Convert XZ to ZIP Online — TAR.XZ to ZIP for Windows Sharing
XZ-compressed archives (.xz, .tar.xz, .txz) are now the standard for modern Linux distributions and many open-source language ecosystems. Rust, Go, and Python toolchain downloads often come as .tar.xz for Linux. If you need to share these archives with Windows colleagues or inspect them on a Windows machine, ZIP is the universal format.
FastZip converts .xz and .tar.xz to ZIP directly in your browser. LZMA2 decompression runs in WebAssembly — no xz utility, no 7-Zip needed.
Rust and Go toolchain archives — The Rust toolchain for Linux (rustup-init.tar.xz) and Go releases (go1.x.linux-amd64.tar.gz) are distributed as .tar.xz or .tar.gz. If you're on a Windows machine and need to inspect these archives (check a version, verify a binary hash, read a README), FastZip converts them to ZIP for standard Windows file browsing.
Modern Linux package inspection — Fedora RPM packages can be extracted from their compressed payload (which uses XZ internally). Arch Linux packages (.pkg.tar.xz or .pkg.tar.zst) can be browsed to inspect what files a package installs before committing to the installation.
The XZ compression advantage and trade-off — XZ achieves 30–50% better compression than ZIP for the same data. When you convert to ZIP, the output will be noticeably larger. For a 100 MB .tar.xz, the output ZIP might be 140–180 MB. This is the inherent cost of switching from LZMA2 to DEFLATE — but the ZIP is universally accessible without additional software.
Format & Feature Reference
| Property | .tar.xz | Output .zip |
|---|---|---|
| Compression algorithm | LZMA2 (XZ) | DEFLATE |
| Windows native open | No | Yes (all versions) |
| macOS native open | No | Yes |
| Size comparison | Baseline | 30–50% larger typically |
| Directory structure | Preserved | Preserved |
| Encryption support | None | AES-256 (manual) |
| Max input (free tier) | 200 MB | — |
Sharing Rust or Go Toolchain Archives with Windows Teammates
Rust and Go downloads from their official sites provide Linux builds as .tar.xz. If a Windows developer on your team needs to inspect the Linux build artifacts (check included binaries, read version manifests, verify library versions) without switching to a Linux machine, converting to ZIP lets them use standard Windows File Explorer.
FastZip handles the LZMA2 decompression natively and produces a clean ZIP with the original directory structure (e.g., go/ or rust/ top-level folder containing all toolchain files).
Inspecting Arch Linux Packages
Arch Linux packages (.pkg.tar.xz) follow a predictable structure: usr/ containing all installed files, plus a .PKGINFO file with package metadata and a .BUILDINFO with build details. Browsing a .pkg.tar.xz before installing it lets you verify exactly what files it places on your system.
FastZip shows the complete file listing including hidden files like .PKGINFO, making package inspection easy even on non-Arch systems.