Rusty Compress

A modern, cross-platform desktop archive manager built with Tauri (Rust backend) and React (frontend). Rusty Compress provides a unified, efficient interface for browsing, extracting, and managing various archive formats including ZIP, TAR, and RAR archives.

Features

Multi-Format Support: ZIP, JAR, APK, XAPK, IPA, TAR, TAR.GZ, TGZ, TAR.BZ2, TBZ2, single-file GZ / BZ2, and RAR archives. 7z archives can be created (via the external 7z tool)
Password-Protected Archives: Browse, view, preview, and extract encrypted ZIP (ZipCrypto and AES) and RAR archives. The app asks for the password and remembers it per tab
Unified Interface: Browse both filesystem directories and archive contents seamlessly
File Extraction: Extract individual files or entire archives with progress tracking. Entries whose paths try to escape the destination folder (.., absolute paths) are skipped
macOS Finder Integration: Right-click an archive in Finder to choose Extract Here with Rusty or Rusty Extract To…. Extraction runs in the background with only a small progress window
Preview Capabilities: View images directly from archives without full extraction
Checksum Verification: Compute MD5, SHA1, SHA256, and SHA512 checksums with real-time progress
Native macOS Look: Neutral grays, one blue accent, and the system font (SF Pro). Follows the system Light and Dark modes
Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
System Integration: Automatic file associations for supported archive types
Efficient Performance: Rust backend for fast archive operations

Screenshots

Main Interface Archive Browsing Extraction Progress

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

Node.js (v16 or higher) - Download
npm or yarn - Comes with Node.js
Rust (latest stable) - Install via rustup
System Dependencies:
- macOS: Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install)
- Linux: Build essentials and libwebkit2gtk (see Tauri prerequisites)
- Windows: Microsoft C++ Build Tools and WebView2

Installation

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/vanhonit/rusty-compress.git
cd rusty-compress

Install Dependencies

npm install

Development

Start Development Server

Run the full Tauri development environment (recommended):

npm run tauri dev

This will:

Build the Rust backend
Start the Vite development server (port 1420)
Launch the application window with hot-reload enabled

Frontend-Only Development

For frontend-only changes:

npm run dev

This starts the Vite dev server on port 1420 with HMR on port 1421.

Backend Development

cd src-tauri
cargo build
cargo test
cargo clippy --all-targets

The Rust unit tests cover ZIP and RAR password checks, TAR extraction (including entries larger than 8 KB), single-file gzip and bzip2 round trips, path-safety helpers, and Finder URL parsing.

Building for Production

Build React Frontend

npm run build

Build Complete Application

npm run tauri build

This creates platform-specific installers in src-tauri/target/release/bundle/:

macOS: .dmg installer
Windows: .exe installer and .msi
Linux: .AppImage, .deb, and .rpm packages

Build the macOS App with the Finder Extension

npm run build:mac                  # app with the Finder extension, signed
npm run build:mac -- --install     # also copy to /Applications and register the extension

See macOS Finder Extension below. This needs Xcode Command Line Tools.

Project Structure

rusty-compress/
├── src/                          # React frontend
│   ├── components/               # Tab bar and tab components
│   │   ├── Tab.jsx
│   │   └── TabBar.jsx
│   ├── contexts/TabContext.jsx   # Multi-tab state (includes the per-tab archive password)
│   ├── modules/
│   │   ├── FileManager/          # Main file browsing interface
│   │   ├── Extract/              # Extraction progress window and password prompt
│   │   ├── Archive/              # Create-archive modal and progress window
│   │   └── Checksum/             # Checksum computation modal
│   ├── index.css                 # Global styles and semantic color tokens
│   └── main.jsx                  # React entry point
├── src-tauri/                    # Rust backend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── lib.rs               # Tauri commands, extraction orchestration, CLI
│   │   ├── data_type.rs         # Shared data structures
│   │   ├── utils.rs             # Archive type detection, safe_join, password error prefixes
│   │   ├── file_manager.rs      # Filesystem operations
│   │   ├── zip.rs               # ZIP archive handler (including passwords)
│   │   ├── tar.rs               # TAR archive handler
│   │   ├── compressed.rs        # Single-file gzip / bzip2 handler
│   │   ├── rar.rs               # RAR archive handler (including passwords)
│   │   ├── sevenz.rs            # 7z creation via the external 7z CLI
│   │   └── finder.rs            # macOS Finder request parsing
│   ├── tests/fixtures/           # Test archives (crypted.rar, password "unrar")
│   ├── Cargo.toml               # Rust dependencies
│   ├── Info.plist               # URL scheme registration (rustycompress://)
│   └── tauri.conf.json          # Tauri configuration
├── macos/FinderExtension/        # FinderSync extension (right-click menu)
├── scripts/build-macos.sh        # Backs `npm run build:mac`
├── package.json                  # Node.js dependencies
└── CLAUDE.md                     # Project documentation

