How to open archives on macOS (Sonoma / Sequoia)
A complete guide to extracting and creating ZIP, RAR, 7z, TAR and other archive formats on macOS (Sonoma / Sequoia).
Overview
macOS handles ZIP and Unix tarballs out of the box, but anything else — RAR, 7z, modern compression like zstd or brotli — requires a third-party app. Two free options dominate: Keka for creating archives, and The Unarchiver for opening obscure ones.
What macOS (Sonoma / Sequoia) handles out of the box
- ZIP create + extract via Finder Archive Utility
- TAR, GZIP, BZIP2 extraction via Archive Utility
- Full tar / xz / gzip suite on the command line
Recommended archivers for macOS (Sonoma / Sequoia)
- Keka — fastest way to create 7z, tar.xz, tar.zst, encrypted ZIP
- The Unarchiver — extracts almost every format ever made
- Homebrew + p7zip / xz / unrar for command-line work
How to extract any archive
- Double-click the archive in Finder
- Archive Utility opens automatically and extracts to the same folder
- For RAR or 7z, install The Unarchiver from the Mac App Store first
- Right-click → Open With → The Unarchiver if Finder picks the wrong app
How to create an archive
- Select files in Finder
- Right-click → Compress to create a .zip
- For 7z, tar.xz, or encrypted archives, drag the selection onto the Keka dock icon
- Choose format, compression level, and optional password in Keka's window
Pro tips
macOS adds .DS_Store files and __MACOSX/ folders to ZIPs by default. Use Keka or zip -X on the command line to omit them.
Mounted .dmg files unmount with Cmd-E or by dragging their disk icon to the Trash.
For RAR creation on macOS you must install WinRAR's command-line trial — no GUI tool can create RAR on Mac legally.
Common formats on macOS (Sonoma / Sequoia)
The formats most people encounter on macOS (Sonoma / Sequoia):
- ZIP
- RAR
- 7z
- TAR.GZ (tarball)
- TAR.XZ
- GZIP
- XZ
- DMG (Apple Disk Image)
- ISO (ISO 9660 image)
- CAB (Cabinet)
- APK (Android package)
- IPA (iOS App)