PhotoFixerGoogle Takeout Multiple Zip Files: Combine and Unzip
By Josep Mampel Marques, updated
A Google Photos Takeout comes as several zip files because Google splits any export larger than the archive size you chose into multiple archives. The parts belong together: Ente's guide notes that an album can be spread over several zips, and that a photo and its .json metadata can be in different ones. So do not process one part at a time. Either extract every part into the same folder or give all of them to a tool at once; PhotoFixer reads all the parts directly in your browser, with no unzipping.
Why there are several parts
On the Takeout page you choose a maximum archive size. Google's help says that if your data exceeds that size, it is split into multiple archives, and recommends the 50 GB option to reduce splitting. A library of 120 GB exported with 50 GB parts gives three files; with smaller parts it gives many more. The parts are numbered -001, -002 and so on.
The split does not follow your folders: as Ente's guide notes, an album, or a photo and its sidecar, can end up in different parts. That is why a photo can look as if it has lost its date or location when one part is processed on its own: its .json is simply in another part.
Zip or tgz?
| Zip | Tgz | |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Google: opens on almost any computer | Google: may need additional software on Windows |
| File names | No restriction mentioned | Google: can't have Unicode characters in file names |
| PhotoFixer | Yes, all parts at once | No |
For Google Photos, choose zip unless you have a specific reason not to. Choosing the format is covered step by step in how to download Google Photos with Takeout.
Option 1: read all parts at once (no unzipping)
- Download every part into the same folder on your computer.
- Open PhotoFixer and select all the parts in one go (or drop them all on the page).
- Pick the time zone and the folder layout, and press Fix my photos. PhotoFixer indexes every part before matching photos to their
.jsonfiles, so a sidecar in part 3 still finds its photo in part 1. - You get one result zip with all photos and videos, their dates and, for JPEGs without EXIF, their locations and descriptions. In Chrome and Edge it is written straight to disk; other browsers handle a few gigabytes.
immich-go works the same way for Immich: its README example passes takeout-*.zip, all the parts. See Google Photos to Immich.
Option 2: extract everything into one folder
Tools that work on folders, such as GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper, need all parts extracted into a single structure; its README asks for a unified Takeout folder with the Photos from YYYY folders, and Ente's guide says to uncompress the zips and move them to a single folder.
- Create an empty folder with enough free space for the whole library.
- Extract the first part into it. You get
Takeout/Google Photos/with album and year folders. - Extract each following part into the same folder, merging folders when asked. If your system offers to replace files, stop and compare them before saying yes.
- Check the result: there should be a single
Takeout/Google Photos/folder. Some unzip tools put each part into its own folder; how they behave may vary, so move the contents together if that happens.
A part will not open
- Incomplete download. The most common reason. Download that part again, keeping in mind Google's limit of 5 downloads per archive and the expiry after about 7 days.
- Tgz on Windows. Google notes that tgz files may need additional software on Windows.
- Very large parts. Some built-in unzip tools struggle with archives of tens of gigabytes; behavior may vary by system. PhotoFixer reads the zips without extracting them, which avoids the problem for photos.
If downloads keep failing, see Google Takeout not downloading.
Album copies across parts
When the parts are combined, the same photo can show up in a year folder and in one or more album folders. That is normal for Takeout and is explained, with ways to keep one copy, in Takeout duplicates and album folders.
Once all parts are processed, check that nothing is missing before you delete anything from Google.
FAQ
Do I need to combine the Takeout zip files into one?
No. You need to process them together, not merge the archives. Either extract all parts into the same folder, or use a tool that reads all the parts at once, such as PhotoFixer or immich-go.
Can PhotoFixer read tgz files?
No, PhotoFixer reads zip files. If you already have a tgz export, unpack it and use a tool that works on folders, such as GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper, or request a new export in zip format.
Why is one zip part much smaller than the others?
The last part holds whatever is left after the others reach the size you chose, so it is often smaller. A part that is unexpectedly small and will not open may be an incomplete download.