ZIP Creator

How to use the zip creator

1. Choose the files to include — add more in several goes if they are in different folders.
2. Select Create ZIP.
3. Download the archive.

About this tool

Combines any number of files into one ZIP. The archive is built in the page, so the files never leave your machine — which is the whole reason to do this here rather than on a site that asks you to upload first, since the files people most often need to bundle are the ones they would least like to hand over.

Every operating system can already make a ZIP, and if you are on a desktop with the files in one folder, use it. This is for the cases where that is awkward: a locked-down or shared machine, files gathered from several folders, or a phone.

How much smaller the result is depends entirely on what goes in. Text, CSV, JSON, logs and source code compress dramatically. Photos, video, music and PDFs are already compressed and will not shrink again — a ZIP of twenty JPEGs is roughly the size of twenty JPEGs, and that is the format working correctly rather than failing. Those types are stored rather than deflated here, since deflating them costs time to produce a very slightly larger file.

Folder structure is preserved when you choose a folder rather than individual files. Where two files would land on the same name, the second gets a numbered suffix instead of silently replacing the first.

Everything is held in memory while the archive is built, so this suits ordinary documents rather than tens of gigabytes of video. A desktop archiver streams to disk and has no such limit.

Common uses

• Bundling several attachments into one file for email.
• Packaging documents for an upload form that accepts a single file.
• Collecting files from different folders into one archive.

Frequently asked questions

Why did my ZIP barely shrink?

Because of what is in it. Photos, video, music and PDFs are already compressed, so there is nothing left for ZIP to remove. Text, CSV, JSON and code compress heavily.

Can I password protect the archive?

No. ZIP encryption is not supported here. For anything genuinely sensitive, an encrypted archive from a desktop tool is the right choice, and a strong password matters more than the format.

Is there a size limit?

Whatever your browser can hold in memory. Ordinary documents are fine; very large video collections are better handled by a desktop archiver, which writes to disk as it goes.