# How to send a folder without zipping it

Source: https://help.strongfolder.com/en/guides/send-folder-without-zipping/
Updated: 2026-11-05

> To send a folder without zipping, share it directly from browser to browser with a peer-to-peer tool such as StrongFolder: choose the folder, copy the link and send it. The recipient saves the same folder tree — subfolders and file names intact — with no ZIP and no upload. Cloud drives keep the structure online but usually zip folders on download.

1. **Open StrongFolder** — Go to [strongfolder.com](https://strongfolder.com) or click the StrongFolder Chrome extension.
2. **Choose the folder** — Click **Upload Folder** and pick the folder. Nothing is uploaded — the browser only reads the folder tree so it can share it.
3. **Send the link** — Copy the link (or show the QR code) and send it by chat or e-mail.
4. **Keep the tab open** — The recipient opens the link, picks where to save, and gets the same folder with all subfolders. Keep your tab open until they finish.

Zipping a folder before you send it is a habit from the days of email attachments. It
costs time, doubles the disk space you need, and for photos and video it barely makes the
file smaller. This guide shows how to send a folder **as a folder** — subfolders, file names
and all — and compares the main ways to do it.

**Key facts**

- **Email can't send folders**: attachments are files only, capped at roughly 20–25 MB.
- **Cloud drives** (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive) keep the structure online, but usually hand the recipient a **ZIP** when they download.
- **Direct P2P transfer** (StrongFolder) sends the folder tree as is: no ZIP, no upload, No size limit set by StrongFolder. The practical limits are free disk space on the recipient's device, connection speed, and how long both devices stay online.
- To **save** a whole folder with structure the recipient needs Chrome, Edge or Opera on a computer.
- The trade-off of P2P: **your tab must stay open** until the recipient finishes.

## Why do folders get zipped in the first place?

Most sharing channels were built for single files. An email attachment, a chat upload or a
classic download link carries one file, so a folder has to be packed into one first. A ZIP
does that job: it turns a tree of files into one file and keeps the paths inside it.

That works for a few documents. It becomes painful when the folder is a 40 GB video project,
a photo shoot with 3,000 RAW files, or a code repository with 200,000 small files:

- **Time.** Packing and unpacking a large folder can take longer than the transfer itself.
- **Disk space.** The sender needs room for the folder *and* the ZIP; the recipient needs
  room for the ZIP *and* the extracted folder.
- **Little gain for media.** JPEG, RAW, MP4 and MOV are already compressed — a ZIP of a
  video folder is almost the same size as the folder.
- **Fragility.** One corrupted byte in a large archive can break the whole extraction, and
  some tools split big folders into several ZIPs that must be put back together.

## How do I send a folder without zipping it?

There are four realistic options. Which one fits depends on the folder size and on whether
you can stay online while the recipient downloads.

| Method | Folder structure | ZIP for the recipient? | Size limit (free) | Upload first? | Sender online during download? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Email attachment | Not supported | Must zip | ~20–25 MB | Yes | No |
| Google Drive / OneDrive share | Kept online | Usually, on download | Your storage quota | Yes | No |
| Dropbox share link | Kept online | Usually, on download | Your storage quota | Yes | No |
| Transfer service (WeTransfer-type) | Varies | Usually | Often 2–5 GB | Yes | No |
| **StrongFolder (P2P)** | **Kept** | **No** | **None set by the service** | **No** | **Yes** |

### Option 1: Share the folder directly with StrongFolder (no ZIP, no upload)

StrongFolder connects your browser to the recipient's browser and streams the folder over an
encrypted WebRTC connection. The steps above take under a minute: choose the folder, copy
the link, send it. When the recipient opens the link, they choose a destination on their
computer and StrongFolder recreates the same folder tree there, file by file.

Because nothing is uploaded first, the download starts immediately, and because nothing is
stored on a server, there is no copy left behind after the transfer. One link can be opened by several recipients; each downloads directly from the sender.

[Send files now](https://strongfolder.com)
### Option 2: Upload the folder to a cloud drive and share it

Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox let you drag a whole folder into the browser and keep its
structure online. The recipient can browse the folder and open single files without
downloading everything. That is the best option when:

- the recipient needs to browse or preview files online,
- you can't keep your computer on while they download,
- several people need access for weeks.

