How to unzip files on Mac and zip them

How to unzip files on Mac

1. Find the .zip file in Finder. Files from the internet are usually in Downloads.
2. Double-click it. Archive Utility, which comes with macOS, expands it: a file or folder with the same name appears next to the archive.

3. Open what was inside. If you no longer need the .zip file, move it to the Trash.

If the archive won’t open, check that your Mac has enough free space for the expanded files. If someone sent you the file, it may be damaged: ask them to zip it again.

How to zip a file on Mac

1. Select the file or folder, or several of them (see how to select multiple files on Mac).
2. Control-click the selection and choose Compress.

3. The .zip file appears in the same folder.

One item gives a .zip with the same name. Several items give a file called Archive.zip. The originals stay where they are.

Zip files with a password

When you double-click a zip that has a password, Archive Utility asks for it before it expands anything.

Compress in Finder doesn’t add a password, but the zip command in Terminal can (see how to open Terminal on Mac). This command makes Archive.zip on the desktop from the folder Folder on the desktop. Put your own names in place of both:

Terminal asks for the password twice. Nothing appears on the screen while you type it. That’s normal. The folder itself stays as it is.

This is the classic ZIP encryption, which the zip manual itself calls relatively weak. For sensitive files, use an archiver with AES-256 encryption (see 7-Zip for Mac).

How to open RAR and 7z files

Archive Utility handles ZIP and the usual Unix archives such as .tar, .gz and .tgz. For .rar, and usually for .7z, you need another app: when Archive Utility can’t open a file, it says the format is unsupported. Free apps that open both are in 7-Zip for Mac.

Choose where unzipped files go

1. Press Command-Space, type Archive Utility and press Return.
2. Choose Archive Utility › Settings.

3. Under Save expanded files, choose a folder if you don’t want them next to the archive. Under After expanding, choose move archive to Trash if you don’t keep archives after you unzip them.