How to use the ZIP to TAR.GZ converter
- Select the ZIP file or files. Several can be converted in one batch.
- Type the ZIP password if there is one, and choose a gzip level.
- Click Convert to TAR.GZ and save it.
When only a tarball will do
Linux-based systems often take tarballs exclusively: package registries, some build pipelines, container build contexts sent over an API, and small server images that include tar but not unzip.
The output has the same layout tar -czf would create, so running tar -xzf on the server restores the same folder tree the ZIP had.
Size, permissions and layout
Because gzip compresses the whole TAR stream, collections of small text files often come out the same size as the ZIP or a little smaller. Media-heavy ZIPs barely change, since photos and PDFs are compressed already.
ZIPs created on Windows contain no Unix permissions, so the tarball gives every file standard read-write rights; scripts must be made executable again after extraction. No wrapping folder is added either, so unpack it in the directory where the files belong.
Picking a gzip level
Normal is the usual choice and what most servers would produce themselves. Fastest is perfectly adequate when the ZIP is full of JPG scans or PDFs that will not compress further.
Ultra spends noticeably more time for a gain that rarely exceeds a few percent, so reserve it for large exports of plain text.
Questions
Does the tarball stay password-protected?
No. TAR.GZ has no encryption, so once your password has opened the ZIP, the files go into the tarball unencrypted.
Can the file be named .tgz?
It is saved as .tar.gz. Renaming it to .tgz is fine if your system prefers that; the contents are identical.
What will the output be called?
It keeps the ZIP's base name, so site-files.zip becomes site-files.tar.gz. Several ZIPs dropped together are converted one after another.