Modded versions of 7-Zip that include LZ4 support significantly transform the tool from a high-ratio, slow-speed archiver into a high-performance utility capable of near-instant data processing. While standard 7-Zip excels at making files as small as possible using LZMA/LZMA2, modded versions like 7-Zip-zstd add codecs designed for extreme speed and real-time use. Why LZ4 is Included in Modded 7-Zip
LZ4, developed by Yann Collet, is a lossless compression algorithm designed for speed and efficiency. Its primary goal is to provide fast compression and decompression speeds while maintaining a reasonable compression ratio. LZ4 achieves this through its unique approach to compression, which focuses on finding repeated patterns in data and representing them in a compact form.
7-Zip ZS (by mcmilk) already adds LZ4, LZ5, Zstd, and Brotli to 7-Zip. You can find it on GitHub.
If you don’t want a modded build, use native tools:
Warning 1: Incompatibility with stock 7‑Zip
A .7z archive compressed with LZ4 cannot be opened by the official 7‑Zip. It will throw an “Unsupported compression method” error. Recipients must also use the modded version. If you want cross-compatibility, use .zip with LZ4 (less common) or stick to standard formats.
Since both 7‑Zip (LGPL) and LZ4 (BSD) are open source, modded builds are legal and common. However, they’re unofficial — you won’t find LZ4 in Igor Pavlov’s original branch. Stick to builds from trusted sources to avoid backdoors or broken archives.
3. Database Backups
If you run a local SQL database or a VM sandbox, dumping the folder to an LZ4 7z file takes seconds, minimizing downtime.
The primary way to use LZ4 within 7-Zip is through a popular fork known as 7-Zip ZS (Zstandard) or by adding the Modern7z plugin to a standard installation. Standard 7-Zip does not natively support LZ4. Overview of 7-Zip ZS (Modded Version)