Cabextract is a free program that can be used to extract the content of cabinet files found in certain Microsoft Windows applications and system folders (.CAB files). Based on the LGPL libmspack library, the data extraction technology integrated into Cabextract works on all compression and decompression formats of Microsoft cabinet files. These include LZX decompression, Quantum and MSZIP. Microsoft Cabinet files serve as distribution packages for software and file archives for many Microsoft applications. With Cabextract, users can gain access to video codecs, Longhorn videos, updates for operating systems and Web fonts among other resources. Cabextract serves as an alternative format in installing applications for Windows CE. This software can also extract cabinet files that are embedded in binary files, which are usually found in .exe files. Based on specific command lines, Cabextract can gather all identified cabinet files in a directory or set of directories. CAB files with multi-parts will only be searched based on the first cabinet files. It operates under various platforms, including Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows/MS-DOS and BSD. Cabextract is freeware that comes with a GPL license.
The Unlzx software is generally classified as an outdated archive extraction tool, and this decompression program is integrated with a set of functionalities for extracting files and folders that are stored in LZX archives. These LZX archives were commonly used in Amiga systems for distributing game files and complete file libraries of Amiga applications. The Unlzx software is also implemented with file decompression functionalities that can be accessed through the command line interface of older Microsoft Windows systems. Since file compression standards and specifications have gone through many changes over the years, the Unlzx software and the file decompression features that are integrated into this program are no longer supported by some newer versions of Microsoft Windows systems.