Format reference
Separate reading, creation, updates, and format-specific limitations.
ezarchive uses the bundled 7-Zip 26.03 engine. Format capability depends on the archive’s features, encryption, integrity, and volume layout.
| Family | Browse / extract | Create | Update |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZIP | Yes | Yes, including AES encryption | Yes |
| 7z | Yes | Yes, including encryption | Yes |
| TAR | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| RAR 4 / 5 | Yes | No | No |
| GZIP, BZIP2, XZ and supported stream formats | Yes | Supported stream formats | No in-place archive editing |
| CAB, ISO, WIM, XAR, CPIO, AR, DEB, RPM and other engine readers | Read support varies by container | Not offered as general creation formats | Read-only |
| DMG, VHD, VHDX, QCOW2 | Supported container parsing | No | Read-only |
This is a capability guide, not a claim that every format variant has been individually tested. Disk-container support does not mount a disk or guarantee that every contained filesystem is readable.
A few useful distinctions
- TAR bundles files. GZIP and XZ compress a stream. A
.tar.gzcombines both. - A password-protected ZIP may require a tool that supports its encryption method.
- Split archives require all parts. Open the first part and grant access to its containing folder when requested.
- Preview support comes from macOS Quick Look and can be narrower than extraction support.
Read troubleshooting when an archive does not open. RAR decoding includes upstream licensing restrictions.