Usage

Opening Archives

File Association: Double-click any supported archive file in your file manager
In-App: Browse to an archive and open it
Command Line: rusty-compress <archive> opens it in the app. rusty-compress extract <archive> [--here | --to <dest>] extracts it (see below)

Password-Protected Archives

ZIP (ZipCrypto or AES) and RAR archives that have a password open with a password prompt
The password is kept per tab and reused for browsing, previews, and extraction
A wrong password shows "incorrect password" and asks again
Extraction checks the password before the progress window opens

Extracting Files

Browse to an archive and select the files you want to extract
Click Extract… in the toolbar and choose a destination folder
Monitor progress in the extraction window

Extract Here extracts into the folder that contains the archive.

From the command line, rusty-compress extract <archive> --to <dest> extracts to a folder, and --here (or no option) extracts next to the archive.

Extracting from Finder (macOS)

Right-click an archive in Finder and choose Extract Here with Rusty or Rusty Extract To…. See the macOS Finder Extension section.

Computing Checksums

Open an archive (the Checksum button is enabled while an archive is open)
Click Checksum in the toolbar
Click Compute next to the algorithm you need (MD5, SHA1, SHA256, SHA512)
View real-time progress and the result

Previewing Images

Hover over an image inside an archive to see a preview
Double-click an image to open it in your system viewer. The file is extracted to a temporary folder that is deleted when the last window closes
Single-file .gz and .bz2 images can be previewed up to 50 MiB

Tauri Commands

The frontend calls these with invoke, using camelCase argument names. ? marks an optional argument. The full reference is in docs/api.md.

Command	Arguments
`read_directory`	`path`
`open_file`	`path`, `filePath?`
`archive_file_details`	`sourcePath`, `filePath?`, `password?`
`extract_files`	`archivePath`, `outputPath`, `selectedFiles?`, `password?`
`view_file_in_archive`	`archivePath`, `fileName`, `password?`
`get_image_preview`	`archivePath`, `filePath`, `password?` (returns a data URL)
`compute_checksum`	`filePath`, `algorithm`
`path_exists`	`path`
`create_archive`	`files`, `outputPath`, `archiveFormat` (`zip`, `tar`, `7z`), `compressionLevel`
`take_files`	none (drains file-open paths buffered before the UI was ready)

Development Notes

Architecture

Frontend: React 18 with Vite, Tailwind CSS for styling
Backend: Rust with Tauri 2.x for native desktop capabilities
Communication: Tauri commands expose Rust functions to React
State Management: React hooks for frontend, Tauri State for backend

Key Patterns

Async Operations: Long-running tasks use tauri::async_runtime::spawn_blocking
Progress Reporting: Events emitted via app_handle.emit()
Temporary Files: Managed with tempfile::TempDir, auto-cleanup on window close
File Associations: Configured in tauri.conf.json

Testing

cd src-tauri
cargo test

There are no frontend tests.

Code Quality

cd src-tauri
cargo clippy --all-targets

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Make your changes
Run tests and linting
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

Development Guidelines

Follow existing code style and patterns
Write tests for new features
Update documentation as needed
Ensure all tests pass before submitting PR

File Type Support

Format	List / view / preview	Extract	Create	Password
ZIP family (zip, jar, apk, xapk, ipa)	yes	yes	yes (`zip`)	yes (ZipCrypto + AES)
TAR family (tar, tar.gz, tgz, tar.bz2, tbz2)	yes	yes	yes (`tar`, uncompressed)	n/a
Single-file gzip / bzip2 (gz, bz2)	yes (one entry)	yes	no	n/a
RAR	yes	yes	no	yes
7z	no	no	yes, via external `7z` CLI	no

ZIP family: .zip, .jar, .apk, .xapk, .ipa
TAR family: .tar, .tar.gz, .tgz, .tar.bz2, .tbz2 (open as folders)
Single-file gzip / bzip2: .gz, .bz2. These show as one entry named after the file (kubeconfig.gz lists kubeconfig). .bz2 entries show size 0 because the format has no size field
RAR: .rar
7z: .7z. Creation only; requires the 7z command-line tool

macOS Finder Extension (right-click Extract)

Right-click a supported archive in Finder to see Extract Here with Rusty and Rusty Extract To…. The items appear only when every selected item is a supported archive: zip family (zip, jar, apk, xapk, ipa), tar family (tar, tar.gz, tgz, tar.bz2, tbz2), gz, bz2, and rar. 7z is not offered.

