How to Unzip a GZ File on Any Platform: 7 Easy Methods

Firstly, open an elevated command prompt by search for “cmd” on the Windows 11 or 10 search bar. Right-click “Command Prompt” from the search result and select “Run as administrator“. 5] Now select and right-click the TGZ file, hit, 7-zip, and press the Extract files to open the Extract window as shown below. Also, we skipped some options that are usually useful to preserve permissions since they are not required on  Windows 11.

However, as we’ve just explored, they’re really not that difficult to handle. With a simple file archiver like 7-Zip or WinRAR, you can open GZ files in a matter of minutes and access the data contained within. Remember, the key to success with GZ files is having the right tools and following the steps carefully.

Once you’ve selected the right file, you’ll see “7-Zip File Manager” show up in the select app dialog. If you want 7-Zip to always handle tar.gz files in the future, you’re going to want to select the “Always” button at the bottom of the dialog. GZ files are a kind of archive formats that were compressed with the standard GNU zip (gzip) compression algorithm. They are commonly used on UNIX-based operating systems like Linux distros and macOS.

It’s a free archiving utility for both personal and commercial purposes, which offers support for the .gz file extension. Usually, tar files are more common with Ubuntu (other Linux distros) and macOS users for data archival and backups. However, Windows 10 users may also come across these files, which is a reason to have a way to extract their contents. And now you can use the 7-Zip File Manager to open, view, or extract files from tar.gz and other archives. If you want a specific file, you can drill down into the folder, or you can simply click the “Extract” button and choose a location to put all the files.

For a more detailed explanation on how the tar command works, be sure to read our guide to compressing and extracting files in the Linux Terminal. The tar command is extremely powerful, and you can do things like list or search for files in a tar archive, or extract a single file. 7-Zip can work with most compression methods and extensions including .gz, tar.gz and .tar.

However, Windows 10 includes native support for tar files, and you can use Command Prompt to bytecoin mining extract these files. Or you can even use the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) that includes native support for Ubuntu, Fedora, SUSE, and many other distros. Therefore, you can also access many Linux tools, including tar, to quickly extract content from tarballs. Windows 11/10 consists of native support for tar that you can use with Command Prompt to extract these files. Here we discuss the steps to use native tar commands on Windows 11/10 using Command Prompt and Ubuntu to extract contents of a .tar.gz file. GZ files might seem intimidating at first, especially if you’re new to Windows 11 or compressed files in general.

1. In this guide, you will learn the steps to use native tar commands on Windows 11 using Command Prompt and Ubuntu to extract the content of a .tar.gz file.
2. 7-Zip can work with most compression methods and extensions including .gz, tar.gz and .tar.
3. Open the destination folder to access the extracted files.
4. Once the extraction process is complete, a new folder or files will appear in the destination you’ve chosen.

How to quickly extract .tar.gz files on Windows 10

He has a decade of experience writing how-tos, features, and technology guides on the internet. After completing the steps, you’ll have successfully extracted the contents of the GZ file and you can access and use them just like any other files on your computer. Open the destination folder to access the extracted files.

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Make sure to update the syntax to include the source and destination paths. 6] You will see a new folder path is already included in the ‘Extract to’ text box. It’s important to note that Microsoft is building native support for TAR, GZ, 7-Zip, RAR, and many other archival formats to File Explorer.

How to Open or Extract .Gz, Tar.gz or .Tar File in Windows 11/10

But they are sometimes used for regular data archiving purposes; hence, Windows 11/10 users may also come across such types of files and may need to extract their content. In this guide, you will learn the steps to use native tar commands on Windows 11 using Command Prompt and Ubuntu to extract the content of a .tar.gz file. Renaming the file with a .gz file or with another extension will not extract the files.

To clear things up, the .tar extension is a file format that archive multiple files into a single file without compression. The .gz (Gzip) is a compression method in which the logical size of the files is reduced to save disk space. The .tar and .gz are usually used together to archive multiple files into a single file that is also compressed significantly, thus, with the combined extension of .tar.gz. Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux.

Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. WinRAR is yet another popular file archiver tool widely used by users around the world to compress and uncompress files. You can use it to easily open, view and extract any .gz, tar.gz or .tar file. If you’ve seen the tar.gz or .tgz file types before, know that they are TAR files (tarballs) that were compressed with gzip.

You can download a third-party tool such as WinZip to open GZ file. 2] Now select ‘Choose Files’ to select a TGZ archive to convert to ZIP. We hope this article has helped you understand how to open GZ file in Windows 10 PC, in Android phones, or online.

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Pureinfotech is independent online publication that makes Windows and apps easy to understand with clear, concise guides, advice, and news. It is assumed that you are extracting a tarball created on another system. We are skipping some arguments usually necessary to preserve permissions, which on Windows 10 are not required to access the files. 7-Zip is one of the most popular file compression software widely used by majority of users around the globe due to its simplicity and user-friendly GUI. 6] Go to the downloaded files folder and double-click the downloaded ZIP file to open its Extract tab.

Do I need special software to open a GZ file?

So go ahead, give it a try, and you’ll see that dealing with GZ files on Windows 11 is a piece of cake. Who knows, maybe you’ll become the go-to person for file extraction among your friends and colleagues! Keep exploring, keep learning, and if you ever find yourself stuck, there’s a wealth of resources and communities online to assist you with your GZ file adventures on Windows 11. Do you have a file ending with .GZ that you need to open? GZ files are compressed files that typically contain multiple files and/or folders. To access the files inside, you’ll need to extract them similar to how you’d unzip a ZIP file.