🗜️ ZIP to TAR Converter
Client-side ZIP to TAR converter that safely reads your .zip file in the browser, extracts supported entries, and rebuilds a .tar archive for instant download. Supports stored and deflated entries; no external libraries or server processing.
Conversion Result:
How to Use This ZIP to TAR Converter
How to use the ZIP to TAR Converter:
- Upload: Click the file field and choose a
.ziparchive from your device. - Convert: Press "Convert to .tar" to process the archive entirely in your browser.
- Download: After conversion, download the generated
.tarfile instantly. - Verify: Optionally open the
.tarin your preferred archive tool to confirm contents. - Privacy: Files never leave your device. No uploads or servers involved.
- Limitations: Encrypted/password-protected ZIPs are not supported; deflated and stored entries work best.
The converter follows a minimal, single-input workflow. You provide one ZIP file; the tool reads its directory, streams each entry, and writes a compliant TAR archive with padded 512‑byte blocks. Results include a summary (file count and total size) and a direct download, making it fast for everyday packaging tasks without installing CLI tools.
How It Works
How the in-browser conversion works:
- Locate the Central Directory: The reader scans backward for the End of Central Directory (EOCD) signature to find the central directory’s offset, size, and entry count—no network requests or external libraries.
- Read Entry Metadata: For each central directory record, it extracts the filename, compression method, sizes, timestamps (DOS date/time), and the pointer to the file’s Local File Header (LFH).
- Access File Data: The tool jumps to the LFH, skips the filename/extra fields, and slices the exact byte range of the compressed data within the original ZIP buffer.
- Decompress if needed: For stored entries (method 0) the bytes are copied as‑is. For deflated entries (method 8) the browser’s
DecompressionStream('deflate-raw')streams and inflates the data safely in memory. - Write TAR headers: It constructs POSIX
ustarheaders per file, including size, mode, UID/GID, mtime (converted from DOS time), and a checksum, then writes 512‑byte aligned file data with required padding. - Finalize archive: The TAR ends with two 512‑byte zero blocks. Filenames and folder paths are preserved; directories are implicit through path names.
- Output: The resulting
.taris assembled entirely in memory and presented via an in‑browser download—your data never leaves the device. - Limitations & safety checks: Encrypted/password‑protected ZIPs and uncommon compression methods (e.g., BZIP2/LZMA within ZIP) are not supported. Very large archives can exhaust memory; this tool targets small–medium files (≈ up to 25 MB).
- Browser support: Modern Chromium/Firefox support
DecompressionStream. Where unavailable, the tool processes only stored entries and warns when deflated content is encountered.
When You Might Need This
- • Convert downloaded project ZIPs to TAR for Linux packaging workflows
- • Bundle website assets: read a ZIP from design handoff and output TAR
- • CI/CD artifacts: locally repackage a ZIP export into a TAR deliverable
- • Offline conversions when corporate networks block uploads
- • Security-conscious users wanting client-only processing with no servers
- • Prepare TAR files for container build contexts or Docker COPY layers
- • Archive normalization when toolchains expect TAR over ZIP
- • Developers moving assets between Windows ZIP and Unix TAR ecosystems
- • QA engineers repackaging test datasets without installing CLI tools
- • Education: demonstrate archive formats and byte-structured headers
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this upload my files anywhere?
No. Conversion is 100% client‑side. The ZIP file is read with FileReader into memory, processed locally with Web APIs, and the TAR is generated as a Blob and offered as a download via an object URL. No network requests are made; nothing is transmitted to any server.
Which ZIP features are supported?
Standard entries using either Store (method 0) or Deflate (method 8). Deflate relies on the browser’s DecompressionStream('deflate-raw'), which is widely supported in modern Chromium and Firefox. Encrypted/password‑protected ZIPs and uncommon methods (BZIP2, LZMA, PPMd, etc.) are not supported; these will produce a clear error message.
Will timestamps and paths be preserved?
Yes. Filenames and nested paths are written verbatim into the TAR. For timestamps, the ZIP DOS date/time is converted to a Unix mtime and stored in the TAR header. If a name exceeds TAR’s 100‑byte name field, it is split into a 155‑byte prefix + 100‑byte name using the POSIX ustar extension so long paths remain intact.
How big can my archive be?
This tool targets small to medium archives—typically up to ~25 MB—because conversion is in‑memory in the browser. Actual limits depend on your device and how many files are inside. If your archive is larger, consider converting on a desktop CLI. For many everyday cases (web assets, small datasets), in‑browser conversion is fast and convenient.
Why use TAR instead of ZIP?
TAR is the de‑facto archive format in Unix/Linux tooling and container ecosystems (e.g., Docker build contexts). Converting ZIP→TAR avoids installing command‑line tools when you just need a quick repack. TAR stores files sequentially with 512‑byte blocks and plays well with streams and packaging pipelines.