ARCHive

ARCHive is a compact Windows 11 desktop utility for ordinary users who need to copy files and folders, create 7z or ZIP archives, or extract archives without learning command-line tools.

The current public build is 1.2.1-beta4, a seven-day testing release.

Download the Beta

Download the installer, instructions, disclosures, and editable questionnaire from the v1.2.1-beta4 release.

The installer is not code-signed. Windows may display an Unknown publisher or SmartScreen warning. Do not bypass organizational security policy.

Current Features

• Copy one or many files and folders in a single dated job.
• Create verified 7z and ZIP archives from mixed selections.
• Extract one 7z or ZIP archive into a dated destination.
• Pause and resume eligible multi-file copies between files.
• Clean up incomplete output conservatively after cancellation.
• Show measured percentage, byte progress, and transfer/processing speed.
• Explain storage stalls with a waiting for storage status.
• Verify copy totals and archives before reporting success.
• Reject unsafe archive paths, links, and unsupported passwords.
• Open the completed destination or local diagnostic record directly.
• Keep structured diagnostic records locally with 30-day retention.
• Run from a compact, fixed-size, native WPF interface.
• Right-click context menu: Copy with ARCHive, Archive with ARCHive, Extract with ARCHive for .7z and .zip files.

Database backup, disk imaging, cloning, mirroring, source deletion, scheduling, cloud accounts, telemetry, and automatic updates are intentionally outside the version 1 scope.

Seven-Day Beta

The testing period begins on first launch and lasts seven consecutive days. ARCHive checks the trial only at startup, so an operation already running is never interrupted by expiry.

The encrypted local trial record is stored under %LOCALAPPDATA%\ARCHive\Beta. It is not uploaded. Reinstalling does not restart the trial, and a significant Windows clock rollback locks the beta.

See INSTALLATION_DISCLOSURE.txt and LOGGING_AND_PRIVACY.md before testing.

Build from Source

Requirements:

• Windows 11 x64
• .NET 10 SDK
• Inno Setup 6
• PowerShell
• Git

Clone and build:

git clone https://github.com/xXGunborgXx/ARCHive.git
Set-Location ARCHive
.\scripts\Build-Preview.ps1

The script restores dependencies, builds the solution, runs unit and integration tests, publishes a self-contained win-x64 application, and compiles the installer.

Outputs are written to:

artifacts\publish\win-x64\
installer\output\ARCHive-Beta-1.2.1-beta4-7day-Setup.exe

The required 7-Zip runtime components and their license files are retained in third_party\7zip\26.02\runtime.

Run Tests

dotnet test .\ARCHive.sln --configuration Release

The beta baseline contains 48 unit tests and 26 integration tests.

For real throughput testing, use the physically written test-data scripts:

.\scripts\New-ARCHiveCopyTestData.ps1 `
    -OutputDirectory D:\ARCHive-Test-Source `
    -FileSizeGB 8,39

.\scripts\Test-ARCHiveCopyTestData.ps1 `
    -TestDirectory 'E:\ARCHive-Test-Output'

Use disposable data or keep another verified copy of every important file.

Contribute

Bug reports, usability feedback, documentation corrections, and focused pull requests are welcome. Start with CONTRIBUTING.md.

• Use GitHub Issues for reproducible bugs and feature suggestions.
• Do not post diagnostic JSON without reviewing it; logs can contain full local file and folder paths.
• Keep database backup proposals separate from this repository.
• Report security or data-integrity concerns privately as described in SECURITY.md.

Beta testers may also complete ARCHive_Beta_Test_Questionnaire.docx from the release and email it to GunborgServers@gmail.com.

License and Third-Party Components

ARCHive source code is available under the MIT License. Bundled 7-Zip components retain their own licensing terms; see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.txt.