File Roller review
A capable open-source graphical archiver with broad format and archive-management support.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
File Roller is a graphical archive manager for the GNOME desktop environment, designed for Linux users who want to create, inspect, modify, and extract archives through a desktop interface. It can display archive contents, open files inside archives, and modify those files where supported. The application also provides a graphical front end to archiving programs such as tar and zip, making it suitable for users who prefer visual archive management while still working with common Linux archiving tools.
Its format coverage is a major strength. File Roller supports formats including 7z, ace, ar, arj, cab, cpio, deb, dmg, iso, jar, rar, rpm, tar and its compressed variants, zip, cbz, gz, bz2, xz, zst, and others. The published feature set also includes password protection, encryption of archive file lists when supported, and creation of multivolume archives. Integration with tar, zip, and Nautilus further suits Linux desktop workflows, while command-line opening of multiple files gives it a practical option for users who combine graphical and terminal-based work.
File Roller is distributed as open-source software under the GPL-2.0 license and is available on Linux. Its capabilities depend on the external archiving utilities and libraries installed on the system, so the available format and security functions can vary with that environment. Choose File Roller if you want a broad, graphical archive manager integrated with a GNOME-oriented Linux workflow. Users seeking a cross-platform product or a self-contained archiving application should consider a different tool.
File Roller pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Supports a broad range of archive and compressed-file formats
- Creates, modifies, extracts, and inspects archive contents
- Offers encryption, multivolume archives, and command-line opening
- Where it doesn't
- Available for Linux desktop environments
- Feature availability depends on installed utilities and libraries
- Relies on external archiving programs such as tar and zip
File Roller fact sheet, pricing and score →
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