EXTRACTORX

Open-source bulk archive extraction tool for Windows
Inspired by ExtractNow by Nathan Moinvaziri

Drag-and-drop batch extraction with password cycling, nested archive support,
directory monitoring, and a premium themed interface. The original PowerShell app is preserved, and a modular Python port is now included.

Features

Core Extraction

• Batch extraction — queue hundreds of archives and extract them all at once
• 29 archive formats — ZIP, 7Z, RAR, TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ, ZSTD, ISO, CAB, ARJ, LZH, WIM, CPIO, RPM, DEB, and more
• Multi-volume archive detection — automatically groups split archives (.part1.rar, .7z.001, etc.) and only extracts the first volume
• Nested extraction — recursively extracts archives within archives up to configurable depth
• Password cycling — automatically tries a stored password list against encrypted archives (DPAPI encrypted storage)
• Deep archive detection — identifies archives by magic bytes when file extensions are missing or wrong
• Verbose real-time output — see every file as it's extracted, with color-coded log entries

Interface

• Custom chrome — frameless window with branded title bar, no default Windows UI
• Multiple themes — Midnight, Graphite, Ocean, and White themes across the main window, settings, dialogs, and menus
• Virtualized ListView — handles 10,000+ queued items without lag
• Color-coded status rows — green (success), red (failed), blue (extracting), yellow (password required), gray (queued)
• Drag & drop — drop files or entire folders onto the window to queue archives
• Progress bar — thin accent-colored bar tracks extraction progress across the batch
• Column sorting — click any column header to sort ascending/descending
• Selection info — status bar shows count and total size of selected items
• System tray — minimizes to tray with live extraction status, context menu for quick actions
• Completion sounds — audible notification on batch success or failure

Automation

• Watch folders — monitor directories for new archives and extract automatically
• Windows Explorer context menu — right-click integration for Extract Here, Extract to Folder, Add to Queue, and Search for Archives
• External processors — route specific file extensions to custom commands after extraction
• Output path macros — template-based output paths with {ArchiveFolder}, {ArchiveName}, {Date}, {Guid}, and more
• Command-line support — pass files/folders as arguments or use -TargetPath to override output

Post-Extraction

• Post actions — do nothing, recycle, move to folder, or permanently delete source archives after success
• Duplicate folder removal — eliminates the redundant archive/archive/ nesting pattern
• Single file rename — renames lone extracted files to match the archive name
• Broken file cleanup — optionally deletes output when extraction fails

Requirements

• Windows 10/11 with PowerShell 5.1+ for the legacy WPF app
• Python 3.10+ for the modular Python port
• 7-Zip — auto-detected from standard install paths, or downloaded automatically if not found

The Python port uses the standard library Tkinter UI and does not require third-party packages.

Installation

Option 1: Direct Download

Download `ExtractorX.ps1` and run it:

.\ExtractorX.ps1

Option 2: Clone

git clone https://github.com/SysAdminDoc/ExtractorX.git
cd ExtractorX
.\ExtractorX.ps1

Execution Policy

If PowerShell blocks the script, run once:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

Usage

Quick Start

1. Run ExtractorX.ps1 for the original WPF app, or python ExtractorX.py for the Python port
2. Drag archives onto the PowerShell window, or click Add Files / Scan Folder
3. Click Extract

Python Port

The Python implementation is organized into modules under extractorx/:

ExtractorX.py              # Python entrypoint
ExtractorX.Legacy.ps1      # Preserved copy of the polished PowerShell app
extractorx/
  app.py                   # Bootstrap and dependency wiring
  config.py                # Config defaults, normalization, persistence
  archive.py               # Archive detection, magic bytes, output paths
  extractor.py             # 7-Zip extraction service
  watcher.py               # Dependency-free watch-folder service
  passwords.py             # DPAPI-backed password store
  postprocess.py           # Cleanup, post-actions, external processors
  shell_integration.py     # Explorer context menu registry integration
  windows_integration.py   # Native drag/drop and tray icon bridge
  ui.py                    # Tkinter desktop interface

