How the inspector works

A lot of everyday files are really ZIP archives wearing a different extension. Office documents (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX), Android apps (APK), Java packages (JAR) and e-books (EPUB) are all ZIP containers with a set layout inside. That is why renaming a .docx to .zip usually just works.

The inspector reads the ZIP directory in your browser and lists every entry with its name and size, without unpacking anything. It also reads the entry names to work out what the package is: AndroidManifest.xml means an APK, and word/document.xml means a Word file.

Good to know

Works on ZIP, APK, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, JAR, EPUB and anything else built on ZIP.
Nothing is extracted or uploaded; only the listing is read, on your device.
Big archives are scanned across the first few megabytes of headers, which is enough to list what is inside.
Password-protected archives show their file names but not the contents.

Frequently asked questions

What file types can I inspect?

Anything built on ZIP: plain ZIP archives, plus APK, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, JAR and EPUB. The tool recognises each one from the files inside and labels it.

Does it extract or upload the files?

Neither. It reads the archive's internal directory in your browser to build the list of entries. The contents are never unpacked or sent anywhere.

Why can I rename a DOCX to ZIP and open it?

Because a DOCX is a ZIP archive. The Office format simply stores its XML parts and images inside a normal ZIP container with a fixed folder layout.

Can it open password-protected archives?

It can list the entry names, but encrypted contents cannot be read without the password, which the tool does not handle.

Archive inspector

How the inspector works

Good to know

Frequently asked questions