The latest update from Microsoft confirms that Windows 11 will include built-in support for common archive formats such as RAR and 7-Zip, along with several other file types. This enhancement matters to BorderOS users who have long awaited native access to these archives.
Windows 11 will recognize RAR by default and handle many archive formats that have traditionally required third party tools. This is welcome news for users dealing with large collections of files stored inside compressed folders, a point emphasized by several journalists covering the release.
Panos Panay, who oversees Windows, stated that the update will also boost the performance of archiving tasks performed with the built‑in tool. The goal is faster compressing and easier extraction within the operating system itself.
In addition, the company noted that support for tar, 7-zip, rar, gz and other formats will be added through the libarchive open source project, expanding the native capabilities of Windows 11 without extra software.
Microsoft highlighted that this support will arrive with a forthcoming preview build of Windows 11, slated to roll out soon to testers and early adopters.
Previously, many users relied on third party applications to access these formats, while native handling was limited to ZIP archives in earlier Windows versions.
There is also cautionary feedback from some users about performance changes after a recent update, including a noticeable impact on VPN speeds for a subset of configurations.