How to Extract Multiple ZIP Files at Once in Windows 10 and 11

Downloaded a batch of ZIP files, like photo albums split into parts or a set of course materials, and don’t want to unzip them one at a time? File Explorer in Windows 10 and 11 can only extract one ZIP at a time with Extract All. But you can extract dozens at once with a free tool like 7-Zip, or with a one-line PowerShell command that’s already built into Windows. This guide covers both.

Quick Answer

With 7-Zip: Select all the ZIP files in File Explorer, right-click, and choose 7-Zip > Extract to “*\”. Each ZIP is extracted into its own folder. Without extra software: Open PowerShell in the folder and run Get-ChildItem *.zip | ForEach-Object { Expand-Archive $_.FullName -DestinationPath $_.BaseName }.

Why Extract All Doesn’t Work for Multiple Files

If you select several ZIP files in File Explorer and right-click, Extract All either doesn’t appear or extracts only one file. Windows’ built-in ZIP support handles one archive at a time. Windows 11 added support for more formats (such as .7z and .rar) in recent versions, but still extracts them one by one.

Method 1: 7-Zip (Free, Easiest)

1. Download 7-Zip from the official site, 7-zip.org, and install the 64-bit version.
2. Open the folder containing your ZIP files.
3. Select them all: click the first, hold Shift, and click the last, or press Ctrl + A if the folder contains only ZIPs.
4. Right-click the selection. In Windows 11, choose Show more options first (or hold Shift while right-clicking), or look for 7-Zip in the new menu if your version adds it there.
5. Choose 7-Zip, then one of:
   • Extract to “*\”: each ZIP goes into its own folder named after the file (recommended).
   • Extract Here: all contents go into the current folder (files with the same name may conflict).
   • Extract files…: choose a destination and options.

7-Zip also handles .rar, .7z, .tar, and .gz files, and asks for a password if an archive is protected.

Method 2: PowerShell (Built In)

1. Open the folder with your ZIP files in File Explorer.
2. Click the address bar, type powershell, and press Enter. PowerShell opens in that folder. (In Windows 11, you can also right-click an empty area and choose Open in Terminal.)
3. Run this command:
   Get-ChildItem *.zip | ForEach-Object { Expand-Archive -Path $_.FullName -DestinationPath $_.BaseName -Force }
4. Each ZIP is extracted to a folder with the same name as the ZIP file.

Variations:

• Extract everything into one folder: Get-ChildItem *.zip | ForEach-Object { Expand-Archive $_.FullName -DestinationPath “Extracted” -Force }
• Include ZIPs in subfolders: add -Recurse after *.zip, and use (Join-Path $_.DirectoryName $_.BaseName) as the destination.
• -Force overwrites existing files. Remove it if you’d rather get an error than overwrite.

Expand-Archive works only with .zip files and doesn’t support password-protected archives.

Method 3: Command Prompt With tar

Windows 10 (version 1803 and later) and Windows 11 include the tar tool, which can extract ZIP files. In Command Prompt, in the folder with your ZIPs, run:

for %f in (*.zip) do (mkdir “%~nf” & tar -xf “%f” -C “%~nf”)

This creates a folder for each ZIP and extracts into it. In a .bat file, use %%f and %%~nf instead.

Method 4: Other Archive Apps

WinRAR, PeaZip, and Bandizip also offer “Extract each archive to separate folder” options when you select multiple files. PeaZip and Bandizip have free versions.

Multi-Part Archives

Files named like archive.zip.001, .002 or archive.part1.rar, part2.rar are one archive split into pieces, not separate archives. Put all parts in the same folder and extract only the first part with 7-Zip; it joins them automatically.

Troubleshooting

• “Path too long” errors: Extract closer to the drive root (for example, C:\Unzip) to shorten paths.
• Some files fail to extract: The ZIP may be corrupted or incompletely downloaded. Download it again.
• Windows blocks the files: Files downloaded from the internet may be marked as blocked. Right-click the ZIP, choose Properties, and check Unblock before extracting, but only for files you trust.

Summary

1. File Explorer extracts only one ZIP at a time.
2. With 7-Zip, select all ZIPs and choose Extract to “*\”.
3. Without extra software, use the PowerShell Expand-Archive command.
4. For split archives, extract only the first part.