May 19, 2026
Shrink the ZIP, unleash the drama
Make ZIP files smaller with ZIP Shrinker
This tiny ZIP saver wowed file nerds, but the empty-folder drama stole the show
TLDR: ZIP Shrinker is a browser tool that can make ZIP-based files like ebooks and Android apps noticeably smaller without changing the format. Commenters loved the idea, but the real fight was over it deleting empty folders, with others piling on about better tools and hidden compatibility traps.
A cute little browser tool that makes ZIP files smaller should have been a quiet win, but the comments turned it into a full-on compression cage match. The project, called ZIP Shrinker, trims fat by re-packing files more tightly, stripping out extra notes and data, and — this is the spicy part — deleting directory entries, which can also wipe out empty folders. For some people, that sounded clever. For others, it was basically a digital horror movie.
The biggest gasp came from commenters who treated the empty-folder choice like a five-alarm emergency. One user practically shouted that software should never automatically delete something without warning, arguing that people use empty folders as placeholders, reminders, or future drop-zones. That instantly gave the thread its villain, its plot twist, and its all-caps energy.
But that wasn’t the only showdown. Another commenter swooped in with a classic tech-forum flex: is there even any reason to use older compression formats anymore when newer ones exist? Then came the power-user crowd, name-dropping alternatives like ECT and pointing out practical gotchas, like Android app files needing special alignment after being repacked. Meanwhile, one delightfully grounded comment asked the question normal people actually care about: will this make Word files smaller? In other words, ZIP Shrinker launched as a neat browser experiment — and immediately got dragged into the comment-section thunderdome.
Key Points
- •ZIP Shrinker is a browser-based tool that reduces the size of ZIP files and ZIP-based formats such as APK, EPUB, and JAR.
- •The tool works by recompressing each archive entry with higher compression, stripping metadata, and removing separate directory entries.
- •The implementation uses libdeflate for Deflate recompression and includes libdeflate.js, a WebAssembly wrapper created for the project.
- •The author reports anecdotal size reductions of 5.62% for Linux v6.19 source, 18.16% for a Project Gutenberg EPUB, and 30.06% for Signal for Android v8.3.4.
- •The article positions the project as a proof of concept showing ZIP files can be made smaller while remaining backward-compatible, with possible bandwidth and server cost savings.