Convert ZIP to TAR online

To convert ZIP to TAR, upload the ZIP file, start the conversion and download the result: Converter.now writes a TAR archive. Files and folders are unpacked and repacked into TAR; the files inside are not changed.

◈ Encrypted transfer◷ Short retention⊘ No watermark◎ Works on every device

ZIP to TAR at a glance

Converts: ZIP archive → TAR archive format
Output: A TAR archive
Compression: ZIP: lossless → TAR: uncompressed
Engine: Python archive tools and 7-Zip
Privacy: Private download link; files are deleted after 6 hours. No account needed.

Archive extraction and repackaging: How ZIP becomes TAR

The entries in ZIP are unpacked and a new TAR package is built from their filenames and folder paths. Compression is rebuilt; archive-level encryption, comments, and recovery records are not portable assumptions. ZIP exposes independently compressed entries through its central directory, but filename encoding, encryption method, permissions, and symbolic-link handling vary by extractor. TAR output writes a sequential member stream that can preserve Unix-oriented paths, permissions, and links but supplies no compression unless wrapped separately.

Read as a widely supported archive carrying files, folders, and per-entry compression. Rebuilt as an uncompressed archive preserving a Unix-style folder tree, names, and file metadata.

Need a different output? See all ZIP conversion options, or check which other files convert to TAR.

Background reading: a file-naming pattern for derivatives covers how to keep derivatives traceable to their source.

ZIP

ZIP archive

Used for bundling and compressing files.

Family: Archives
MIME: application/zip

→

TAR

TAR archive format

Designed for packaging files and folder structures.

Family: Archives
MIME: application/x-tar

Acceptance evidence for the converted TAR

Record the ZIP evidence before conversion

Extract on the destination system and compare folder paths, Unicode names, file counts, and checksums.

Test the TAR file in its receiving workflow

List and extract the archive, then compare paths, link targets, permissions, and file counts.

Reading ZIP correctly and satisfying what TAR expects

What can fail when ZIP archive is interpreted

Permissions and symbolic links are not preserved consistently, and encrypted ZIP methods vary by extractor.

What TAR archive format cannot safely promise

TAR alone may be large, and permissions, symbolic links, or path conventions can behave differently off Unix.

How the TAR writer handles this route

an uncompressed archive preserving a Unix-style folder tree, names, and file metadata is what gets written, labeled as application/x-tar. Whether that actually opens depends on the receiving application, not on the file extension.

Deciding when ZIP to TAR is the right conversion

Use TAR when the recipient's archive utility cannot reliably open ZIP, then validate the extracted tree rather than judging only the new package size.

What changes between the ZIP model and the TAR deliverable

Files and folders are unpacked and repacked into TAR; the files inside are not changed.
Metadata handling differs between ZIP and TAR; do not assume every application-specific field carries across untouched.