🔧 How to Open a .nupkg File by Renaming It to .zip (And What to Do If It Doesn’t Work)

If you've ever worked with NuGet packages, you've likely come across files with the .nupkg extension. These are essentially ZIP archives that contain compiled code, metadata, and other resources used in .NET projects. But what if you want to peek inside?

✅ The Quick Tip

You can rename a .nupkg file to .zip and open it like any regular archive. For example:

MyPackage.nupkg → MyPackage.zip

Then, just double-click to explore its contents.

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🛠️ What to Do If Renaming Doesn’t Work

Sometimes, simply renaming the file doesn’t seem to do the trick. Here are a few things to check:

1. Make Sure File Extensions Are Visible

Windows hides known file extensions by default. This can lead to mistakes like renaming MyPackage.nupkg to MyPackage.zip.nupkg.

Fix it:

• Open File Explorer
• Go to the View tab
• Check File name extensions

2. Use a Zip Tool Directly

Instead of renaming, right-click the .nupkg file and choose:

• Open with → 7-Zip
• Open with → WinRAR
• Or extract it using the Windows built-in zip extractor