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View productsProfessional Archive Manager for Windows
Professional archive manager for Windows that lets you open, browse, extract, create, convert, split, and merge archive files entirely offline. Supports all major formats with full AES-256 password encryption.
Free — no account, no cloud processing, no telemetry. Every operation runs entirely on your machine.
At a glance
Dual-pane browser with inline previews and checksum verification before extraction. No cloud relay, ever.
Key features
Create password-protected archives using industry-standard AES-256 encryption. Open encrypted archives with the same confidence — decryption happens entirely in memory on your device. No key material ever leaves your machine.
Inspect archive contents before extracting anything. Preview text files, images, and metadata directly within the browser pane — no temporary extraction to disk, no leftover files. See exactly what is inside before you commit to unpacking.
ZIP, 7Z, RAR (read-only), TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ, ISO, CAB, WIM, MSI and more. Split archives (.001, .part1) are reassembled automatically. Convert between formats without leaving the application.
Full lifecycle management for every archive type. Create new archives from files or folders, extract to any destination, split large archives into volume parts for transfer, and merge split volumes back into a single file.
Supported formats
All format handlers are bundled within the application. No codec downloads, no network fetches, no external dependencies. Highlighted formats support both reading and writing.
Specifications
| Product | x2y Extractor |
|---|---|
| Version | v2.1.0 |
| Platform | Windows 10, Windows 11 |
| Read formats | ZIP, 7Z, RAR, TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ, ISO, CAB, WIM, MSI, split volumes |
| Write formats | ZIP, 7Z, TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ, split volumes |
| Encryption | AES-256 (ZIP, 7Z) |
| Previews | Inline text, image and metadata preview |
| Operations | Open, browse, extract, create, convert, split, merge |
| Themes | Light and Dark |
| Integrity | Checksum verification before extraction |
| Processing | 100% local — no cloud relay |
| Telemetry | 0 bytes — verified continuously |
| Account required | None — ever |
| Price | Free |
| Developer | x2y Devs Tools Ltd, Nairobi, Kenya |
Quick start
Download from Microsoft Store or itch.io. Run the installer — no administrator privileges required for standard installs. No account creation, no activation key.
Double-click any supported archive in Explorer, or drag it into the x2y Extractor window. The file browser loads the archive contents instantly — no full extraction required to browse.
Click any file to preview its contents inline. Check the archive properties panel for compression ratio, file count and integrity status. Confirm everything looks correct before extracting.
Extract selected files or the entire archive to any destination. Create new archives with optional AES-256 encryption. Convert between formats or split large archives into manageable volumes.
Downloads
Changelog
AES-256 encryption support for ZIP and 7Z archive creation and opening. Inline file previews for text, images and metadata within the browser pane. Dark theme added alongside the existing light theme. Archive properties panel with compression ratio, file count and integrity status. Improved split archive handling for .001 and .part1 volumes.
Interface rewrite with dual-pane file browser. Expanded format support to 30+ types including ISO, CAB, WIM and MSI. Format conversion between archive types. Batch extraction with destination presets.
Initial release. Core extraction engine for ZIP, 7Z, RAR (read-only), TAR, GZ and BZ2. Basic create and extract operations.
Security model
x2y Extractor reads the archives you open, performs the operations you request, and writes the results to the destination you choose. It does nothing else. There is no analytics SDK, no crash reporter, no licence verification call, no cloud decompression service, no "help improve" telemetry pipeline. Encrypted archive keys exist only in volatile memory for the duration of the session and are discarded the moment the archive is closed. Verify with Wireshark, Fiddler, GlassWire or your firewall logs — you will observe zero outbound connections.
| Telemetry | 0 bytes collected |
|---|---|
| Account | None required — ever |
| File access | Only archives you explicitly open |
| Decryption keys | Memory only — never written to disk |
| Cloud processing | None — all operations local |
| Network | Zero outbound connections |
| Verification | Any network monitor |
Working with archives
Extraction accepts ZIP, 7Z, RAR, TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ, ISO, CAB, WIM and MSI, plus split volumes in .001 and .part1 form. Creation writes ZIP, 7Z, TAR, GZ, BZ2 and XZ, including split output for media that must fit a size limit.
RAR is read-only because the proprietary compression format's write licence is not something a free tool can carry honestly. Rather than ship a shaky reimplementation, we open what people send you and create in the two formats that matter — ZIP for compatibility, 7Z for ratio and AES-256.
