ZIP File Viewer and Inspector

Archive Inspector answers one question before you commit to a download or an extraction: what is actually inside this ZIP? Because it reads the archive's central directory without unpacking anything, it suits the moment you receive a .zip from email, a form upload, a client, or a download link and want to look before you trust. Developers use it to confirm a release bundle or a deploy artifact contains the expected folder structure and nothing stray; office and admin users use it to verify a vendor or applicant sent the right documents inside the right folders.

It also helps with data prep: the uncompressed total shows how much disk space an archive will claim once expanded, and the file-type breakdown and duplicate-name count show whether a ZIP is the clean export you meant to ship or one carrying caches, system files and repeats.

Drop or select a single .zip file (up to 300 MB) onto the tool. It parses the archive entirely in your browser, then displays a dashboard: total files and folders (including folders that only exist as part of file paths), compressed size, uncompressed size, the compression ratio, and a duplicate-name count. Below that you get a file-type breakdown by extension (share of total size and file count), flags for hidden files, system files and duplicate names, and a searchable, collapsible file tree of every entry. You can export the full listing as a CSV with path, name, extension, byte size, folder depth, and directory flag.

Alongside this it runs a file-structure risk check that flags programs, scripts, shortcuts and disk images, executables disguised with a document-like double extension (invoice.pdf.exe), hidden text-direction characters in names, macro-enabled Office files, paths that would escape the extraction folder (judged on the name exactly as stored, so ../ tricks are caught), files that expand past 100 MB at more than 200 times their compressed size, archives nested inside, and unusually high file counts. Each finding names example paths so you can judge context. What it does not do: it does not extract files, modify the archive, open password-protected ZIPs, or scan file contents for malware. It reads metadata and filenames, not the bytes inside each file.

The most important limit is scope: this is ZIP-only. RAR, 7z, TAR, GZ, and other container formats are not supported, and a password-protected ZIP cannot be read at all; in both cases the tool says why rather than showing a partial result. The 300 MB ceiling and the fact that everything runs in your browser mean very large archives depend on your device's memory; an extremely large or deeply nested ZIP can be slow or strain a low-memory machine.

The risk panel is the easiest part to over-read. It is a structural and naming check, not antivirus and not a content scan, and the tool says so directly. A clean, low-risk result means nothing structurally alarming was found in the filenames and layout, not that the files are safe to run. Conversely, a flagged executable or macro file is not proof of malice, only a prompt to consider the source. The compression ratio reflects what the archive reports, which is not a precise forecast of post-extraction disk use to the byte.

Start with the headline counts: do the file and folder totals match what you expected to receive, and does the uncompressed size look sane next to the on-disk size? Scan the file-type breakdown for surprises, then check the flags row for hidden files, system files, and duplicate names, opening the tree or searching by name to see where they sit. Read every risk finding and look at the example paths it lists rather than just the overall level, paying attention to executables, double extensions, macros, and any unsafe paths. If you plan to keep a record, export the CSV so the listing survives after the tab closes, since nothing is stored once you leave.

Treat the inspection as a preview, not a verdict. For official or financial material, extract with a trusted tool, run a real antivirus scan and confirm checksums with the sender; a green risk level means the names and structure raised no flags, nothing more.