TAR.Z compressed file archive
File type: Archive and compressed file
The tz file extension identifies a TAR.Z archive: a TAR archive compressed with the Unix compress utility.
On Microsoft Windows, IZArc, ZipZag, PeaZip, and StuffIt Expander can open and extract these archives.
File type category:
Archive and compressed file
Date updated: October 6, 2026
TAR is a traditional archive format and one of the most widely used archiving formats on Unix and Unix-like operating systems. It packages files and directories into a single archive, while the Unix compress utility compresses the resulting archive. TAR.Z is therefore an archive and compression combination.
A tz file normally contains a TAR archive with multiple files, directories, and their archive metadata. Opening it requires decompressing the TAR.Z layer and then unpacking the TAR archive.
TAR.Z remains useful for accessing older Unix software and archives, although newer compression formats are more common for newly created archives.
On Microsoft Windows, open the tz file with IZArc, ZipZag, PeaZip, or StuffIt Expander. These programs can decompress the archive and extract the files it contains. Many file managers can also access and extract TZ archives.
A TAR.Z archive can be repacked as a ZIP, RAR, or another archive format. Extract the contents of the tz file and create a new archive in the desired format. This changes the archive and compression method but not the extracted files.
Software apps that extract tz files:
Microsoft Windows
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