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Archive format

VSIX converter

A .vsix file is the extension package used by Visual Studio and, with a different manifest inside, by Visual Studio Code. It is an Open Packaging Conventions ZIP carrying an extension.vsixmanifest, the extension's own files, and the content-type map the installer reads in order to place them.

Private for supported formats — processed in your browser

Convert supported files

Runs on your device

Drop VSIX files here

Batch files can each use a different output. Nothing uploads for local conversions.

Working inputs include camera RAW, browser-local audio/video, PDF, CBZ/CBR comics, office documents, ebooks, markup, 3D models, structured text, images, and archives.

Where VSIX comes from

Microsoft introduced the format with Visual Studio 2010, replacing MSI-based extension installers so extensions could be installed per user without administrator rights. Visual Studio Code adopted the same container in 2015 and publishes Marketplace extensions using a package.json manifest inside an extension/ folder.

How VSIX works

  • The container is Open Packaging Conventions, so it always includes a [Content_Types].xml declaring how each file extension is handled.
  • extension.vsixmanifest is XML describing the identity, version, supported product versions, and installation targets.
  • VS Code packages place the extension's own package.json and compiled JavaScript under an extension/ directory.
  • Assets such as icons, changelogs, and readme files are declared in the manifest and surfaced by the Marketplace listing.
  • Publishers can sign a package, and Visual Studio surfaces the signature state before installing.

When to use VSIX

  • Inspecting an extension's declared activation events and dependencies before installing it.
  • Extracting bundled themes, snippets, or grammar files from an extension you already have.
  • Archiving a known-good extension version so a build environment can be reproduced.
  • Reading a marketplace download on a machine where the editor is not installed.

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Per-user installation without administrator rights, unlike the MSI installers it replaced.
  • The manifest states exactly which product versions are supported, so incompatibility surfaces early.
  • Plain ZIP inside, so inspection is possible without either editor.
  • One container serves both Visual Studio and VS Code tooling.

Limitations

  • Two different manifest conventions share the extension, which regularly confuses tooling.
  • Compiled or bundled extension code is minified, so extraction rarely yields readable sources.
  • Signature state is checked by the installer, not by generic archivers.

Compatibility

Visual Studio, VS Code, and the vsce and VSIXInstaller command-line tools handle the format on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and any ZIP utility opens one for reading. Novus Convert extracts the package in the browser and rewrites its members as ZIP or TAR; no extension code is loaded or activated.

Identity, display name, version, publisher, and supported product ranges live in extension.vsixmanifest, with VS Code duplicating much of it in package.json. Both are ordinary files that extraction preserves.

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