Self-extracting archives (SFX)

Self-extracting archives (SFX) are executable files that can extract their contents without requiring 7-Zip or any other archiver to be installed.

What are SFX Archives?

An SFX archive combines:

A small executable stub (SFX module)
The compressed archive data
Optional configuration and GUI

The result is a .exe file (Windows) or executable binary (Linux/macOS) that can extract itself.

Creating SFX Archives

Basic SFX Archive

# Windows
7z a -sfx archive.exe files/

# The result is archive.exe that can be double-clicked to extract

With Custom SFX Module

# Use specific SFX module
7z a -sfx7z.sfx archive.exe files/

SFX Module Types

7-Zip includes three SFX modules:

1. Console SFX (7zCon.sfx)

Location: CPP/7zip/Bundles/SFXCon/

7z a -sfx7zCon.sfx installer.exe files/

Features:

Command-line interface
No GUI dependencies
Small size (~100 KB)
Ideal for scripts and automation

2. Windows GUI SFX (7z.sfx)

Location: CPP/7zip/Bundles/SFXWin/

7z a -sfx7z.sfx installer.exe files/

Features:

Graphical interface
User-friendly extraction dialog
Size: ~150 KB
Best for end-user distribution

3. Installer SFX (7zS.sfx)

Location: CPP/7zip/Bundles/SFXSetup/

7z a -sfx7zS.sfx installer.exe files/

Features:

Installation wizard interface
Run commands after extraction
Set extraction path
Overwrite prompts
Best for software installers

SFX Configuration

Create a configuration file to customize SFX behavior:

config.txt

;!@Install@!UTF-8!
Title="My Application Installer"
BeginPrompt="Install My Application?"
Progress="yes"
RunProgram="setup.exe"
Directory="C:\\Program Files\\MyApp"
;!@InstallEnd@!

Create SFX with Config

# Create archive with config
copy /b 7zS.sfx + config.txt + archive.7z installer.exe

Or use 7-Zip:

7z a -sfx7zS.sfx installer.exe files/ -c config.txt

Configuration Options

string

Window title for installer

Title="My Software v1.0"

string

Message shown before extraction

BeginPrompt="Do you want to install My Software?"

string

Show progress dialog (“yes” or “no”)

Progress="yes"

string

Program to run after extraction

RunProgram="setup.exe"
RunProgram="hidcon:setup.exe"

string

Default extraction directory

Directory="C:\\Program Files\\MyApp"
Directory="%%T\\MyApp"

string

Text in extraction dialog

ExtractDialogText="Please wait while files are extracted..."

string

How to handle existing files

0 - Ask user
1 - Overwrite without prompt
2 - Skip existing files

OverwriteMode="0"

string

Installation path with user prompt

InstallPath="C:\\Program Files\\MyApp"

Path Variables

Use special variables in paths:

Variable	Description	Example
`%%S`	System directory	`C:\Windows\System32`
`%%P`	Program Files	`C:\Program Files`
`%%T`	Temp directory	`C:\Users\...\AppData\Local\Temp`
`%%HomeDrive%%`	Home drive	`C:`

Directory="%%T%%\\MyApp"
RunProgram="%%S%%\\notepad.exe"

Examples

Software Installer

;!@Install@!UTF-8!
Title="MyApp 2.0 Setup"
BeginPrompt="Install MyApp 2.0?"
Progress="yes"
ExtractDialogText="Installing MyApp..."
Directory="C:\\Program Files\\MyApp"
RunProgram="setup.exe"
RunProgram="hidcon:cleanup.bat"
;!@InstallEnd@!

7z a temp.7z files/
copy /b 7zS.sfx + config.txt + temp.7z MyAppSetup.exe

Silent Extraction

;!@Install@!UTF-8!
Progress="no"
Directory="%%T%%\\extract"
RunProgram="hidcon:install.bat"
;!@InstallEnd@!

User-Interactive Installer

;!@Install@!UTF-8!
Title="Photo Gallery v3.5"
BeginPrompt="Do you want to install Photo Gallery?\n\nClick OK to continue."
Progress="yes"
ExtractDialogText="Extracting files..."
InstallPath="C:\\Program Files\\PhotoGallery"
OverwriteMode="0"
RunProgram="%%InstallPath%%\\setup.exe"
;!@InstallEnd@!

