How to Unzip Files in Windows 11: 4 Easy Methods

ZIP files are great for compressing and easily moving large groups of files. However, if you've ever downloaded something and received a ZIP file, you may not know how to open it. While most operating systems come with a ZIP program these days, if you still don't know how to unzip files, don't worry. In the same vein as our guides on extracting ZIP files on Chrome OS and decompressing files on iPhone, here's how to extract files on Windows 11.

Here we have mentioned four different ways to unzip files in Windows 11. You can use your own File Explorer or a third party tool to extract the content from a ZIP file. You can also use CMD to decompress files in Windows 11. For detailed instructions, expand the table below and navigate to the desired section.

1. Unzip files in Windows 11 using File Explorer.

You can easily unzip files and folders in Windows 11 using native File Explorer. There is no need to download a third party file compression tool like Winzip or WinRAR. Here's how to unpack and extract contents from folders in Windows 11.

1. First of all, right-click on the ZIP file and select "Extract All". You can also click "Extract All" from the top menu.

2. A mini-window will appear where you can select a destination folder. I usually leave everything as it is and click "Extract". This will unzip the file to the same location as the zipped folder.

3. That's it! The unzipped content is available in the standard folder right here.

4. Alternatively, if you want to unpack certain files, you can open the ZIP file by double-clicking on it. And now you can select the files you need and copy them just like regular files.

5. Now go back and create a new folder in the same destination and paste the files. This way you can unpack certain files from a compressed ZIP file.

Create a ZIP file in Windows 11 using File Explorer.

If you want to create a ZIP file in Windows 11 using File Explorer, just select the file or folder and right click on it. You can also select a bunch of different files. Now select Compress to ZIP file.

A compressed ZIP file will be created in the same folder. You can name the ZIP file and you're done.

2. Unzip files in Windows 11 with 7-Zip

If you want to use a third party program, I would recommend 7-Zip for decompressing files on Windows 11 instead of other popular solutions like WinRAR and WinZip. It's free, open source, doesn't annoy you with pop-ups, and offers a great compression algorithm. That is why we have chosen 7-Zip as one of the best applications for Windows 11. Therefore, if you want to unzip files on Windows 11, follow our guide below.

1. Download 7-Zip from here . After that, install the app on your Windows 11 PC.

2. Now right click on the ZIP file and open "Show advanced options".

3. Here select "7-Zip" and open "Extract Files...".

4. Now select your destination by clicking on the 3 dot menu and then click OK.

5. And that's it. All contents of the ZIP file will be extracted to the selected folder.

6. If you want to extract certain content from a ZIP file, right-click on it and select "Show advanced options". Now open 7-Zip -> Open archive.

7. When 7-Zip opens, select the files you want to extract and click "Extract" at the top.

8. In the next window, select the destination folder and click OK.

9. The files will be unzipped into a folder. This is how you can use 7-Zip to decompress files on Windows 11.

3. Unzip files in Windows 11 using PowerShell

Besides File Explorer and 7-Zip, you can also use PowerShell to decompress files on Windows 11. With a single command, you can decompress a ZIP file and extract the contents from it. Here's how to do it.

1. Press the Windows key once and type "powershell". Now click "Run as administrator" in the right pane. If you want to always run PowerShell as an administrator, follow our guide for more information.

2. Then right-click on the ZIP file and select "Copy as path". This will copy the full address of the ZIP file to the clipboard.

3. Now, to unzip files in Windows 11 using PowerShell, run the below command. Here, replace the path of the ZIP file with the actual path you copied above. This will extract the contents of the ZIP file to the "C" drive in a "New Folder". I chose drive "C" as the destination, but you can choose your own.

Expand-Archive -Path "path of ZIP file" -DestinationPath "C:New Folder"

4. Finally, open the "C" drive and go to "New Folder". Here you will find the extracted contents of the ZIP file. This is how you can unzip files in Windows 11 using PowerShell.

5. If you want to compress a folder and create a ZIP file using PowerShell in Windows 11, just run the command below. The syntax is the same as above. Here, replace the file or folder path with the address of the file/folder you want to compress.

Compress-Archive -Path "path of the file or folder" -DestinationPath "C:compressed.zip"

6. After running the command, you will find the "compressed.zip" file on the "C" drive.

4. Unzip Files in Windows 11 Using Command Prompt (CMD)

Finally, you can use Command Prompt to extract ZIP files in Windows 11. Just like PowerShell, Command Prompt has a few tricks to compress and decompress ZIP files. In case you're not aware, in 2018 , Command Prompt got a powerful TAR command line tool that allows you to quickly decompress files on Windows 11 just like you can on Linux systems. So, here is how to use TAR and extract ZIP files in Windows 11 using CMD.

1. Navigate to the folder where the ZIP file is located. Click on the address bar, type cmd and press Enter. This will open a command prompt in the same window.

2. Then run the below command. Be sure to rename the filename to the actual filename. Now press Enter and the ZIP file will be extracted to the same folder.

tar -xf filename.zip

3. As you can see here, CMD has successfully decompressed the ZIP file in the same location.

Extract ZIP files in Windows 11 with CMD, 7-Zip, File Explorer and PowerShell

So these four methods can decompress ZIP files for you. Not only that, with 7-Zip you can decompress RAR, 7Z, TAR, TGZ and many other compressed file formats. And if you're a command line lover, you can have TAR at your disposal on the command line. However, this is all from us. If you want to see Wi-Fi passwords in Windows 11, you can check out our linked guide. And if you're looking for a Windows 11 startup folder to add your favorite programs to run during startup, we also have a handy guide for you. Finally, if you have any questions, please let us know in the comments section below.