7z

7z file format
Filename extension
.7z
Internet media type
application/x-7z-compressed
Uniform Type Identifier (UTI)org.7-zip.7-zip-archive
Magic number'7', 'z', 0xBC, 0xAF, 0x27, 0x1C
Size limitation264 bytes (roughly 18 exabytes)
Developed byIgor Pavlov[1]
Initial release1999; 25 years ago (1999)[2]
Type of formatData compression
Open format?Yes: GNU Lesser General Public License / Public domain
Website7-zip.org

7z is a compressed archive file format that supports several different data compression, encryption and pre-processing algorithms. The 7z format initially appeared as implemented by the 7-Zip archiver. The 7-Zip program is publicly available under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License. The LZMA SDK 4.62 was placed in the public domain in December 2008. The latest stable version of 7-Zip and LZMA SDK is version 24.05.[2]

The 7z file format specification is distributed with 7-Zip's source code since 2015. The specification can be found in plain text format in the 'doc' sub-directory of the source code distribution.[3]

  1. ^ "A Few Questions for Igor Pavlov". Dr. Dobb's Data Compression Newsletter. 30 April 2003. Archived from the original on 28 October 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  2. ^ a b "History of 7-zip changes". Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  3. ^ LZMA SDK, "DOC" directory, 7zFormat.txt