What does Arqivexa do?
Arqivexa lets a supported .cfs compressed archive behave like a folder-like workspace in Windows File Explorer. You can browse files on demand and persist supported edits back into the archive.
Arqivexa / FAQ
Common questions
Arqivexa FAQ for editable compressed archives on Windows 11.
Short answers about what Arqivexa does, how the Explorer workflow works, what .cfs means, and where the current Stable release has boundaries.
01
Basics
What is Arqivexa?
Does it extract the whole archive first?
Not in the normal ProjFS workflow. Arqivexa projects the directory structure and supplies file contents as applications request them.
Is .cfs the product name?
No. The product is Arqivexa. The .cfs extension is retained from the project's former CFS name for format compatibility.
02
Compatibility
What systems and applications are supported?
Which Windows version?
Arqivexa 0.5.0 Stable targets Windows 11 x64.
Where can writable archives live?
The current Stable support scope requires local NTFS storage for writable archives.
Will every Windows application work?
No universal compatibility guarantee is made. Preview handlers, antivirus, indexing, memory mapping, and application-specific access patterns can affect hydration and behavior.
03
Editing and storage
What happens when files change?
Are edits persistent?
Supported mounted edits are saved back into the archive. Ordinary changes are committed after a quiet period, while explicit commit, close, discard, and recovery actions remain separate.
Can archives grow after editing?
Yes. Updates can append changed data and manifests. After closing the workspace, the Optimize operation can transactionally remove obsolete archive history.
Is compression solid?
No. The current release uses independent per-file LZMA2 compression rather than one solid compressed stream across the entire archive.
04
Security
Does Arqivexa encrypt or back up my files?
Does Arqivexa encrypt archives?
No. The current release compresses archive contents but does not provide password protection or encryption.
Is Arqivexa a backup system?
No. Keep an independent, separately accessible backup of important or irreplaceable files.
Why might Windows warn about the installer?
The 0.5.0 release uses a self-signed Authenticode publisher certificate. Windows may show Unknown Publisher or SmartScreen until that exact certificate is explicitly trusted.
05
Release
Which version should I use?
Use 0.5.0 Stable
Arqivexa 0.5.0 Stable is the only supported release.
What happened to 0.1–0.4?
Older releases were withdrawn because of known bugs and are not offered as supported downloads.
Why does the installer still say CFS?
The exact signed 0.5.0 installer filename was retained during the rebrand rather than replacing a published release artifact in place.