Archive
What is a .bz2 file?
A .bz2 file is a BZIP2 Compressed Archive. This is an archive — a container holding other files, usually compressed.
How to open a .bz2 file
- 7-Zip (Windows) or Keka / The Unarchiver (Mac) extract most archive formats, including old ones.
- On Linux, try `7z x`, `unar` or Ark.
The registry records this extension against BZIP2 Compressed Archive, so software from that family is the most likely match.
How to convert a .bz2 file
- Extract the contents, then re-compress as .zip if you need to share them widely.
MIME type
When a .bz2 file travels over the web, servers label it with this MIME type:
application/x-bzip2The technical record
For archivists, developers and the merely curious: these are the PRONOM registry entries for .bz2.
| Format name | Version | MIME type | PUID |
|---|---|---|---|
| BZIP2 Compressed Archive | — | application/x-bzip2 | x-fmt/268 |