Installing 7-Zip

7-Zip is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. This guide covers multiple installation methods for each platform.

Windows Installation

Windows Installer
Winget
Chocolatey
Build from Source

The easiest way to install 7-Zip on Windows is using the official installer:

Download the installer

Visit 7-zip.org and download the appropriate installer:

64-bit Windows: 7z####-x64.exe (recommended for modern systems)
32-bit Windows: 7z####.exe
ARM64 Windows: 7z####-arm64.exe (for ARM-based Windows devices)

Run the installer

Double-click the downloaded executable and follow the installation wizard. The default installation directory is C:\Program Files\7-Zip\.

Verify installation

Open Command Prompt and verify 7-Zip is installed:

"C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" --help

You should see the 7-Zip help output with version information.

Add to PATH (optional)

To use 7z from any directory, add 7-Zip to your system PATH:

Open System Properties → Environment Variables
Edit the Path variable
Add C:\Program Files\7-Zip\
Click OK and restart Command Prompt

The Windows installer includes 7-Zip File Manager (7zFM.exe), Windows Shell integration, and all command-line tools.

Install 7-Zip using Windows Package Manager (winget):

winget install 7zip.7zip

This automatically installs the latest version and adds 7-Zip to your PATH.

Install using Chocolatey package manager:

choco install 7zip

Or install only the command-line version:

choco install 7zip.commandline

Build 7-Zip from source on Windows:

Install prerequisites

Visual Studio 2017/2019/2022 (Community Edition or higher)
Windows SDK
Microsoft Macro Assembler (ml.exe for x86, ml64.exe for x64)

Download source code

Download the 7-Zip source package from 7-zip.org and extract it.

Open Visual Studio Developer Command Prompt

Use the appropriate command prompt for your target platform:

x64: Developer Command Prompt for VS (x64)
x86: Developer Command Prompt for VS (x86)
ARM64: Use cross-compilation tools

Compile 7-Zip

Navigate to the source directory and compile:

cd CPP\7zip
nmake

Or compile a specific binary:

cd CPP\7zip\Bundles\Alone2
nmake

This creates the 7zz.exe standalone console application.

Set platform (optional)

To compile for a specific platform:

nmake PLATFORM=x64

Supported platforms: x64, x86, arm64, arm

The makefile uses static linking to the runtime library by default. Add MY_DYNAMIC_LINK=1 to use dynamic linking (msvcrt.dll).

Linux Installation

Debian/Ubuntu
RHEL/Fedora/CentOS
Arch Linux
Build from Source

Install 7-Zip using APT package manager:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install 7zip

Or install the older p7zip package (note: outdated):

sudo apt install p7zip-full p7zip-rar

The 7zip package provides the modern 7-Zip version. The p7zip packages are based on an older 7-Zip version (16.02) and may not include the latest features.

Install using DNF or YUM:Fedora:

sudo dnf install 7zip

RHEL/CentOS (with EPEL):

sudo yum install epel-release
sudo yum install p7zip p7zip-plugins

Install using pacman:

sudo pacman -S 7zip

Or install p7zip:

sudo pacman -S p7zip

Build 7-Zip from source on Linux:

Install build dependencies

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install build-essential make gcc g++

Fedora/RHEL:

sudo dnf install gcc gcc-c++ make

For assembler optimizations (x86-64):

# Install UASM or Asmc for faster binaries
git clone https://github.com/Terraspace/UASM.git
cd UASM
make -f Makefile
sudo make install

Download source code

wget https://www.7-zip.org/a/7z####-src.tar.xz
tar -xf 7z####-src.tar.xz
cd 7z####-src

Compile 7-Zip

Navigate to the bundle directory:

cd CPP/7zip/Bundles/Alone2

Basic compilation (GCC, no assembler):

make -j -f ../../cmpl_gcc.mak

Optimized compilation (CLANG):

make -j -f ../../cmpl_clang.mak

x86-64 with assembler (fastest):

make -j -f ../../cmpl_gcc_x64.mak

ARM64 with assembler:

make -j -f ../../cmpl_gcc_arm64.mak

Install the binary

sudo cp _o/7zz /usr/local/bin/
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/7zz

Verify installation:

7zz --help

Use the -j flag with make to enable parallel compilation and speed up the build process.

