What Is an XZ File and Where Is It Used?
XZ is a compression format built on the LZMA2 algorithm that delivers high compression ratios. Most Linux distributions use XZ for package distribution because it produces significantly smaller archives than gzip. The .xz extension indicates a single compressed file, while .tar.xz indicates a TAR archive compressed with XZ. macOS Archive Utility does not support the XZ format, and double clicking an .xz file produces an error. UnFox includes liblzma to handle XZ decompression natively on both Intel and Apple Silicon.
How Do You Extract an XZ File on Mac?
Drag the .xz file onto UnFox or open it from the File menu. UnFox decompresses the LZMA2 data and writes the output file to your chosen destination. For TAR.XZ archives, UnFox handles both layers automatically: it decompresses XZ first, then extracts the TAR contents. Progress tracking runs throughout the entire operation. XZ decompression uses more CPU time than gzip but produces smaller files.
XZ is one of 36 formats UnFox supports, alongside LZMA, GZIP, BZ2, ZSTD, LZ4, and their TAR compound variants. all supported archive and compression formats for Mac.
UnFox provides automatic compound format detection, real time progress, and disk space validation for XZ extraction. archive extraction features for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.