Run it with:

python .\ExtractorX.py
python .\ExtractorX.py --target "D:\Extracted" "C:\Downloads\archive.zip"
python .\ExtractorX.py --test "C:\Downloads\archive.zip"
python .\ExtractorX.py --extract-here --auto-extract "C:\Downloads\archive.zip"

Current Python parity plus v2.3 additions: batch extraction, archive testing, password cycling, remembered batch passwords, password retry prompts, password text-file import, password entropy meter, skip-after-N-failed-passwords policy, nested extraction, watch folders with batched auto-extract, native Windows drag/drop, minimize-to-tray behavior, post-actions, file exclusions and include masks, the full legacy output-macro set plus {Program Files}, persistent log history, external processors, Explorer context menus, file associations, queue sorting, selected-item summaries, status-colored rows, completion sounds, right-click queue actions, live theme swapping, Smart Extract policy (Auto/AlwaysWrap/NeverWrap), filename encoding override, parallel extraction, pre/post/on-failure lifecycle hooks, backend selector for 7-Zip / 7-Zip ZS / NanaZip, handler allowlist, bookmarks menu, Identify button / --identify CLI, Export Script toolbar action, URL argument support, and portable mode (drop a portable.flag sibling file to relocate config/logs to ExtractorX.data/).

Tests live under tests/ and run with:

python -m unittest discover -s tests

Command Line

# Extract specific files
.\ExtractorX.ps1 "C:\Downloads\archive.7z" "C:\Downloads\backup.rar"

# Extract to a specific directory
.\ExtractorX.ps1 -TargetPath "D:\Extracted" "C:\Downloads\*.zip"

# Start minimized to tray
.\ExtractorX.ps1 -minimizetotray

Output Path Macros

Default: {ArchiveFolder}\{ArchiveName} — extracts next to the archive into a folder matching its name.

Context Menu Integration

Enable in Settings > Explorer to add right-click options for archives and folders in Windows Explorer. Supports grouped submenus or flat entries.

Watch Folders

Add directories in Settings > Monitor to automatically detect and extract new archives as they appear. Useful for download folders.

Password Management

Add passwords in Settings > Passwords. Passwords are encrypted with Windows DPAPI and stored locally. ExtractorX cycles through the list automatically when it encounters an encrypted archive. Import from a text file (one password per line) for bulk loading.

Settings

ExtractorX has 9 settings tabs:

Configuration is stored in %APPDATA%\ExtractorX\config.json.

Supported Formats

Multi-volume archives (.part1.rar, .7z.001, .zip.001) are automatically detected — only the first volume is queued, and 7-Zip handles the rest.

Architecture

ExtractorX.ps1 (single file, ~2,500 lines)
│
├── UI Thread (STA)
│   ├── WPF Window (custom chrome, theme system)
│   ├── Virtualized ListView (10k+ items)
│   ├── DispatcherTimer (100ms polling)
│   └── Event handlers (drag/drop, sorting, selection)
│
├── Extraction Runspace (background thread)
│   ├── 7z.exe invocation (-bb1 -bsp1 verbose flags)
│   ├── ConcurrentQueue real-time output streaming
│   ├── Password cycling (silent probe then verbose extract)
│   ├── Nested archive recursion
│   └── Post-action processing
│
├── Scan Runspace (background thread)
│   ├── Recursive directory enumeration
│   ├── Extension + magic bytes detection
│   ├── Multi-volume part filtering
│   └── Batch UI updates via synchronized queue
│
└── Watch System (FileSystemWatcher per folder)
    ├── Debounced file detection
    └── Auto-queue with optional auto-extract

Credits

• 7-Zip by Igor Pavlov — 7-zip.org (LGPL)
• ExtractNow by Nathan Moinvaziri — original inspiration for the workflow and feature set

License

MIT