You can now create TAR and 7z archives in latest Windows 11 Beta (2024)

In addition to the tab duplicate option, the latest Beta build 22635.3566 of Windows 11 may surprise you with the ability to create 7z and TAR archives. It is part of the Compress to menu in File Explorer. However, it is still a work-in-progress, so the new options are still hidden. But by following the below steps, you can enable and test them.

To create a TAR or 7z archive natively on Windows 11, the only things you need to do is to select some files and folders, right-click them, and select Compress to from the menu. There are also advanced options that allow you to select the compression method and level. That's not bad for a built-in option.

While Microsoft was first implemented the support for these formats in Windows 11 24H2 that is coming to the stable branch later this year. But now it is backported to version 23H2 and 22H2, both already released to the public. It won't take long for the company to push the change from the Beta channel to a wider audience.

If you are running Windows 11 build 22635.3566 on the Beta channel, you can force-enable the support for 7z and TAR archives with help of the open source ViVeTool app. Do it as follows.

Enable 7z and TAR creation in File Explorer

1. Download ViVeTool from here and extract its archive to the c:\vivetool folder.
2. Open a new Terminal as Administrator by pressing Win + X and selecting Terminal (Admin) from the menu.
3. Type the following command in Terminal: c:\vivetool\vivetool /enable /id:49256040,48433719 and press Enter.
4. Restart your computer to apply the changes.

You are done. You can now create archives in 7z and TAR formats.

To undo the change, use the command: c:\vivetool\vivetool /disable /id:49256040. Don't forget to run this command as Administrator.

Thanks to @PhatnomOfEarth for everthing.