Zstandard, or zstd, compresses a stream. A .zst download may expand to one file, while .tar.zst normally contains many TAR members after decoding. Fileso reads supported zstd frames and opens the inner TAR when detected; dictionary-dependent streams are outside the library’s current decoder.
Extract .zst in Fileso
- Save the compressed file in Fileso with its full filename and extension.
- Tap it and choose Extract. Use Extract to Folder if you need a different destination; View prepares a temporary extracted copy for inspection.
- Wait for decoding to finish. A simple compressed stream may produce one file, while an inner TAR or CPIO produces multiple entries.
- Open a resulting file and check its size and type before discarding the compressed source.
A log ending in .log.zst should usually produce a log, not a directory. For .tar.zst, inspect the extracted folder tree. Leave enough storage for the uncompressed content and keep the original until you have checked a representative file.
If extraction fails
If a zstd file was created with an external dictionary, ask the sender for a version compressed without that dictionary. A missing frame segment or a file that merely has a .zst name can also fail. Renaming the suffix will not supply missing compressed data.
Common question
Why do ZST and TAR.ZST show different contents? ZST is the outer compression. TAR.ZST adds a TAR archive inside it, so Fileso can show its individual members.
Ready to try it?
Fileso · File manager, PDF editor and powerful file tools
Free on the App Store