Is there a way to compress exe files?

Question

Compressing EXE files either using WinRAR or 7Zip does not yield anything, meaning, the compressed RAR or 7Zip file is just the same size of the EXE file, is there a way to compress EXE file and get at least about 15-20 compression ratio?

David Marshall · Answer

The Windows 10 compact command includes an option for compressing executable file.
/EXE       Use compression optimized for executable files which are read
frequently and not modified.  Supported algorithms are:
         XPRESS4K  (fastest) (default)
         XPRESS8K
         XPRESS16K
         LZX       (most compact)

Compact /c /exe:lzx <name>

Fritz · Answer

Normally, x86 machine code does compress quite well (not by a factor of 15-20 though). So if the exe does not compress well, this indicates that it might already be compressed. There are some tools to self-decompress exe files when run, so the user wouldn't even notice that it is compressed.
Alternatively, the exe might contain large assets, like JPEG graphics or compressed audio, which can not be compressed well.
I guess without more information on the exe file and what you want to achieve, you are out of luck.

Is there a way to compress exe files?

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