Extract Here with Rusty extracts each selected archive into the folder that contains it.
Rusty Extract To… asks for a destination folder and extracts the selected archives there. Cancelling the picker does nothing.
Password-protected archives open the main window so you can enter the password.
Extraction runs in the background and shows only a small progress window. If the main window was never opened, the app quits when the last progress window closes (or when the folder picker is cancelled). Clicking the Dock icon shows the main window.
macOS places the items in Finder's extension section of the context menu, near Quick Actions. Apps have no API to move them. The icons are white.

The extension is a FinderSync .appex in macos/FinderExtension/. It sends rustycompress://extract?mode=here|to&path=<absolute path> to the app. The app accepts only existing local archive files, and Extract To always asks for a folder.

Requirements

Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install) for swiftc and lipo
A code-signing identity. A free Apple ID works for your own Mac: create an "Apple Development" certificate in Xcode > Settings > Accounts. Without one, the build falls back to ad-hoc signing, which works locally but may be blocked elsewhere.

Build and install

npm run build:mac                          # builds the app with the extension, signed
npm run build:mac -- --install             # also copies to /Applications and registers the extension
npm run build:mac -- --skip-tauri --install --restart-finder   # reuse the last build; restart Finder
npm run build:mac -- --dmg                 # also creates a DMG

The first signed run may show a keychain prompt. Click Always Allow.

Enable the extension

Open System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions > Finder and turn on Rusty Compress. Or run:

pluginkit -e use -i com.rusty-compress.app.FinderExtension

Verify it is registered; a leading + means enabled:

pluginkit -m -i com.rusty-compress.app.FinderExtension

If the menu does not appear, run killall Finder.

Uninstall

pluginkit -e ignore -i com.rusty-compress.app.FinderExtension
rm -rf "/Applications/Rusty Compress.app"

Limitations

Free and ad-hoc signed builds are not notarized. On another Mac, remove the quarantine flag with xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Rusty Compress.app", or use Privacy & Security > Open Anyway. Then enable the extension manually as above.
Distributing to other users needs a paid Developer ID certificate and notarization.
Any app can open rustycompress:// URLs. The app only acts on existing local archive files, and Extract To always asks for a folder.

Troubleshooting

Build Issues

Rust compilation fails:

rustup update
cargo clean
cargo build

Frontend dependencies fail:

rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
npm install

Runtime Issues

Archive not opening:

Ensure the file format is supported (7z can be created, but not opened)
Check file permissions
Verify the file is not corrupted

Password prompt keeps appearing:

The password is wrong. For a damaged encrypted RAR, the app may also report an incorrect password (a RAR4 limitation)

Extraction fails:

Check disk space
Verify write permissions to the destination
Entries whose paths try to escape the destination are skipped

Roadmap

7z read and extract support
Archive creation improvements (zip directory contents, compression levels)
Split archive handling
Batch extraction from multiple archives inside the app
Archive search functionality
Custom themes and UI customization

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

Tauri - Framework for building desktop apps
React - UI library
Vite - Build tool
Rust - Backend language

Contact

GitHub Issues: Report bugs or request features
Discussions: Ask questions and share ideas

Built with ❤️ using Tauri and React

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.claude		.claude
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
.vscode		.vscode
docs		docs
macos/FinderExtension		macos/FinderExtension
public		public
scripts		scripts
src-tauri		src-tauri
src		src
.claudeignore		.claudeignore
.gitignore		.gitignore
AGENT.md		AGENT.md
CLAUDE.md		CLAUDE.md
README.md		README.md
app-icon.png		app-icon.png
index.html		index.html
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
package.json		package.json
tailwind.config.js		tailwind.config.js
vite.config.js		vite.config.js

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Rusty Compress

Features

Screenshots

Prerequisites

Installation

Clone the Repository

Install Dependencies

Development

Start Development Server

Frontend-Only Development

Backend Development

Building for Production

Build React Frontend

Build Complete Application

Build the macOS App with the Finder Extension

Project Structure

Usage

Opening Archives

Password-Protected Archives

Extracting Files

Extracting from Finder (macOS)

Computing Checksums

Previewing Images

Tauri Commands

Development Notes

Architecture

Key Patterns

Testing

Code Quality

Contributing

Development Guidelines

File Type Support

macOS Finder Extension (right-click Extract)

Requirements

Build and install

Enable the extension

Uninstall

Limitations

Troubleshooting

Build Issues

Runtime Issues

Roadmap

License

Acknowledgments

Contact

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