diff --git a/NOTICE b/NOTICE
index 8ef4a7a1bd..4b9c9991f2 100644
--- a/NOTICE
+++ b/NOTICE
@@ -131,6 +131,10 @@ jackc/pgx - https://github.com/jackc/pgx
 Copyright (c) 2013-2021 Jack Christensen
 License - https://github.com/jackc/pgx/blob/master/LICENSE
 
+klauspost/pgzip - https://github.com/klauspost/pgzip
+Copyright (c) 2014 Klaus Post
+License - https://github.com/klauspost/pgzip/blob/master/LICENSE
+
 charmbracelet/bubbles - https://github.com/charmbracelet/bubbles
 Copyright (c) 2020-2025 Charmbracelet, Inc
 License - https://github.com/charmbracelet/bubbles/blob/master/LICENSE
diff --git a/experimental/air/cmd/snapshot_package.go b/experimental/air/cmd/snapshot_package.go
index c22f7dd61a..a2203c2497 100644
--- a/experimental/air/cmd/snapshot_package.go
+++ b/experimental/air/cmd/snapshot_package.go
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ import (
 	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/klauspost/pgzip"
 )
 
 // Tar builders ported from cli/utils/snapshot.py. Both shell out (git archive / tar)
@@ -41,47 +43,57 @@ func createGitArchiveSnapshot(ctx context.Context, git gitRepo, commitSHA, outpu
 // excluded; a .gitignore at repoPath is honored.
 func createPlainTarball(ctx context.Context, repoPath, outputTarball string, includePaths []string, isGitRepo bool) error {
 	dirName := filepath.Base(repoPath)
-	// Absolute so it resolves correctly regardless of tar's working dir (set below).
+	// Absolute so it resolves correctly regardless of tar's working dir.
 	parent, err := filepath.Abs(filepath.Dir(repoPath))
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	// Pass the archive path relative to its own directory (run tar there), never a
-	// full path: on Windows an absolute path like `C:\out\x.tar.gz` makes tar read
-	// the `C:` as a remote host ("Cannot connect to C:"), since tar treats a colon
-	// in the -f arg as host:path. A bare basename with -C avoids that on GNU tar and
-	// bsdtar alike.
-	outDirAbs, err := filepath.Abs(filepath.Dir(outputTarball))
+	files, err := snapshotFiles(ctx, repoPath, includePaths, isGitRepo)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	outName := filepath.Base(outputTarball)
 
-	files, err := snapshotFiles(ctx, repoPath, includePaths, isGitRepo)
+	out, err := os.Create(outputTarball)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create tarball: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// tar writes the uncompressed archive to stdout and we gzip it with klauspost/pgzip
+	// rather than tar's single-threaded -z, which dominates packaging time on a large
+	// tree (pgzip spreads the same compression across cores). Compressing outside tar
+	// also keeps any archive path out of tar's args, avoiding the Windows colon-in-path
+	// issue the `-f <path>` form otherwise hits.
+	gz, err := pgzip.NewWriterLevel(out, pgzip.DefaultCompression)
 	if err != nil {
+		out.Close()
 		return err
 	}
-	args := []string{"-czf", outName, "-C", parent, "--null", "--no-recursion", "-T", "-"}
 
+	args := []string{"-cf", "-", "-C", parent, "--null", "--no-recursion", "-T", "-"}
 	cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, "tar", args...)
-	// Run tar in the output directory so the bare -f basename lands there.
-	cmd.Dir = outDirAbs
 	var stdin bytes.Buffer
 	for _, file := range files {
 		stdin.WriteString(filepath.ToSlash(filepath.Join(dirName, file)))
 		stdin.WriteByte(0)
 	}
 	cmd.Stdin = &stdin
+	cmd.Stdout = gz
 	var stderr bytes.Buffer
 	cmd.Stderr = &stderr
 	if err := cmd.Run(); err != nil {
+		gz.Close()
+		out.Close()
 		if msg := strings.TrimSpace(stderr.String()); msg != "" {
 			return fmt.Errorf("failed to create plain tarball: %w: %s", err, msg)
 		}
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create plain tarball: %w", err)
 	}
-	return nil
+	if err := gz.Close(); err != nil {
+		out.Close()
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to finalize gzip: %w", err)
+	}
+	return out.Close()
 }
 
 func snapshotFiles(ctx context.Context, repoPath string, includePaths []string, isGitRepo bool) ([]string, error) {
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index d57fab795a..34f6ef3872 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/hashicorp/terraform-json v0.28.0 // MPL-2.0
 	github.com/hexops/gotextdiff v1.0.3 // BSD-3-Clause
 	github.com/jackc/pgx/v5 v5.10.0 // MIT
+	github.com/klauspost/pgzip v1.2.6 // MIT
 	github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.24 // MIT
 	github.com/muesli/termenv v0.16.0 // MIT
 	github.com/palantir/pkg/yamlpatch v1.5.0 // BSD-3-Clause
@@ -87,6 +88,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap v1.1.0 // indirect
 	github.com/jackc/pgpassfile v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/jackc/pgservicefile v0.0.0-20240606120523-5a60cdf6a761 // indirect
+	github.com/klauspost/compress v1.19.2 // indirect
 	github.com/lucasb-eyer/go-colorful v1.4.0 // indirect
 	github.com/mattn/go-colorable v0.1.14 // indirect
 	github.com/mattn/go-localereader v0.0.1 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 0c274225df..e06a6c8a10 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -156,8 +156,12 @@ github.com/jbenet/go-context v0.0.0-20150711004518-d14ea06fba99 h1:BQSFePA1RWJOl
 github.com/jbenet/go-context v0.0.0-20150711004518-d14ea06fba99/go.mod h1:1lJo3i6rXxKeerYnT8Nvf0QmHCRC1n8sfWVwXF2Frvo=
 github.com/kevinburke/ssh_config v1.2.0 h1:x584FjTGwHzMwvHx18PXxbBVzfnxogHaAReU4gf13a4=
 github.com/kevinburke/ssh_config v1.2.0/go.mod h1:CT57kijsi8u/K/BOFA39wgDQJ9CxiF4nAY/ojJ6r6mM=
+github.com/klauspost/compress v1.19.2 h1:hMRETovs/pu/dVWN7zIT1PGG8t509MwT6bO7XSi26R8=
+github.com/klauspost/compress v1.19.2/go.mod h1:cwPg85FWrGar70rWktvGQj8/hthj3wpl0PGDogxkrSQ=
 github.com/klauspost/cpuid/v2 v2.3.0 h1:S4CRMLnYUhGeDFDqkGriYKdfoFlDnMtqTiI/sFzhA9Y=
 github.com/klauspost/cpuid/v2 v2.3.0/go.mod h1:hqwkgyIinND0mEev00jJYCxPNVRVXFQeu1XKlok6oO0=
+github.com/klauspost/pgzip v1.2.6 h1:8RXeL5crjEUFnR2/Sn6GJNWtSQ3Dk8pq4CL3jvdDyjU=
+github.com/klauspost/pgzip v1.2.6/go.mod h1:Ch1tH69qFZu15pkjo5kYi6mth2Zzwzt50oCQKQE9RUs=
 github.com/kr/pretty v0.3.1 h1:flRD4NNwYAUpkphVc1HcthR4KEIFJ65n8Mw5qdRn3LE=
 github.com/kr/pretty v0.3.1/go.mod h1:hoEshYVHaxMs3cyo3Yncou5ZscifuDolrwPKZanG3xk=
 github.com/kr/text v0.2.0 h1:5Nx0Ya0ZqY2ygV366QzturHI13Jq95ApcVaJBhpS+AY=