Open LZ4 files in your browser
The fastest common compression, used in Linux, databases and backups. Open a .lz4 or .tar.lz4 right here. Nothing leaves your device.
Or drop it anywhere on this page
What you'll see
Your archive opens like a folder, its files listed on the left.
- Listed like a folder • Unpacks only what you pick
- Locked archives • Hidden file names included
- Search • Find any file by its name
- Export • Save as ZIP or Extract all
About LZ4
Yann Collet released LZ4 in 2011, before he made Zstandard. It unpacks at gigabytes a second, so it's built into the Linux kernel, file systems like ZFS and SquashFS, databases and games, and backup tools save .lz4 and .tar.lz4 files.
A .lz4 file is an LZ4 frame: a header, then blocks of packed data, with optional checksums of each block and of the whole. Like gzip, it holds one file, so many files go into a TAR first.
Filepeek unpacks it with its own decoder as it reads: a .tar.lz4 opens straight to the files of the TAR, and a lone .lz4 opens its file at once, in the viewer for what it is.
LZ4 compressed file
.lz4
Format
- MIME type
- application/x-lz4
- Made by
- Yann Collet
- Released
- 2011
Inside the file
- Compression
- LZ4 frames
- Speed
- Gigabytes a second
- Holds
- One file, often a TAR
- Checks
- Optional xxHash checksums
Opens in every browser
No browser opens a .lz4 file by itself. Filepeek unpacks it in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari.
- YouChromeOpens through Filepeek
- YouEdgeOpens through Filepeek
- YouFirefoxOpens through Filepeek
- YouSafariOpens through Filepeek
Apps that open LZ4
- Windows7-Zip ZS, free
- Maclz4 in Terminal, from Homebrew
- iPhone and iPadNo app built in opens it
- AndroidNo app built in opens it
Questions
How do I open a .tar.lz4 file?
Drop it on this page or press Peek an LZ4. The files of the TAR list like a folder, and each opens when you pick it.
What's inside a .lz4 file?
One compressed file. In a .tar.lz4, that file is a TAR holding many more, and Filepeek lists those directly.
Can I turn it into a ZIP?
Yes. Choose Export, then Save as ZIP. Phones and computers open the ZIP without an app.