Peek inside archive files directly in VS Code — without extracting them to disk. Simply click an archive in the Explorer and get an interactive file browser with stats, right inside the editor.
Supported Formats
Format
Extension(s)
Library Used
ZIP
.zip
adm-zip
JAR
.jar, .war, .ear
adm-zip
VS Code Ext
.vsix
adm-zip
NuGet
.nupkg
adm-zip
Android
.apk
adm-zip
Tar
.tar
tar-stream
Tar.gz
.tar.gz, .tgz
tar-stream + zlib
Tar.bz2
.tar.bz2, .tbz2
tar-stream + unbzip2-stream
Tar.xz
.tar.xz, .txz
tar-stream + xz-decompress
RAR
.rar
node-unrar-js
7-Zip
.7z
node-7z + 7zip-bin
Features
Click to browse — click any archive in the Explorer and it opens an interactive file tree with stats in the editor
Open files inline — click any file in the archive tree to view its contents in VS Code (read-only)
No extraction — files are read directly from the archive stream, nothing written to disk
No sidebar clutter — everything lives in the editor tab, no extra panels
16 file extensions — covers ZIP-based, tar variants, RAR, and 7z out of the box
Context menu integration — right-click archive files in the Explorer for quick access
Usage
Click any supported archive file in the VS Code Explorer
The archive opens in an editor tab showing format info, file/directory counts, total size, and a browsable file tree
Click any file in the tree to view its contents
You can also right-click an archive and select Open Archive, or use the command palette: Archive Peek: Open Archive.
Commands
Command
Description
Archive Peek: Open Archive
Open an archive file for browsing
Archive Peek: Refresh
Re-read all opened archives
Archive Peek: Close Archive
Close an opened archive
Development
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Validate - Compile + lint
npm run validate
# Watch mode
npm run watch
Press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host.
Requirements
VS Code 1.85.0+
For .7z support: the bundled 7zip-bin package provides the 7z binary
For .tar.bz2 support: unbzip2-stream
For .tar.xz support: xz-decompress (pure JS/WASM — no native binaries needed)
For .rar support: node-unrar-js (pure JS/WASM — no native binaries needed)
