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Chromebook

How to Open ZIP, RAR, 7z and TAR on a Chromebook

A Chromebook already knows what to do with a plain ZIP and is much less sure about RAR, 7z and tarballs. You do not need to replace ChromeOS. You need to pick the path that matches the file: the Files app, a browser tool that stays on the device, or the optional Linux container when the format is one the browser tool declines.

Updated 2026-10-22 · Written and tested by the UnpackNest editorial team (TECCONET)

Know which shelf the file landed on

ChromeOS downloads into My files, Downloads, unless a site saved into Google Drive or an external SD card. The Files app is the finder. Open it before you hunt through the browser's download bubble, because the bubble disappears and the file remains.

Pinch the file name. If it ends in .zip, stay in Files for the simple case. If it ends in .rar or .7z, Files will usually offer no useful preview. If it ends in .tar.gz, Files may show it as a generic package. External disks and Google Drive files sometimes open read-only; copy the archive into Downloads first so an extractor can write beside it.

School and work Chromebooks add a second constraint. An administrator can block Linux, block unknown Android apps, and still allow Chrome. The browser path is the one that survives those policies, as long as the site itself is not blocked.

ZIP in the Files app

  1. Open Files and go to Downloads.
  2. Double-click the .zip. ChromeOS mounts it like a folder. You can preview and copy individual files out.
  3. To keep a real copy, select the files and copy them to Downloads or to Drive. Closing the mounted ZIP does not delete those copies.
  4. If the mount fails immediately, the ZIP is truncated, encrypted, or not a ZIP. A password ZIP is a known weak spot for the built-in mounter. Use the ZIP tool only for Store and Deflate entries without a password. For an AES ZIP, use Linux 7zz or a desktop, as the password guide describes. The built-in mounter will not become an AES reader because you retry.

Copying out of a mounted ZIP is the Chromebook equivalent of Extract All. Dragging a file to Gmail from inside the mount attaches it. Dragging the .zip itself attaches the archive again.

RAR and 7z in the browser

Chrome on a Chromebook runs the same WebAssembly tools as Chrome on a PC.

  1. Open the RAR tool or the 7z tool.
  2. When the file picker appears, choose My files, then Downloads, then the archive. The picker is allowed to see that folder because you are selecting the file. The page does not get a general pass to your Drive.
  3. For a split 7z, multi-select every .7z.001 part in that one dialog. ChromeOS's picker supports multiple selection with Ctrl or Shift, same as a laptop.
  4. Extract and let Chrome save to Downloads. You now have ordinary files next to the archive.
  5. If the tab is discarded, ChromeOS was short of memory. Close other tabs. Chromebooks with 4 GB of RAM will not enjoy a solid 7z that expands toward a gigabyte. That limit is the 7z tool's own ceiling as well.

RAR passwords and multi-part RAR are still unsupported in the browser tool. A Chromebook does not change that. Use the Linux container below or another computer. Do not install the first Android APK a search result offers unless your account is allowed to run Play apps and you recognise the publisher. An Android app on ChromeOS can see more storage than a browser tab, which is a reason to be pickier, not a reason to treat it as safer.

TAR, xz, and the Linux container

The TAR tool covers .tar, .tar.gz, .tgz and a single .gz inside Chrome. Turn to Linux when you have .tar.xz, .tar.bz2, a file the browser tool rejected, or you want shell checksums.

  1. Open Settings, Advanced, Developers, and turn on Linux development environment. Name the container and give it a disk size. This step is unavailable on many managed school devices. If the switch is missing, you are in the managed case and should stay with the browser tools or ask the administrator.
  2. The Files app gains a Linux files folder. Copy the archive into it. The container does not see all of Downloads until you share that folder or copy the file.
  3. Open the Terminal app. tar -xf archive.tar.gz or tar -xf archive.tar.xz extracts in the current directory. tar -tf archive.tar.gz lists without writing.
  4. For 7z, install the tool once: sudo apt update then sudo apt install 7zip or p7zip-full, depending on the Debian version in your container. Extract with 7zz x archive.7z and type a password only if it asks.
  5. Copy the results back from Linux files to Downloads if a Chrome app needs them.

The container is a real Linux system. unzip -t file.zip checks CRC sums. That is a useful second opinion when the Files app mounts a ZIP but a picture inside it looks cut off.

Google Drive and Android layers

A file that lives only in Drive is not on the machine until you open it. Make it available offline, or download a copy, before you blame the extractor. Drive's preview will not unpack RAR.

If Play Store is enabled, Files by Google from Android can sit beside the ChromeOS Files app and confuse people: two "Files" icons, two download folders. The browser picker is showing the ChromeOS side unless you explicitly walk into the Play files volume. Extract to ChromeOS Downloads so you can find the result without guessing which Files you opened.

Checks worth doing once

Managed devices can also block the clipboard or block external drives. None of that blocks reading a file you are allowed to download and then opening it in a tab. If the browser tool loads but the picker cannot see Downloads, you are looking at a policy, and the fix is an administrator, not a different archive format.

Frequently asked questions

The Files app opened my ZIP and the pictures are broken

Copy them out to Downloads and open the copies. Photos opened directly from a mounted archive sometimes fail to decode because the mount is a view, not a full extract. If the copies are also broken, the ZIP entry failed its checksum. Use the ZIP tool, which reports CRC problems per file, or unzip -t in Linux.

I enabled Linux and the Terminal cannot see the file

The file is still in ChromeOS Downloads. Drag it onto Linux files in the Files app, then run ls in the Terminal. Sharing the whole Downloads folder is under the Files app, right-click Downloads, Share with Linux, on versions that offer it.

Can I set a Chromebook to always use UnpackNest for .rar?

ChromeOS does not offer a durable "open with this website" binding for archives the way Windows associates an exe. Bookmark the RAR tool. The extra click is the whole setup.

The archive is on an SD card and extraction says it cannot write

The card may be formatted read-only or the write-protect switch is on. Copy the archive to My files, extract there, and copy results back if the card is writable. Extracting directly onto a flaky card is how partial files get created.

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