tarball arrived intact on the server, compare its SHA-256 at both ends with the file hash calculator.
Features
- Real Unix metadata. Permissions and symbolic links in the ZIP’s external attributes are carried into the tar headers, along with dates, folders and empty folders. Owner and group are written as ID 0, so tar extracts files as the current user unless you run it as root.
- Local password handling. ZIPs encrypted with ZipCrypto or WinZip AES can be opened. The password stays in your browser and is dropped when the job finishes; a wrong one brings the prompt back instead of producing a broken tarball.
- Integrity checks. A ZIP whose central directory is missing, which is what a cut-off download looks like, is reported instead of converted, and symbolic-link targets are verified against their CRC-32.
- Clean results. macOS metadata is dropped by default, duplicate names are renamed rather than overwritten, unsafe paths are cleaned and the summary lists all of it. ZIP comments are not carried over, because tar has no place for them.
- Four outputs, one engine. TAR.GZ is preselected; the same menu offers TAR, ZIP (a repack that recompresses a ZIP and strips macOS metadata) and GZIP. Gzip runs at level 6.
For disc images, see the ISO to ZIP converter; the home page converter lists every format the engine reads.
How to convert ZIP to TAR.GZ, step by step
Add the ZIP file
Drag the .zip onto the box labelled “Drop ZIP files here or click to browse”, or click the box and choose the file. You can add several. The converter starts fetching its engine, about 1 MB, when the first one is added.
Check “Convert to”
The “Convert to” menu appears once a file is listed, set to TAR.GZ on this page. Change it to TAR, ZIP or GZIP (single file) if you need something else.
Press Convert to TAR.GZ
If the ZIP is encrypted, a “Password required” box opens: type the password into “Archive password” and press Unlock & convert. Cancel closes the box and leaves an Enter password button on the row. A wrong password brings the box back.
Download the tarball
Click the button with the new name, such as site.tar.gz. The summary below counts files, folders and links and says whether permissions were kept or the standard ones were applied.
Who can use it
- Developers shipping to a server. Deploy scripts, CI jobs and package tools often expect a .tar.gz rather than a ZIP.
- Docker users. Turn a ZIP of a project into a build context without installing anything on a Windows machine.
- Linux and macOS users handed a Windows ZIP. You get a tarball with sensible default permissions to extract with one command.
- Teams with confidential projects. The ZIP and any password you type stay in the tab and never reach a server.
FAQs
How do I convert a ZIP file to TAR.GZ?
Drag the .zip onto the converter on this page, check that “Convert to” says TAR.GZ and press Convert to TAR.GZ. The ZIP is unpacked and repacked as a gzip-compressed pax tarball in your browser, and you save it from the download button. No terminal, zip or tar tools are needed, and nothing is uploaded.
Why use TAR.GZ instead of ZIP on Linux?
Every Linux and macOS system unpacks a tarball with the built-in tar command, and TAR records Unix permissions, symbolic links and folders as a matter of course. Many tools expect one: docker build accepts a gzip-compressed TAR as its build context, npm packages are .tgz files, and many source releases ship as .tar.gz.
Will executable scripts still be executable?
Yes, if the ZIP recorded them that way. ZIPs created on macOS or Linux store Unix permissions, and those bits are written into the tarball. ZIPs made by Windows Explorer store none, so files come out as rw-r--r-- and folders as rwxr-xr-x; run chmod +x after extracting if a script needs to run.
Can it convert a password-protected ZIP, and is the TAR.GZ encrypted?
It can open the ZIP: when it is encrypted with ZipCrypto or WinZip AES, the converter asks for the password and decrypts inside your browser. The resulting TAR.GZ is not encrypted, because tar and gzip have no encryption, so protect it separately if it holds sensitive data. A wrong password brings the prompt back.
Is my ZIP uploaded when I convert it to TAR.GZ?
No. The conversion runs in your browser. The page fetches its engine files from zipconvert.com when you add the first ZIP, and after that your archive is read from disk and rewritten in the tab. Open the Network tab in DevTools while you convert and you will see that no request carries your ZIP or your password.
Is .tgz different from .tar.gz?
No. Both mean a TAR archive compressed with gzip, and tar -xzf opens either. This converter names its output .tar.gz. If a tool insists on .tgz, rename the downloaded file; the content is identical. Inside, the gzip header records the original TAR name, such as site.tar.
Related Tools
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