RPM (Red Hat package) file format
.rpm · package (archive of archives) · introduced 1997 by Red Hat
What is a RPM (Red Hat package) file?
RPM is the package format of Red Hat-derived Linux distributions. Each .rpm file contains a custom binary header with metadata followed by a cpio archive of the actual files, compressed with gzip, xz, or zstd. Modern dnf and yum manage dependencies and signed repositories on top of RPM.
Most readers reach this page after double-clicking a .rpm file and finding their operating system unsure what to do with it. The good news: RPM (Red Hat package) is a well-understood format with mature tooling on every major platform. It is supported in one click by mainstream archivers on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
How to extract a RPM (Red Hat package) file
Opening a .rpm file is straightforward on every modern operating system. The exact steps depend on which platform you are on:
On Windows
- Locate the
.rpmfile in File Explorer. - Right-click the file. If you have 7-Zip installed, choose 7-Zip → Extract Here. On Windows 11 the built-in extractor handles ZIP, 7z, RAR and several other formats directly through Extract All…
- If prompted, pick a destination folder and click Extract.
- The extracted files appear in a folder next to the original archive.
On macOS
- Find the
.rpmfile in Finder. - Install The Unarchiver from the Mac App Store, or Keka for both creating and extracting.
- Right-click the file → Open With → The Unarchiver (or just double-click after Unarchiver is set as the default).
- The extracted folder appears next to the archive.
On Linux
- Use your file manager: right-click the archive → Extract Here (file-roller on GNOME, Ark on KDE).
- On the command line, run one of:
7z x archive.rpm # works for almost any format
- The files appear in the current directory.
How to create a RPM (Red Hat package) file
To pack files into a .rpm archive, you typically need an archiver that supports writing this format. Not every tool can create every format — for example, only WinRAR can create real RAR files. The sidebar lists the software known to read and write RPM (Red Hat package).
On the command line, the canonical create command is:
# Use 7-Zip, PeaZip, or the format's reference tool to create .rpm files.
If you regularly create archives at scale, a dedicated archive automation suite can wrap this command in scheduled jobs, integrity checks, and offsite replication.
Strengths
- Strong cryptographic signing
- Rich dependency metadata
- Mature ecosystem
Weaknesses and limitations
- Limited to RPM-family distros
- Binary header is opaque
Typical use cases
- Software distribution on Fedora/RHEL/SUSE
- Internal enterprise packaging
Technical details
RPM (Red Hat package) uses the Custom header + cpio.gz/xz/zst payload algorithm and is identified on disk by the magic byte sequence ED AB EE DB. The standard MIME type is application/x-rpm. The format is an open specification and is free for any use.
Frequently asked questions
Is RPM (Red Hat package) safe to open?
Archive files are containers — they are only as safe as what they contain. A .rpm from a trusted source is fine; one received from a stranger can hold malicious executables, scripts, or files engineered to exploit bugs in your archiver. Always keep your archiver updated, and never run unknown executables that come out of an archive. A safe workflow is to extract into a sandbox and scan the contents before opening anything.
What is the maximum file size?
Modern implementations support archives in the multi-terabyte range. The practical limit is your filesystem (FAT32 caps at 4 GB; ext4, NTFS, APFS, and exFAT all comfortably handle multi-TB files).
Can I password-protect a RPM (Red Hat package)?
Some archivers can wrap RPM (Red Hat package) files in an encrypted container, but the format itself does not always include built-in encryption. Check your archiver's documentation.
How does RPM (Red Hat package) compare to other formats?
See our format comparison pages such as ZIP vs 7z, ZIP vs RAR, and tar.gz vs tar.xz for side-by-side feature tables.