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A modern, high-performance desktop archiving utility. It creates compact archives in its own high-ratio .slim format using multi-threaded Zstandard and LZMA compression with block-level XXH3 deduplication, and it opens the archive formats you use every day.

High-Ratio Desktop Archiver · Version 1.0.0 · Thank you for using Slim Archiver.

Quick start

Create an archive

  1. Open the Compress workspace (left sidebar).
  2. Drag files or folders into the Source Items area (or use Add Files / Add Directory).
  3. Choose your settings on the right (compression method, and a password if you want the archive encrypted).
  4. Set the Archive Target Path and click Create Archive.

Open / extract an archive

  1. Open the Manager workspace.
  2. Click Open Archive (or drag an archive in) to view its contents.
  3. Choose an extraction destination (or leave blank for the archive's own folder) and click Extract All Files.
  4. If the archive is encrypted, enter the password first.

For a full walkthrough of every feature and setting, see the Slim Archiver User Guide.

Formats

Creates.slim (and self-extracting .exe with the SFX option PRO)
Extracts.slim   .zip   .rar   .tar   .gz   .tgz

RAR extraction uses the UnRAR library by Alexander Roshal, provided “as is” without warranty of any kind.

Editions

Free / EvaluationCore compression and extraction, including password encryption and file-name encryption — no license required.
Pro PROAdds self-extracting (SFX) archives and split volumes.
Enterprise ENTAdds Smart Card / CAC encryption, corporate password-vault integration, cloud connectors, and centralized governance (policy, SSO/CAC, DLP). Enterprise setup is covered in the separate Administrator guides.

Your current edition is shown in the LICENSE & INFO workspace.

Encryption

Password encryption of archive contents AND file names is available in every edition, including Free. Enter a password on the Compress screen before creating the archive.

Important — no password recoveryIf you lose the password, the contents cannot be recovered. Store your passwords safely.

System requirements

  • Windows (64-bit)

See slimarchiver.com for detailed, up-to-date requirements.

Help & support

You can also reach Support from inside the app: LICENSE & INFO → Support, or the Report Issue button on the System Output Console.

Legal

Use of Slim Archiver is governed by its End User License Agreement (EULA), available at slimarchiver.com/eula and from the LICENSE & INFO workspace.

Slim Archiver includes third-party components (including the UnRAR library and open-source libraries) under their respective licenses. See the licenses folder included with the application.

Copyright © 2026. All rights reserved.