How to download and install The Unarchiver on Mac

App Store or website

The Unarchiver is the same free app in both places. From the Mac App Store it installs and updates like any other App Store app. The Download button on theunarchiver.com gives you a disk image instead. It needs macOS 10.13 or later and runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel.

It opens Zip and Zipx, RAR (including encrypted and multi-part archives), 7z, Tar, Gzip, Bzip2, XZ, CAB, MSI, ISO and other disc images, StuffIt and more.

Take The Unarchiver only from the App Store or theunarchiver.com. Many look-alike «unzip» and «RAR extractor» apps exist. Some are paid or full of ads.

How to install The Unarchiver

1. Open the App Store and search for The Unarchiver.
2. Click Get, then Install. Sign in with your Apple Account if asked.
3. Open The Unarchiver from Applications or Launchpad.
4. In the window that opens, tick the archive formats The Unarchiver should open.

From the website, open the downloaded .dmg, drag The Unarchiver to Applications, and click Open the first time macOS asks about an app downloaded from the internet.

What to set up after the first launch

If double-clicking an archive still opens Archive Utility or nothing at all, set The Unarchiver as the default for that type:

1. In Finder, select an archive, for example a .rar file, and choose File › Get Info.
2. Under Open with, choose The Unarchiver.
3. Click Change All and confirm with Continue: all files of this type now open in The Unarchiver.

• Where files go. In The Unarchiver’s settings, choose where extracted files are saved and whether the archive goes to the Trash after extraction.
• Disk space. Extracted files sit next to the archive, so you keep both. Delete the archive once you have what you need.

If The Unarchiver won’t open an archive

• The Unarchiver asks for access to a folder. It needs your permission to write next to the archive. Choose the folder in the window it shows and click the button to allow access.
• «The archive is damaged» or extraction stops. The archive was downloaded incompletely or one part of a multi-part archive is missing. Download it again and keep all parts in one folder.
• The archive asks for a password. The Unarchiver can’t guess it. Ask the person who sent the archive.

Alternatives to The Unarchiver

• KekaAlso creates archives, 7z and ZIP with a password.