USER VOTES 4.5 stars by CNET What is a GZ File Extension? GZ files are archives that have been compressed with the Gnu Zip (gzip) software. They are generally used on UNIX operating systems. The .gz files can only contain one file, to add more files you must first create a TAR archive. GZ files can be opened on Mac, Windows and Linux. WinRAR is the third most installed software after Google Chrome & Acrobat Reader, making it the World’s most popular compression file utility! How to Open GZ Files 1. If you have a GZ file to open, ensure that the GZ file extension check box is ticked in the WinRAR Integration panel:

2. Double-click on the file and it will be displayed in WinRAR. Choose the files you want to extract/open and click on the “Extract To” icon at the top of the WinRAR window: Click “OK” and your GZ file will be saved in your destination folder! WinRAR Supports the Following Popular Archive Formats: GZ , Tar.GZ & TGZ © 2026 win.rar GmbH All rights reserved.