Compilation Options

You can customize the build with additional variables:Disable RAR support completely:

make -j -f ../../cmpl_gcc.mak DISABLE_RAR=1

Disable RAR compression (keep extraction):

make -j -f ../../cmpl_gcc.mak DISABLE_RAR_COMPRESS=1

Use UASM assembler:

UASM="/usr/local/bin/uasm"
make -f makefile.gcc -j IS_X64=1 USE_ASM=1 MY_ASM="$UASM"

macOS Installation

Homebrew
MacPorts
Build from Source

Install 7-Zip using Homebrew:

brew install 7zip

Or install p7zip (older version):

brew install p7zip

Verify installation:

7zz --help

Install using MacPorts:

sudo port install 7zip

Build 7-Zip natively on macOS:

Install Xcode Command Line Tools

xcode-select --install

Download source code

curl -O https://www.7-zip.org/a/7z####-src.tar.xz
tar -xf 7z####-src.tar.xz
cd 7z####-src

Compile for macOS

Intel (x86-64):

cd CPP/7zip/Bundles/Alone2
make -j -f ../../cmpl_gcc_x64.mak

Apple Silicon (ARM64):

cd CPP/7zip/Bundles/Alone2
make -j -f ../../cmpl_mac_arm64.mak

Install the binary

sudo cp _o/7zz /usr/local/bin/

Verify installation:

7zz --help

Available Binaries

7-Zip provides different binaries for different use cases:

Binary	Description	Format Support
7z (Windows)	Full-featured command-line version	All formats
7zz (Linux/macOS)	Standalone console version	All formats
7za	Standalone reduced version	7z, xz, cab, zip, gzip, bzip2, tar
7zr	Minimal standalone version	7z only
7zG (Windows)	GUI application	All formats
7zFM (Windows)	File Manager interface	All formats

On Linux and macOS, the primary binary is 7zz. On Windows, both 7z.exe and 7zz.exe are available, with 7z.exe being the traditional name.

Verifying Installation

After installation, verify 7-Zip is working correctly:

# Check version
7zz --help | head -n 3

# Test compression
7zz a test.7z /etc/hosts

# List archive contents
7zz l test.7z

# Extract archive
7zz x test.7z

Differences: 7-Zip vs p7zip

There are two different Linux/macOS ports of 7-Zip:

7-Zip for Linux/macOS - Modern official port with all latest features from 7-Zip for Windows
p7zip - Independent port, now outdated (last version 16.02)

The modern 7-Zip package is recommended for all new installations.

Troubleshooting

Command not found

If you get “command not found” after installation: Linux/macOS:

# Find 7-Zip installation
which 7zz
which 7z

# Add to PATH if needed
export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/bin"

Windows:

# Use full path
"C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" --help

# Or add to PATH in Environment Variables

Permission denied (Linux/macOS)

If you get permission errors:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/7zz

Missing dependencies

If compilation fails with missing dependencies:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install build-essential

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf groupinstall "Development Tools"

Next Steps

Quick Start Guide

Now that 7-Zip is installed, learn the basic commands to compress and extract files

Getting Started

Command Reference

Compression Methods

Archive Formats

Advanced Usage

Installing 7-Zip

Installing 7-Zip

Windows Installation

Linux Installation

Compilation Options

macOS Installation

Available Binaries

Verifying Installation

Differences: 7-Zip vs p7zip

Troubleshooting

Command not found

Permission denied (Linux/macOS)

Missing dependencies

Next Steps

Quick Start Guide

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Getting Started

Command Reference

Compression Methods

Archive Formats

Advanced Usage

​Installing 7-Zip

​Windows Installation

​Linux Installation

​Compilation Options

​macOS Installation

​Available Binaries

​Verifying Installation

​Differences: 7-Zip vs p7zip

​Troubleshooting

​Command not found

​Permission denied (Linux/macOS)

​Missing dependencies

​Next Steps

Quick Start Guide

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Installing 7-Zip

Windows Installation

Linux Installation

Compilation Options

macOS Installation

Available Binaries

Verifying Installation

Differences: 7-Zip vs p7zip

Troubleshooting

Command not found

Permission denied (Linux/macOS)

Missing dependencies

Next Steps