Encrypted ZIP and 7Z archives use AES-256, and file names are protected in 7Z headers, which ZIP cannot fully do. That difference is the reason to prefer 7Z when the contents are sensitive and the receiving tool supports it.
The rest is up to the passphrase: an archive is a long-lived file, and one you may hand to someone else or upload somewhere public. A short dictionary password is brute-forced offline by anyone holding the file, so length beats symbol soup. Encrypting also does not anonymise contents when metadata leaks — check the preview pane before you send.
Extracting blindly is how a corrupt archive becomes a half-written tree. x2y Extractor surfaces integrity status and checksum verification in the archive properties panel, alongside compression ratio and file count, so the archive is judged before it is unpacked.
That habit generalises. Archives from untrusted sources deserve a look inside first: browse the paths in the preview, note executable and script entries, and extract into a dedicated folder rather than your documents tree.
Inline previews for text, images and metadata mean the common question — is this the right build? does this contain the config I need? — gets answered without extracting 4 GB to find out. The dual-pane browser keeps source and destination visible at once, which is what actually prevents extraction into the wrong folder.
Batch extraction with destination presets covers the repetitive case: a folder of per-customer archives that all follow the same layout. Light and dark themes are a preference, not a subscription tier.
How it works
Double-click, drag into the dual-pane browser, or use Open With. Contents list without extraction, including entries inside split volumes.
Check integrity status, file count, compression ratio and inline previews. Confirm the tree looks like what you expect before anything is written to disk.
Extract to a chosen destination, create a new ZIP or 7Z with AES-256 and a passphrase, convert between supported formats, or split output for a size target.
Rejoin split volumes for oversized transfers, then verify the merged archive's integrity before treating it as final.
| Extraction | Single files, trees and batch with presets |
|---|---|
| Creation | ZIP, 7Z, TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ |
| Split and merge | .001 and .part1 volumes |
| Encryption | AES-256 for ZIP and 7Z creation and opening |
| Integrity | Checksum verification plus archive properties |
| Interface | Dual-pane browser, inline previews, light and dark |
Who it is for
Six jobs where a local archiver beats a shell one-liner, a cloud upload or four separate utilities
Create a split, encrypted 7Z for a large release, then verify the volumes merge back into an identical tree.
AES-256 with a passphrase sent out of band — for credentials, client data and exports that must not sit unencrypted in transit or in storage.
Open whatever a user sends — ISO, CAB, WIM, MSI, RAR — without installing a suite per format or asking them to re-zip it.
Browse inside archives and preview contents instead of unpacking gigabytes to find one document.
Split volumes for size-capped transfers and mailboxes, merged on arrival with integrity confirmed.
Inspect and extract odd formats in one tool, with the same behaviour on every Windows 10 or 11 machine you touch.
Prerequisites
| Requirement | Supported | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Read formats | ZIP, 7Z, RAR, TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ, ISO, CAB, WIM, MSI, split volumes | RAR is read-only by design |
| Write formats | ZIP, 7Z, TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ, split volumes | Prefer 7Z for ratio and header protection |
| Encryption | AES-256 for ZIP and 7Z | 7Z also protects file names in the header |
| Operating system | Windows 10 or Windows 11 | No shell extensions required to open files |
| Privileges | Standard user account | Extraction needs write access to the destination only |
| Network | None | Used only to download the installer |
| Previews | Text, images and metadata | Answering 'is this the right archive' without extracting |
Context
| Concern | x2y Extractor | Cloud file service | Command-line 7-Zip or tar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where contents sit | On your disk only | Uploaded, synced, retained per provider policy | Local |
| Encryption on share | AES-256 archive with your passphrase | Provider-managed keys, link permissions | Password support, awkward syntax |
| Browse before extract | Inline previews and properties | Varies by client | Usually extract first |
| Rare formats | ISO, CAB, WIM, MSI, RAR read | Whatever the server converts | Depends on what you installed |
| Learning curve | GUI, dual-pane, drag and drop | Low | Flags per format and compression level |
| Telemetry | 0 bytes | Product analytics | None |
| Cost | Free · donationware | Subscription for capacity and retention | Free |
Questions
Open With. Batch extraction with destination presets covers a folder of archives that share a structure.Documentation
Ready to unpack
No account. No telemetry. No cloud. Just a fast, capable archive manager that handles every format you throw at it — with AES-256 when the contents demand it.
| Version | v2.1.0 |
|---|---|
| Platform | Windows 10 / 11 |
| Price | Free |
| Telemetry | 0 bytes |