SimpleZipDrive Documentation

SimpleZipDrive screenshot [SimpleZipDrive screenshot]

SimpleZipDrive is a Windows application that mounts ZIP, 7Z, RAR, and TAR archives (including compressed TAR variants and comic-book archives), Zstd-seekable .zar containers, and Xbox XISO disc images as virtual drives or NTFS directory mount points. Mounted archives appear and behave exactly like a regular drive in File Explorer and every other application files can be browsed, opened, and streamed directly from the archive without extracting it first.

Current version: 3.0.1 License: GPL v3 Downloads: Releases

Key Features

  • Multi-format support .zip, .7z, .rar, .tar, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2, .tar.xz, .tgz, .tbz2, .txz, .cbz, .cbr, .cb7, .zar, Xbox disc images .iso / .xiso / .cso.
  • Drive-letter or folder mounting mount on the first free drive letter from MQ, a letter you choose, or any folder path.
  • Hybrid caching engine zero-copy direct reads for stored ZIP entries, per-block random access for .zar (Zstd seekable) and Xbox images (.iso/.cso), a shared in-memory cache for small files with decompress-once/share-across-handles semantics, and a disk cache for very large entries.
  • Read-only and safe the mounted volume is strictly read-only; the underlying archive is never modified.
  • Encrypted archives password-protected archives prompt for a password, with verification and up to three attempts.
  • Cross-integrity mounting (WinFsp) makes a mounted drive visible to both standard and elevated (Administrator) processes.
  • Drag-and-drop drop an archive onto the executable and it mounts automatically.
  • Configurable memory limit per-file RAM cache limit (512 MB default), clamped automatically to 90 % of available system memory.
  • Built-in diagnostics session logs, native driver debug logs, orphaned temp-file cleanup, and automatic bug reporting.

The Two Variants

SimpleZipDrive ships as two separate executables that share the same core engine and user interface:

SimpleZipDrive (Dokan variant) SimpleZipDrive_WinFsp (WinFsp variant)
Filesystem driver Dokan v2 2.3 WinFsp 2.1
Executable SimpleZipDrive.exe SimpleZipDrive_WinFsp.exe
Drive-letter mounts
Folder mounts
Cross-integrity mounts
Maturity Mature, widely deployed Modern, actively developed driver

See Variants for a detailed comparison and help choosing.

Documentation

Getting Started

Deep Dives overview

  • Mounting mount-point resolution, drive letters, folder and cross-integrity mounts, error codes
  • Caching the memory and disk cache architecture and tuning
  • Performance expected performance, benchmarks, and tuning tips
  • Archive Support supported formats, compression, encryption, and the 7-Zip fallback
  • Security & Privacy read-only guarantees, UAC, DACLs, and what data leaves your machine

Operations overview

  • Configuration settings reference and data locations
  • Logging log files, bug reporting, and how to collect diagnostics
  • Troubleshooting solutions for every common error
  • FAQ frequently asked questions

Development overview

System Requirements

Requirement Details
Operating system Windows 10 or 11 (x64 or ARM64)
Runtime .NET 10 Desktop Runtime
Filesystem driver Dokan v2 2.3+ (Dokan variant) or WinFsp 2.1+ (WinFsp variant) install the matching driver for the variant you use
Disk space ~10 MB for the application; temp space equal to the largest file you open when the disk cache is used
Memory The memory cache is clamped to 90 % of installed RAM; the per-entry default is 512 MB

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SimpleZipDrive is open source under the GPL v3 license.

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