The catch: when the recipient downloads the whole folder from the web, these services
usually pack it into a ZIP (Google Drive may split a big folder into several ZIP parts).
You also wait for the full upload first, and the folder counts against your storage quota.

### Option 3: Use a file transfer service

Services such as WeTransfer or Smash accept folders in the browser, but the recipient usually
gets a ZIP, free plans cap the size (often 2–5 GB), and the files stay on the service's
servers for several days. They are convenient for small, one-off sends when you don't want
to stay online.

### Option 4: Copy to a USB drive or external disk

For terabytes, or when internet upload speed is very slow, a physical drive is still
unbeatable — if you can hand it over. It keeps the folder structure exactly, but it is not
an option for a client on another continent.

## How does the recipient save the folder with all subfolders?

When the recipient opens a StrongFolder link to a folder, the browser asks where to save it.
StrongFolder then creates the same subfolders on their disk and writes each file into place
as it arrives — nothing is held in memory or packed into an archive.

Saving a whole folder like this uses the browser's File System Access API, which today is
available in **Chrome, Edge, Opera and other Chromium browsers on a computer**. In other
browsers the recipient can download the files one by one or as a ZIP. If you send folders
often, ask recipients to open the link in Chrome.


Windows limits path length. If a file's full path would be too long to store on the
recipient's disk, StrongFolder shortens the name and adds a small text file that lists every
renamed file, so nothing is lost silently.

## What should I check before sending a large folder?

1. **Free disk space on the recipient's side.** They need room for the whole folder.
2. **Your upload speed.** A direct transfer can't be faster than the sender's upload
   connection. 100 GB over a 50 Mbit/s upload takes roughly 4.5 hours.
3. **Sleep settings.** Keep your computer awake and the StrongFolder tab open until the
   recipient finishes. Plug in your laptop.
4. **The right browser for the recipient.** Chrome, Edge or Opera on a computer to save the
   folder with its structure.

## When is zipping still the better choice?

Zipping still makes sense when you need **one file** to attach to a form, archive on a
backup drive, or protect with a password using an archiver. It also helps when a folder
contains hundreds of thousands of tiny text files and the recipient uses a browser that
can't save folders. For everything else — photo shoots, video projects, design and CAD
folders, game mods — sending the folder as is saves time and disk space.

## Summary

To send a folder without zipping it, use a direct peer-to-peer transfer: the recipient gets
the same folder tree, nothing is uploaded or stored, and there is no size cap from the
service. Use a cloud drive instead when you can't stay online or when people need to browse
the files for weeks. More on the trade-offs in [P2P vs cloud file
transfer](https://help.strongfolder.com/en/guides/p2p-vs-cloud-file-transfer/), and on sizes in
[How to send large files](https://help.strongfolder.com/en/guides/send-large-files/).

## FAQ

### Can I email a folder without zipping it?

No. Email clients attach files, not folders, and Gmail and Outlook cap attachments at about 20–25 MB. To e-mail a folder you must zip it or send a link to it instead.

### Does Google Drive zip folders when you download them?

Yes. When someone downloads a folder from Google Drive in the browser, Drive packs it into one or more ZIP files. The structure survives inside the ZIP, but the recipient has to extract it.

### Will the recipient get the same subfolders and file names?

With StrongFolder, yes: the recipient picks a destination and the same folder tree is written there. Very long paths that Windows can't store are shortened, and a note lists any renamed files.

### Which browser does the recipient need to save a whole folder?

Saving a whole folder with its structure uses the File System Access API: Chrome, Edge, Opera and other Chromium browsers on a computer. Other browsers can download the files one by one or as a ZIP.

### Is there a size or file-count limit?

No size limit set by StrongFolder. The practical limits are free disk space on the recipient's device, connection speed, and how long both devices stay online.

### Why not just zip the folder?

Zipping a large folder takes time and disk space twice (once to pack, once to unpack), very large ZIPs can fail or hit format limits, and media files barely compress. Sending the folder as is avoids all of that.