Double-click a ZIP. Get the folder. Move on.

Opening a downloaded archive usually means choosing a destination, extracting it, deleting the old ZIP, and finding the new folder. ZipFlow turns that routine into one double-click.

It runs only when you open a ZIP. No background process. No tray icon. No service. No administrator access.

1. Download ZipFlow.exe.
2. Double-click it once.
3. Read the short setup message and click OK.
4. Windows Default Apps opens. Choose ZipFlow for .zip.

That Windows choice happens once. Afterward, double-click ZIP files normally.

Prefer portable mode? Drag a ZIP onto the downloaded ZipFlow.exe instead of opening the EXE by itself. ZipFlow processes that archive without installing itself.

Opening ZipFlow.exe by itself performs the setup work automatically:

• Copies the executable to %LOCALAPPDATA%\ZipFlow\ZipFlow.exe
• Registers ZipFlow as an available .zip app for your Windows account
• Opens the most specific Default Apps page Windows supports

Setup uses no administrator access, service, startup task, tray icon, or background process. It does not replace Windows' protected default-app choice. Windows requires that one approval to happen in its own interface.

The release bundle still includes Install.ps1 for scripted setup and Uninstall.ps1 for removal. Normal setup does not require PowerShell.

1. Reads and validates the archive.
2. Extracts into a hidden staging folder on the Desktop.
3. Publishes the completed folder as Archive, Archive (2), Archive (3), and so on.
4. Sends the original ZIP to the Recycle Bin.
5. Opens the completed folder in File Explorer.

The original ZIP is not touched until extraction finishes and every file passes validation.

If staging cleanup fails, the error names the retained staging path. Every error also reports whether the source ZIP remains, was recycled, or no longer exists at the original path.

ZIP files can contain broken paths, duplicate names, misleading metadata, and huge compressed payloads. ZipFlow checks before it cleans up after you.

• Verifies file sizes and CRC-32 before publishing output
• Blocks path traversal, alternate data streams, Windows device names, and observed reparse points
• Rejects duplicate destinations and file-directory conflicts
• Never overwrites an existing Desktop folder
• Rechecks the source file's Windows identity before recycling it
• Extracts with no overwrite and keeps partial work hidden

Default resource limits:

• 10,000 entries
• 1 GiB uncompressed per file
• 4 GiB uncompressed total
• 1000:1 maximum compression ratio
• 32 path components including the filename
• 240-character maximum output path

Encrypted, ZIP64, and multidisk archives are not supported. They fail without recycling the source ZIP.

ZipFlow targets the .NET Framework included with current Windows 10 and Windows 11 installations. No package restore or third-party runtime is required.

.\build.ps1 -RunTests

The build produces dist\ZipFlow.exe and runs the dependency-free archive behavior suite. Installer and registration tests run separately:

.\tests\Registration.Tests.ps1

ZipFlow defends against paths and content controlled by an archive. Its Desktop operations use normal path-based Windows APIs, so another process running as the same user could still race filesystem objects between a check and a write. Do not run ZipFlow elevated.

The final source move uses the Windows Recycle Bin API. A narrow path race remains between the last source identity check and that path-based move.

Download and extract the Windows bundle from the latest release. First restore .zip to File Explorer or another archive app in Windows Default Apps. Then run:

.\Uninstall.ps1

Uninstall removes only ZipFlow's per-user registration and installed executable. It does not choose a replacement default or recursively delete the install directory.

MIT