diff --git a/cmd/chisel/cmd_debug_check_release_archives.go b/cmd/chisel/cmd_debug_check_release_archives.go
index c9c6270e4..c7931d9a6 100644
--- a/cmd/chisel/cmd_debug_check_release_archives.go
+++ b/cmd/chisel/cmd_debug_check_release_archives.go
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/canonical/chisel/internal/archive"
 	"github.com/canonical/chisel/internal/cache"
-	"github.com/canonical/chisel/internal/deb"
 	"github.com/canonical/chisel/internal/setup"
+	"github.com/canonical/chisel/internal/tarball"
 )
 
 var shortCheckReleaseArchivesHelp = "Check the release's archives"
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ func computePathObservations(release *setup.Release, archives map[string]archive
 			if err != nil {
 				return nil, err
 			}
-			dataReader, err := deb.DataReader(pkgReader)
+			dataReader, err := tarball.DebFormat.TarStream(pkgReader)
 			if err != nil {
 				return nil, err
 			}
diff --git a/internal/archive/archive_test.go b/internal/archive/archive_test.go
index b89a8d71d..3a83d73d5 100644
--- a/internal/archive/archive_test.go
+++ b/internal/archive/archive_test.go
@@ -1237,6 +1237,7 @@ func (s *S) testOpenArchiveArch(c *C, test realArchiveTest, arch string) {
 
 	err = tarball.Extract(pkg, &tarball.ExtractOptions{
 		Package:   test.pkg,
+		Format:    tarball.DebFormat,
 		TargetDir: extractDir,
 		Extract: map[string][]tarball.ExtractInfo{
 			fmt.Sprintf("/usr/share/doc/%s/copyright", test.pkg): {
diff --git a/internal/deb/extract.go b/internal/deb/extract.go
index bf543c2d8..88fc4ad56 100644
--- a/internal/deb/extract.go
+++ b/internal/deb/extract.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import (
 
 // DataReader takes a Reader for the ar file belonging to a Debian package and
 // returns a Reader to the inner tarball.
-func DataReader(pkgReader io.ReadSeeker) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
+func DataReader(pkgReader io.Reader) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
 	arReader := ar.NewReader(pkgReader)
 	var dataReader io.ReadCloser
 	for dataReader == nil {
diff --git a/internal/slicer/slicer.go b/internal/slicer/slicer.go
index ce7911621..6c528c651 100644
--- a/internal/slicer/slicer.go
+++ b/internal/slicer/slicer.go
@@ -241,6 +241,7 @@ func Run(options *RunOptions) error {
 		}
 		err := tarball.Extract(reader, &tarball.ExtractOptions{
 			Package:   slice.Package,
+			Format:    tarball.DebFormat,
 			Extract:   extract[slice.Package],
 			TargetDir: targetDir,
 			Create:    create,
diff --git a/internal/tarball/extract.go b/internal/tarball/extract.go
index 40db2cbac..a0c7af11a 100644
--- a/internal/tarball/extract.go
+++ b/internal/tarball/extract.go
@@ -12,13 +12,43 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"syscall"
 
+	"github.com/ulikunitz/xz"
+
 	"github.com/canonical/chisel/internal/deb"
 	"github.com/canonical/chisel/internal/fsutil"
 	"github.com/canonical/chisel/internal/strdist"
 )
 
