diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
index 2421623..8c80b4f 100644
--- a/.gitattributes
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -1 +1 @@
-LocalMods.zip filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text
+LocalMods.tar.gz filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text
diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
index e466ac9..ff4490a 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -28,13 +28,12 @@ jobs:
             -e "ssh -i ~/.ssh/deploy_key" \
             ./ ${{ secrets.SERVER_USER }}@${{ secrets.SERVER_HOST }}:/opt/barotrauma/
 
-      - name: Unzip LocalMods on server
+      - name: Extract LocalMods on server
         run: |
           ssh -i ~/.ssh/deploy_key \
             ${{ secrets.SERVER_USER }}@${{ secrets.SERVER_HOST }} \
             "cd /opt/barotrauma && \
-             apt-get install -y -qq unzip 2>/dev/null; \
-             [ -f LocalMods.zip ] && unzip -o LocalMods.zip && rm -f LocalMods.zip && echo 'LocalMods extracted' || echo 'No LocalMods.zip'"
+             [ -f LocalMods.tar.gz ] && tar -xzf LocalMods.tar.gz && rm -f LocalMods.tar.gz && echo 'LocalMods extracted' || echo 'No LocalMods.tar.gz'"
 
       - name: Restart server
         run: |
diff --git a/LocalMods.tar.gz b/LocalMods.tar.gz
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..84384e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LocalMods.tar.gz
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1
+oid sha256:f17f7bab21a55065f6bd0a7df69caba7af69bd5dcff90508aad798c425ad5280
+size 965179803
diff --git a/LocalMods.zip b/LocalMods.zip
deleted file mode 100644
index ea75ef4..0000000
--- a/LocalMods.zip
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1
-oid sha256:2dd15e8e70921976b33e76c085c9062ac0280c939218c353f8ffa4511b5b5570
-size 969188423
diff --git a/prep b/prep
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index 155aaef..a853bf4
--- a/prep
+++ b/prep
@@ -1,16 +1,15 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
-"""Prepare local mods, zip them, generate config, and commit."""
+"""Prepare local mods, tar them, generate config, and commit."""
 
 import os
 import subprocess
 import sys
 
 BASE = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
-SCRIPTS = os.path.join(BASE, "scripts")
 PREPARE_LOCAL = os.path.join(BASE, "prepare_local")
-AUTOGEN = os.path.join(SCRIPTS, "autogen_config.py")
+AUTOGEN = os.path.join(BASE, "scripts", "autogen_config.py")
 LOCALMODS_DIR = os.path.join(BASE, "LocalMods")
-ZIP_PATH = os.path.join(BASE, "LocalMods.zip")
+TAR_PATH = os.path.join(BASE, "LocalMods.tar.gz")
 
 
 def log_ok(msg):
@@ -22,65 +21,37 @@ def log_info(msg):
 def log_err(msg):
     print(f"\033[91m✗\033[0m {msg}", file=sys.stderr)
 
-def run(cmd, cwd=None):
-    result = subprocess.run(cmd, cwd=cwd, capture_output=True, text=True)
-    if result.returncode != 0:
-        print(result.stdout)
-        print(result.stderr, file=sys.stderr)
-        sys.exit(result.returncode)
-    return result.stdout.strip()
-
-
-def zip_localmods():
-    import zipfile
-    log_info(f"Zipping {LOCALMODS_DIR} → {ZIP_PATH}")
-
-    if os.path.exists(ZIP_PATH):
-        os.remove(ZIP_PATH)
-
-    count = 0
-    with zipfile.ZipFile(ZIP_PATH, "w", zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED) as zf:
-        for root, dirs, files in os.walk(LOCALMODS_DIR):
-            for fn in files:
-                full = os.path.join(root, fn)
-                arcname = os.path.relpath(full, BASE)
-                zf.write(full, arcname)
-                count += 1
-
-    size = os.path.getsize(ZIP_PATH)
-    log_ok(f"Zipped {count} files ({size / 1024:.1f} KB)")
-
 
 def main():
     msg = " ".join(sys.argv[1:]) if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "Update LocalMods"
 
     print()
     print("╔════════════════════════════════════╗")
-    print("║        Prep: mods → zip → commit  ║")
+    print("║        Prep: mods → tar → commit  ║")
     print("╚════════════════════════════════════╝")
     print()
 
