AR Converter
FileFlip converts AR files into 11 other formats entirely inside your browser, using libarchive compiled to WebAssembly. The AR file is never uploaded to a server: it is read off your disk, converted on your own machine, and saved back by the browser. There is no file-size limit and no account to create.
How do I convert an AR file?#
- Drop your AR file onto the converter at the top of this page, or click it to pick one from your computer.
- Choose the format you want out of it. FileFlip downloads the engine that conversion needs, once, and your browser caches it.
- Conversion starts the moment you pick the format, and the result is yours to download. The work happens in this tab, so nothing is uploaded and nothing is queued.
Is it safe to convert AR files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts AR files inside the browser tab you already have open, using WebAssembly builds of the same engines a desktop converter would install. Your file is read from your own disk into the page's memory, and no request carrying it is ever made.
You do not have to take that on trust. Open your browser's network panel, run a conversion, and you will see the engine come down and your file go nowhere. There is no upload, no server-side copy, no retention window, and no account tied to what you converted.
How FileFlip works lists every engine, its version and its download size, and shows how to check for yourself that nothing leaves your machine.
What happens to a AR file#
FileFlip converts AR into 11 formats with libarchive, all of it inside the browser tab. Each conversion below names the engine it uses, what it downloads, and exactly what that conversion keeps or drops.
| Category | Archives |
|---|---|
| File extension | .ar |
| FileFlip support | Read only, so it is a source rather than a target |
| Conversions available | 11 |
| Engines | libarchive |
| Downloaded to your browser | 1.0 MB on the first conversion, then cached |
What is an AR file?#
An AR file is a Unix archive that concatenates one or more files behind a short per-file header, the format compilers use for static library .a files and that dpkg uses as the outer wrapper of a .deb package.
Reach for ar when linking a static library, where the .a file it produces is what the linker expects, or when inspecting the outer layer of a .deb package.
Convert an AR archive to tar or zip when the files inside need to be handled by tools that do not know the static-library-oriented ar format.
The AR file format reference covers the specification, the programs that open one, and what each conversion keeps or drops.
AR questions people ask#
What is an AR file used for today?
An AR file's two remaining jobs are holding compiled object files as a static library, with the .a extension, and serving as the outer wrapper of a Debian .deb package. Almost nothing else uses the format anymore.
How is an AR archive different from a TAR archive?
Both concatenate files with a header in front of each, but an AR archive has no directory structure and a much smaller fixed header, since it was built for flat collections like object files rather than whole folder trees. Tar became the general-purpose choice while ar stayed specialized.
Why does a .deb package use the ar format?
Debian's package format wraps three items, a version marker and two tarballs, in an ar archive because ar's layout is simple enough to parse without any real library, which keeps tools like dpkg lightweight and lets any ar-aware program open a .deb without understanding Debian packaging at all.