Linux

MCZ on Linux

MCZ runs on Debian, Ubuntu (24.04 and compatible) and their derivatives: the same archives, the same command line, the MCZ app and MCZ Copy. On Ubuntu it fits into the desktop too: archives open like folders in Files.

New in 1.9.11: archives as folders in Files

Double-click an .mcz archive in GNOME Files and it opens like a folder, the way a .zip file does. Browse the folders inside, open any file with its usual program, or drag files out to copy them. Even a large archive opens at once: each file is unpacked, and checked, only when you open it. The archive is read-only there; add files with the MCZ app's Browser tab.

An MCZ right-click menu

Right-click an archive for Browse in Files, Open in MCZ, Extract here, Extract to folder, Verify and Compress with MCZ. Files and folders get Compress with MCZ, and the background of a folder Compress this folder with MCZ.

Close it when you're done

An opened archive stays open until you close it: right-click the background inside it and choose Close this archive, or log out. The files MCZ unpacked for you are removed when it closes.

From a terminal too

mcz mount archive.mcz shows an archive as a read-only folder (--open opens it in the file manager), mcz mount on its own lists the open ones, and mcz umount closes it.

Other file managers

Dolphin and other file managers open archives as folders on a double-click too. The right-click menu is for GNOME Files.

Installing

Download the .deb package from the Download page and install it:

sudo apt install ./mcz_*_amd64.deb

That installs everything, including fuse3, which opening archives as folders needs. The MCZ right-click menu in Files needs python3-nautilus, which comes with it unless you turned recommended packages off. If the menu is missing, install it and then close and reopen Files:

sudo apt install python3-nautilus

Other distributions can use the tarball on the Download page. Upgrading is the same command with the newer package; sudo apt remove mcz uninstalls and keeps your settings and licence key.

Everything else works the same

The MCZ app has the same tabs as on Windows: Browser, Backup, Compress, Profile, MCP and Updates. See the GUI page.
MCZ Copy shares folders between Linux and Windows PCs by PIN. See the Copy page.
The job queue keeps MCZ jobs taking turns; its page is at http://127.0.0.1:48631/.
AI assistants can run MCZ through the MCP server. See the AI page.

The Linux user manuals for MCZ and MCZ Copy are on the Download page, and are installed under /usr/share/doc/mcz/.