-    # 1. Run prepare_local
-    log_info("Step 1: Copy mods from workshop...")
-    run([sys.executable, PREPARE_LOCAL])
+    log_info("Step 1/4: Copy mods from workshop...")
+    subprocess.run([sys.executable, PREPARE_LOCAL], check=True)
     log_ok("LocalMods ready")
     print()
 
-    # 2. Zip LocalMods
-    log_info("Step 2: Zipping LocalMods/...")
-    zip_localmods()
+    log_info("Step 2/4: Taring LocalMods/...")
+    if os.path.exists(TAR_PATH):
+        os.remove(TAR_PATH)
+    subprocess.run(["tar", "-czf", TAR_PATH, "-C", BASE, "LocalMods"], check=True)
+    size = os.path.getsize(TAR_PATH)
+    log_ok(f"Created {TAR_PATH} ({size / 1024:.1f} KB)")
     print()
 
-    # 3. Run autogen_config
-    log_info("Step 3: Generating config_player.xml...")
-    run([sys.executable, AUTOGEN])
+    log_info("Step 3/4: Generating config_player.xml...")
+    subprocess.run([sys.executable, AUTOGEN], check=True)
     log_ok("config_player.xml generated")
     print()
 
-    # 4. Git add and commit (no push)
-    log_info("Step 4: Committing...")
-    run(["git", "add", "-A"], cwd=BASE)
-    run(["git", "commit", "-m", msg], cwd=BASE)
+    log_info("Step 4/4: Committing...")
+    subprocess.run(["git", "add", "-A"], cwd=BASE, check=True)
+    subprocess.run(["git", "commit", "-m", msg], cwd=BASE, check=True)
     log_ok(f"Committed: {msg}")
     print()
 
diff --git a/unpack b/unpack
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index 64ebc92..433a4c0
--- a/unpack
+++ b/unpack
@@ -1,13 +1,12 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
-"""Unpack LocalMods.zip into LocalMods/ and remove the archive."""
+"""Unpack LocalMods.tar.gz into LocalMods/ and remove the archive."""
 
 import os
+import subprocess
 import sys
-import zipfile
 
 BASE = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
-ZIP_PATH = os.path.join(BASE, "LocalMods.zip")
-LOCALMODS_DIR = os.path.join(BASE, "LocalMods")
+TAR_PATH = os.path.join(BASE, "LocalMods.tar.gz")
 
 
 def log_ok(msg):
@@ -16,9 +15,6 @@ def log_ok(msg):
 def log_info(msg):
     print(f"• {msg}")
 
-def log_warn(msg):
-    print(f"\033[93m⚠\033[0m {msg}")
-
 def log_err(msg):
     print(f"\033[91m✗\033[0m {msg}", file=sys.stderr)
 
@@ -26,23 +22,17 @@ def log_err(msg):
 def main():
     print()
 
-    if not os.path.isfile(ZIP_PATH):
-        log_err(f"Not found: {ZIP_PATH}")
+    if not os.path.isfile(TAR_PATH):
+        log_err(f"Not found: {TAR_PATH}")
         sys.exit(1)
 
-    log_info(f"Unzipping: {ZIP_PATH}")
-    with zipfile.ZipFile(ZIP_PATH, "r") as zf:
-        zf.extractall(BASE)
+    log_info(f"Extracting: {TAR_PATH}")
+    subprocess.run(["tar", "-xzf", TAR_PATH, "-C", BASE], check=True)
 
-    size = os.path.getsize(ZIP_PATH)
-    file_count = 0
-    for root, dirs, files in os.walk(LOCALMODS_DIR):
-        file_count += len(files)
-
-    log_ok(f"Extracted {file_count} files to {LOCALMODS_DIR}/")
-
-    os.remove(ZIP_PATH)
-    log_ok(f"Removed: {ZIP_PATH} ({size / 1024:.1f} KB freed)")
+    size = os.path.getsize(TAR_PATH)
+    os.remove(TAR_PATH)
+    log_ok(f"Extracted to {os.path.join(BASE, 'LocalMods')}/")
+    log_ok(f"Removed archive ({size / 1024:.1f} KB freed)")
     print()