Need to open a BZ2 file?

What is a BZ2 file extension?

Files that have the BZ2 extension have been created using the open source compression software bzip2, which is typically used on UNIX or Linux systems. Th BZ2 format is used to compress single files only and is not able to archive a group of files. That means you need to assemble the group of files you want to compress into an archive first, then apply bzip2 compression to that archive file. On UNIX/Linux, this file archiving is commonly done with the TAR utility. If you receive a .bz2 file, you can decompress bz2 with WinZip by following the steps below.

How to open BZ2 files

1. Save the .bz2 file to the desktop. If your compressed file was downloaded from a website, it may be saved in the Downloads folder in your Documents or user directory.
2. Launch WinZip from your start menu or Desktop shortcut. Open the compressed file by clicking File > Open. If your system has the compressed file extension associated with WinZip program, just double-click on the file.
3. Select all the files and folders inside the compressed file. Or multi-select only the files or folders you want to open by holding the CTRL key and left-clicking on them.
4. Click 1-click Unzip and choose Unzip to PC or Cloud in the WinZip toolbar under the Unzip/Share tab.
5. Choose the destination folder to place the extracting files and click "Unzip" button.
6. You now know how to extract BZ2. Find your extracted BZ2 files in the destination folder.

Open BZ2 files on Windows or Mac

WinZip opens and extracts BZ2 Compressed Archive Files—and many more formats

We designed WinZip to open and extract from the widest range of file formats, including all of the following: