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hushvert

TAR converter

TAR files come from the Unix side of the fence: source releases, server backups, exports from developer tools. If one landed on a machine that does not speak TAR, the converter below repacks it as a ZIP entirely inside your browser, so a backup full of private files stays private.

What is TAR?

TAR (tape archive) is the Unix world's standard way to glue a directory tree into a single file, dating back to 1979. A bare .tar applies no compression at all, which is why it usually travels as .tar.gz; the format faithfully records Unix permissions, symlinks and ownership. Linux and macOS handle TAR effortlessly, but Windows users opening a .tar from a software download or a server backup often hit a wall.

Convert TAR to another format

Common questions about TAR

What is a TAR file and why might I want it as a ZIP?
TAR (a tape archive) bundles many files and their folder structure into one file, but importantly it does not compress them, it just concatenates them. TAR is everywhere in Unix and Linux workflows, but on Windows and in many everyday apps it is not openable without extra tooling. Converting TAR to ZIP gives you a single compressed file that opens natively on essentially any system.
How does hushvert convert TAR to ZIP, and is anything uploaded?
The conversion is fully client-side. hushvert reads your TAR in the browser with a WebAssembly archive reader, walks its files and folders, and writes them into a new ZIP locally. The TAR never leaves your device, which you can confirm in the Network tab or by running it in airplane mode on the /privacy-proof page. It is free and unlimited, no sign-up needed.
Does the folder structure inside my TAR survive the conversion?
Yes. hushvert preserves each entry's full path when it writes the ZIP, so nested directories and the layout inside the TAR are carried over intact. The contents of every file are written unchanged; only the surrounding archive format switches from TAR to ZIP.
Will the ZIP be smaller than my TAR?
Often yes. A plain TAR is uncompressed, so it is simply the sum of its files plus headers. ZIP applies DEFLATE compression as it packs, so the resulting ZIP is frequently smaller than the original TAR, especially for text-heavy or otherwise compressible contents. Files that are already compressed (like JPEGs or videos) will not shrink much.
What about a .tar.gz file, is that the same as TAR here?
Not quite. A plain .tar is uncompressed and uses the TAR conversion. A compressed .tar.gz or .tgz is gzip wrapped around a TAR and is handled as the TGZ format instead. Both ultimately repack to ZIP in your browser, with no upload, but pick the page that matches your file's actual extension so the right reader is used.