How to Extract or Open TGZ File in Windows 10

Even if Windows doesn’t natively support the TGZ file, you can still open it. Follow these steps to extract or open TGZ file type in Windows 10.

If you have ever downloaded a backup file or a folder compressed on a Linux system, you might have seen its file extension is .tgz. In fact, the TGZ file format is pretty common in Linux server environments and backups. In case you don’t know, TGZ is just a TAR archive file. To be a bit more specific, once a TAR archive is created, the system uses gzip software to compress the TAR archive. In the process, it creates the TGZ file format. You can think of it like this “TGZ -> TAR -> Your files.”

Though the TGZ file format is pretty popular, Windows doesn’t natively support it. That is the reason why you see a blank file icon for TGZ files. For example, Windows natively supports the ZIP file format and you can open .zip files directly in the File Explorer. For the TGZ file format, that is not possible. So, you have to use third-party software like 7-Zip to open and extract a .tgz file in Windows 10. The good thing is it is pretty easy to do.

In this quick and short Windows 10 guide, let me show you the steps to open a TGZ file in Windows 10.

How to open .tgz file in Windows 10

To open a TGZ file, we have a use a free and open-source software called 7-Zip. The software is compatible with almost every file compression type under the sun. So, use the given link to download and install 7-Zip (https://www.7-zip.org/download.html). After that, follow the steps listed below.

1. Find the .tgz file in Windows 10.
2. Right-click on the TGZ file.
3. Select the “Open with” option.
4. Select the “7-Zip” option.
5. Click on the “Ok” button.
6. TGZ file will be opened in the 7-Zip application.
7. If you see a .tar file, double-click on it to open it.

First, go to the folder where the .tgz file is located. In my case, the file is on the desktop. Next, right-click on the file and select the “Open with” option.

Now, select the “7-Zip File Manager” option. If you cannot find the option, click on the “More apps” link at the bottom to expand the list. You can select the option from there. After selecting, click on the “Ok” button.

As soon as you do that, the TGZ file will be opened in the 7-Zip application. As I said before, .tgz is just a tar archive. So you will find the .tar file inside the TGZ file. To open it, simply double-click on it.

As soon as you double-click on the tar file, 7-Zip will decompress the file and opens it. Once opened, you can simply drag and drop its contents to a folder of your choice to extract them.

With that, you’ve successfully opened and extracted a TGZ file in Windows 10. Of course, 7-Zip is not the only program to open .tgz files. You can also use alternatives like WinZip or RAR. So if 7-Zip did not work for some reason, give the other applications a try.

I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.