Archive file formats

Formats that bundle many files and folders into one file, keeping their names, dates and permissions. Most also compress the files inside. Installers and software packages built on these formats are listed under Code.

Formats

.7Z

7z archive

7-Zip’s archive: solid LZMA2 compression, file list at the end.

.ARJ

ARJ archive

A popular 1990s DOS archiver, with headers starting 60 EA.

.CAB

Microsoft Cabinet

Microsoft’s installer archive: files in compressed folders after an MSCF header.

.CPIO

cpio archive

A simple Unix archive, used inside initramfs, RPM and macOS packages.

.LZH

LHA archive

The DOS-era archiver popular in Japan and on the Amiga.

.RAR

RAR 1.5 to 4.x archive (RAR4)

The older RAR format: blocks with a fixed 7-byte header and 16-bit CRC.

.RAR

RAR 5.0 archive (RAR5)

WinRAR’s current archive: CRC-32 block headers with variable-length numbers.

.SIT

StuffIt archive

The classic Mac archive, keeping resource forks, types and creators.

.TAR

Tape archive

Files in 512-byte blocks, each led by a header; no compression.

.XAR

Extensible archive

An archive with an XML table of contents, used inside macOS .pkg files.

.ZIP

ZIP archive

Files compressed one by one, listed again in a directory at the end.