What is a .ACE file?
ACE is a compressed archive from the WinACE tool, once a WinRAR rival.
- Did you know
- ACE was popular in the late 1990s but faded after serious security flaws were found.
- ACE was created by German programmer Marcel Lemke for his WinACE tool, later maintained by e-merge GmbH.
- A path-traversal flaw in its extraction library, CVE-2018-20250, let crafted ACE files plant files anywhere and even hit WinRAR users.
- What Analyser reads
- Read software packages and Unix archive streams: Python wheels, NuGet, Chrome/Firefox/VS Code extensions, Electron ASAR, Windows APPX/MSIX, Debian (DEB), RPM, RubyGems, conda, Anki, Microsoft CAB, cpio and ar - showing name, version, dependencies and the file tree.
- Depth of analysis
- .ACE is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .ACE file
- Drag a .ACE file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.