How to open a TAR.BZ2 file

Learn how to open a TAR.BZ2 file on your cell phone or computer using decompression tools

You can open a TAR.BZ2 file on a PC or mobile phone using decompression applications. The extension combines the TAR format, which bundles multiple files, with Bzip2 compression, which reduces file size.

Photo: Rawpixel.com/Freepik / Canaltech

This format is a solution for packaging and compressing files, with the aim of reducing their size and facilitating the sending or transferring of multiple items and documents at the same time.

See how to use decompression tools to open TAR.BZ2 files on Android, iOS, Windows and MacOS.

Without Android

ZArchiver app is an option to open compressed files in different extensions on Android. See how to use the tool:

Download and open the ZArchiver app (Android);
Locate the folder where the TAR.BZ2 file is stored;
Tap the file to see options;
Select “Extract here” or “Extract to” and choose the destination;
Confirm to conclude.

ZArchiver is an alternative to open compressed files on Android (Image: Screenshot/Guilherme Haas/Canaltech)
Photo: Canaltech

Without iOS

On iOS, an effective option for opening TAR.BZ2 files is the iZip app. Follow the steps to perform the operation:

Download and open the iZip app (iOS);
Access “Files” to view your files;
Find the TAR.BZ2 file;
Choose “Extract” to unzip.

You can use the iZip app to open TAR.BZ2 files on iPhone (Image: Screenshot/Guilherme Haas/Canaltech)
Photo: Canaltech

No windows

Windows 11 natively supports several file formats, including TAR.BZ2, but older versions of the operating system need a dedicated decompressor to open this extension. In the following example, see how to use BreeZip:

Install and open BreeZip (windows);
Access the folder where the TAR.BZ2 file is located;
Select the file and click “Extract”;
Enter the destination folder and confirm the operation.

On Windows, you can use solutions like BreeZip to open files of different extensions (Image: Screenshot/Guilherme Haas/Canaltech)
Photo: Canaltech

You can also use applications like WinZip and 7-Zip on Windows to perform this action.

Not macOS

macOS supports TAR.BZ2 files natively, but you can use The Unarchiver to manage file decompression to multiple extensions. See how to use the app:

Download and open The Unarchiver (Mac OS);
Associate the TAR.BZ2 extension in the application settings;
Double-click the TAR.BZ2 file you want to open;
The file will be automatically extracted to the same folder.

Unarchiver helps manage files in different extensions on the macOS system (Image: Screenshot/Guilherme Haas/Canaltech)
Photo: Canaltech