Creating Multi-Platform SFX

Linux/macOS SFX

Create self-extracting shell archives:

#!/bin/bash
# Create SFX for Linux
cat sfx_stub.sh archive.7z > installer.sh
chmod +x installer.sh

sfx_stub.sh

#!/bin/bash
ARCHIVE_START=`awk '/^__ARCHIVE_BELOW__/ {print NR + 1; exit 0; }' $0`
tail -n+$ARCHIVE_START $0 | 7z x -si
exit 0
__ARCHIVE_BELOW__

SFX Compression Options

Use maximum compression for SFX archives:

# Maximum compression SFX
7z a -sfx -mx=9 -md=64m -mfb=273 installer.exe files/

# With encryption
7z a -sfx -p -mhe=on -mx=9 installer.exe files/

SFX Module Source Code

The SFX modules are built from:

Console SFX: CPP/7zip/Bundles/SFXCon/
- Main file: SfxCon.cpp
- Size: ~100 KB
- No GUI dependencies
GUI SFX: CPP/7zip/Bundles/SFXWin/
- Main file: SfxWin.cpp
- Uses Windows Common Controls
- Size: ~150 KB
Setup SFX: CPP/7zip/Bundles/SFXSetup/
- Main file: ExtractCallback.cpp, ExtractEngine.cpp
- Full installer functionality
- Size: ~160 KB

Building Custom SFX Modules

You can build custom SFX modules from source:

# Windows with Visual Studio
cd CPP/7zip/Bundles/SFXWin
nmake

# Result: 7z.sfx

Best Practices

Use SFX archives for:

Software distribution
Installation packages
Sending to users without 7-Zip
One-click extraction

Considerations:

SFX files are larger (adds ~100-160 KB)
Some antivirus software may flag SFX files
Test on target systems
Sign executables to avoid security warnings

Code Signing

Sign SFX executables to avoid security warnings:

# Windows code signing
signtool sign /f certificate.pfx /p password /t http://timestamp.server installer.exe

Troubleshooting

SFX Won’t Run

Check compatibility: Ensure SFX module matches target OS
Antivirus: Whitelist or sign the executable
Permissions: Run as administrator if needed

Custom Module Not Found

# Specify full path to SFX module
7z a -sfx"C:\\7-Zip\\7zS.sfx" installer.exe files/

Getting Started

Command Reference

Compression Methods

Archive Formats

Advanced Usage

Self-extracting archives (SFX)

What are SFX Archives?

Creating SFX Archives

Basic SFX Archive

With Custom SFX Module

SFX Module Types

1. Console SFX (7zCon.sfx)

2. Windows GUI SFX (7z.sfx)

3. Installer SFX (7zS.sfx)

SFX Configuration

config.txt

Create SFX with Config

Configuration Options

Path Variables

Examples

Software Installer

Silent Extraction

User-Interactive Installer

Creating Multi-Platform SFX

Linux/macOS SFX

sfx_stub.sh

SFX Compression Options

SFX Module Source Code

Building Custom SFX Modules

Best Practices

Code Signing

Troubleshooting

SFX Won’t Run

Custom Module Not Found

See Also

​What are SFX Archives?

​Creating SFX Archives

​Basic SFX Archive

​With Custom SFX Module

​SFX Module Types

​1. Console SFX (7zCon.sfx)

​2. Windows GUI SFX (7z.sfx)

​3. Installer SFX (7zS.sfx)

​SFX Configuration

​config.txt

​Create SFX with Config

​Configuration Options

​Path Variables

​Examples

​Software Installer

​Silent Extraction

​User-Interactive Installer

​Creating Multi-Platform SFX

​Linux/macOS SFX

​sfx_stub.sh

​SFX Compression Options

​SFX Module Source Code

​Building Custom SFX Modules

​Best Practices

​Code Signing

​Troubleshooting

​SFX Won’t Run

​Custom Module Not Found

​See Also

What are SFX Archives?

Creating SFX Archives

Basic SFX Archive

With Custom SFX Module

SFX Module Types

1. Console SFX (7zCon.sfx)

2. Windows GUI SFX (7z.sfx)

3. Installer SFX (7zS.sfx)

SFX Configuration

config.txt

Create SFX with Config

Configuration Options

Path Variables

Examples

Software Installer

Silent Extraction

User-Interactive Installer

Creating Multi-Platform SFX

Linux/macOS SFX

sfx_stub.sh

SFX Compression Options

SFX Module Source Code

Building Custom SFX Modules

Best Practices

Code Signing

Troubleshooting

SFX Won’t Run

Custom Module Not Found

See Also