PeaZip is a free, open-source archive manager for Windows, Linux and macOS. It compresses files and folders, opens existing archives and extracts their contents through a file browser. Its creation tools cover formats such as ZIP, 7Z, TAR, PEA, Brotli and Zstandard, while its extraction support extends to more than 200 archive types.
Creating archives
PeaZip builds an archive from an editable list of files and folders. The output controls let you choose the destination, archive format and compression level, with additional settings available for the selected format. You can collect the input into one archive or create a separate archive for each selected object. Volume splitting divides the output into parts when a transfer destination imposes a file-size limit.
PeaZip can open and extract RAR and RAR5 archives directly, but creating RAR archives requires WinRAR to be installed separately. ACE extraction requires the optional UNACE plugin.
Archive conversion
PeaZip converts existing archives by extracting their contents and compressing the resulting data into the chosen output format. This rebuilds the archive rather than changing its filename extension. A RAR archive, for example, can become a ZIP or 7Z archive through the same creation interface used for ordinary files.
The separate-archive option also changes how conversion works. Enabled, it converts a list of archives into individual outputs; disabled, it combines their contents into one archive.
Extraction
The archive browser lets you inspect folders and select particular files before extracting them. An extraction list can also contain entire archives, including a mixture of formats, so ZIP and RAR inputs can be unpacked in one operation. Destination controls determine where the results go and whether they receive a new folder.
PeaZip provides explicit rules for a filename already present at the destination: skip it, overwrite it, rename the existing file or rename the extracted file. Defining the rule in advance lets a repeated extraction proceed without an answer for each collision. An alternative extraction mode moves the unpacked files through the operating system’s dialogs for interactive overwrite decisions.
Files inside an archive can be opened with an associated application. If an opened file changes, PeaZip can prompt to replace its archived copy with the edited version when the archive format supports updating.
Encryption
Password protection depends on the archive format. PeaZip supports AES-256 encryption for 7Z and ZIP, while its PEA format offers authenticated encryption using AES, Twofish or Serpent. Supported formats can also protect filenames, preventing someone without the password from browsing the contents list. Applying a password during an update protects the newly added objects; protecting files already inside an archive requires extracting and rebuilding it.
The password dialog can combine a password with a keyfile, making that file part of the information needed to decrypt the archive. This option is unavailable for self-extracting archives because their extraction modules do not support keyfiles. PeaZip also includes a password and keyfile generator, plus a password manager whose saved list can be encrypted with a master password.
Turning PeaZip tasks into scripts
PeaZip exposes the command behind a compression, conversion or extraction task in its Console tab. A task configured visually can be exported as a script, edited and reused without reconstructing its settings in the interface. This also makes the archive engine’s command syntax available for inspection.
On Windows, the Schedule tab connects these scripts to Task Scheduler. A saved compression or extraction task can run once or recur on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly schedule. The script defines the operation, while Task Scheduler controls when it runs.
File comparison
PeaZip’s file browser can calculate checksums and hashes for selected files. Its duplicate finder uses these values to identify repeated file contents and group matching entries, with a choice of algorithms including SHA-256 and SHA-512. This compares file data; it does not treat differently encoded copies of the same picture as identical.
The separate Check files tool calculates multiple hash or checksum types across multiple files. For comparing two particular files, the byte-comparison tool reports where their contents differ.
