ZIP (file format)
| ZIP file format | |
|---|---|
| Filename extension | .zip, .zipx, .z01, .zx01 |
| Internet media type | application/zipapplication/x-zip-compressed |
| Uniform Type Identifier (UTI) | com.pkware.zip-archive |
| Magic number |
|
| Developed by | PKWARE, Inc. |
| Initial release | 14 February 1989 |
| Latest release | 6.3.10 1 November 2022 |
| Type of format | Data compression |
| Extended to |
|
| Standard | |
| Open format? | Yes |
ZIP is an archive file format that supports lossless data compression. A ZIP file may contain one or more files or directories that may have been compressed. The ZIP file format permits a number of compression algorithms, though DEFLATE is the most common.
This format was originally created in 1989 and was first implemented in PKWARE, Inc.'s PKZIP utility, as a replacement for the previous ARC compression format by Thom Henderson. The ZIP format was then quickly supported by many software utilities other than PKZIP. The ZIP format is since natively supported on major operating systems including Microsoft Windows (where it is called "Compressed Folders"), Apple macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Oracle Solaris, Android and iOS.
ZIP files generally use the file extensions .zip or .ZIP and the MIME media type application/zip. ZIP is used as a base file format by many programs, usually under a different name. When navigating a file system via a user interface, graphical icons representing ZIP files often appear as a document or other object prominently featuring a zipper.