7-Zip-zstd is a modified version of 7-Zip that adds support for modern compression codecs including Brotli, Fast-LZMA2, Lizard, LZ4, LZ5, and Zstandard.
The tool addresses the need for access to newer, high-performance compression algorithms within the 7-Zip ecosystem. It extends the standard 7-Zip archiver by bundling additional codec implementations, allowing users to compress and decompress files using algorithms that offer different trade-offs between compression ratio, speed, and decompression performance. The project provides both a complete installation with GUI modifications and an Explorer context menu, or a minimal codec plugin for existing 7-Zip installations.
Developers should choose this tool if they need 7-Zip's interface and workflow but require access to compression algorithms beyond the standard set. It suits projects where compression performance characteristics matter—Zstandard for balanced real-time compression with high ratios, LZ4 for extreme speed, Lizard for fast decompression with reasonable compression, or Fast-LZMA2 for improved performance over standard LZMA2. The project offers multiple CLI variants: the full 7z tool that loads codecs via plugins, the standalone 7zz binary, the minimal 7za with only LZ4 and basic formats, and the lightweight 7zr focused on 7z format with Fast-LZMA2 and Zstandard support.
Development activity shows consistent maintenance of codec implementations, with each algorithm pinned to a specific version and documented with its compression level ranges and performance characteristics. The project maintains a multithreading library as a separate dependency to support parallel compression operations across the bundled codecs.