+// PkgFormat identifies the format of a package.
+type PkgFormat string
+
+const (
+	// DebFormat is the Debian package format: an ar archive holding a
+	// compressed data tarball.
+	DebFormat PkgFormat = "deb"
+	// BinFormat is the bin package format: a plain XZ-compressed tarball.
+	BinFormat PkgFormat = "bin"
+)
+
+// TarStream returns a reader over the raw, uncompressed tar stream contained
+// in the given package. The stream is not parsed.
+func (format PkgFormat) TarStream(pkgReader io.Reader) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
+	switch format {
+	case DebFormat:
+		return deb.DataReader(pkgReader)
+	case BinFormat:
+		xzReader, err := xz.NewReader(pkgReader)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		return io.NopCloser(xzReader), nil
+	}
+	return nil, fmt.Errorf("internal error: unsupported package format: %q", format)
+}
+
 type ExtractOptions struct {
 	Package   string
+	Format    PkgFormat
 	TargetDir string
 	Extract   map[string][]ExtractInfo
 	// Create can optionally be set to control the creation of extracted entries.
@@ -83,11 +113,11 @@ func Extract(pkgReader io.ReadSeeker, options *ExtractOptions) (err error) {
 }
 
 func extractData(pkgReader io.ReadSeeker, options *ExtractOptions) error {
-	dataReader, err := deb.DataReader(pkgReader)
+	tarStream, err := options.Format.TarStream(pkgReader)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	defer dataReader.Close()
+	defer tarStream.Close()
 
 	oldUmask := syscall.Umask(0)
 	defer func() {
@@ -117,10 +147,10 @@ func extractData(pkgReader io.ReadSeeker, options *ExtractOptions) error {
 	// create them with the permissions defined in the tarball.
 	//
 	// The assumption is that the tar entries of the parent directories appear
-	// before the entry for the file itself. This is the case for .deb files but
-	// not for all tarballs.
+	// before the entry for the file itself. This is the case for the tarballs
+	// produced by common packaging tools but not for all tarballs.
 	tarDirMode := make(map[string]fs.FileMode)
-	tarReader := tar.NewReader(dataReader)
+	tarReader := tar.NewReader(tarStream)
 	for {
 		tarHeader, err := tarReader.Next()
 		if err == io.EOF {
@@ -300,13 +330,13 @@ type extractHardLinkOptions struct {
 // extractHardLinks iterates through the tarball a second time to extract the
 // hard links that were not extracted in the first pass.
 func extractHardLinks(pkgReader io.ReadSeeker, opts *extractHardLinkOptions) error {
-	dataReader, err := deb.DataReader(pkgReader)
+	tarStream, err := opts.Format.TarStream(pkgReader)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	defer dataReader.Close()
+	defer tarStream.Close()
 
-	tarReader := tar.NewReader(dataReader)
+	tarReader := tar.NewReader(tarStream)
 	for {
 		tarHeader, err := tarReader.Next()
 		if err == io.EOF {
diff --git a/internal/tarball/extract_test.go b/internal/tarball/extract_test.go
index fd5eb6147..ed43414ef 100644
--- a/internal/tarball/extract_test.go
+++ b/internal/tarball/extract_test.go
@@ -496,6 +496,9 @@ func (s *S) TestExtract(c *C) {
 		options := test.options
 		options.Package = "test-package"
 		options.TargetDir = dir
+		if options.Format == "" {
+			options.Format = tarball.DebFormat
+		}
 		createdPaths := make(map[string]bool)
 		options.Create = func(_ []tarball.ExtractInfo, o *fsutil.CreateOptions) error {
 			relPath := filepath.Clean("/" + strings.TrimPrefix(o.Path, dir))
@@ -539,6 +542,7 @@ func (s *S) TestExtract(c *C) {
 var extractCreateCallbackTests = []struct {
 	summary string
 	pkgdata []byte
+	format  tarball.PkgFormat
 	options tarball.ExtractOptions
 	calls   map[string][]tarball.ExtractInfo
 }{{
@@ -605,6 +609,9 @@ func (s *S) TestExtractCreateCallback(c *C) {
 		options := test.options
 		options.Package = "test-package"
 		options.TargetDir = dir
+		if options.Format == "" {
+			options.Format = tarball.DebFormat
+		}
 		createExtractInfos := map[string][]tarball.ExtractInfo{}
 		options.Create = func(extractInfos []tarball.ExtractInfo, o *fsutil.CreateOptions) error {
 			if extractInfos == nil {