Host a BZ2 file and share it as a link
Put a bzip2-compressed file online at its own address — better compression than gzip, slower to produce.
Drop your BZ2 file here
Any other file works too — up to 25.0 MB, or 100.0 MB for a whole site
Free to use. Your BZ2 file is live at your-name.99helpers.site in about ten seconds.
What is a .bz2 file?
Bzip2 compresses better than gzip — typically 10–15% smaller — at the cost of being considerably slower both to compress and decompress. It was the standard for large source releases before xz largely took over.
What people use BZ2 files for
- Large source code releases
- Backups where size matters more than speed
- Scientific datasets
- Archives distributed once and downloaded often
What opens a BZ2 file
- bzip2, on every Unix-like system
- macOS Finder, which unpacks it
- 7-Zip on Windows
- Every language, via a bzip2 library
How to host a BZ2 file
- 1
Drop your BZ2 file in
Drag it onto the box at the top of this page, or click to choose it. Files up to 25 MB are supported, and nothing is uploaded until you publish.
- 2
Pick an address
Type a name and we'll tell you straight away whether it's free. That becomes the link: archive.99helpers.site
- 3
Publish and share
Create a free account — that step exists so the file is yours to update, replace or delete — and the link is live within seconds.
The same three steps work for any file — see how file hosting works on 99helpers.com.
What happens when someone opens the link
The file downloads and decompresses with standard tools on macOS and Linux; Windows needs 7-Zip.
Why host a BZ2 file instead of emailing it?
Bzip2 is chosen when a file is large enough that compression ratio matters, which is exactly when email fails and a link helps.
Worth knowing before you publish
- xz compresses better still and is now more common for source releases.
- Decompression is slow — for something downloaded frequently, gzip may serve users better.
- Usually paired with tar as .tar.bz2.
BZ2 hosting questions
- bzip2, gzip or xz?
- gzip is fastest, xz compresses best, bzip2 sits between them. For new work, gzip for speed or xz for size — bzip2 is increasingly a legacy choice.
- How do I open a .bz2 on Windows?
- 7-Zip handles it. macOS and Linux decompress it with built-in tools.
- Why is decompression slow?
- Bzip2's algorithm trades speed for compression ratio in both directions. That's the deliberate design.
Put your BZ2 file online now
It takes about ten seconds, and you only make an account once the file is ready to go live.
Hosting guides for related formats
BZ2 is one of over 211 formats you can host — see free file hosting for any file type for the full list, or read the hosting guides for other file types.