Archive
What is a .z file?
A .z file is a GZIP Format. This is an archive — a container holding other files, usually compressed. Confusingly, this extension has been used by 2 different formats over the years — they're all listed below.
This extension has been used by more than one format
2 different formats have claimed .z over the years, so two files with the same extension aren't necessarily the same kind of thing.
How to open a .z 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 GZIP Format, Z Compressed Data, so software from that family is the most likely match.
How to convert a .z file
- Extract the contents, then re-compress as .zip if you need to share them widely.
MIME type
When a .z file travels over the web, servers label it with this MIME type:
application/gzipThe technical record
For archivists, developers and the merely curious: these are the PRONOM registry entries for .z.
| Format name | Version | MIME type | PUID |
|---|---|---|---|
| GZIP Format | — | application/gzip | x-fmt/266 |
| Z Compressed Data | — | — | fmt/1671 |