How to download and install Keka on Mac

Website or App Store version

Keka is one file for Macs with Apple Silicon and Intel. According to its developer, the two versions are the same app:

• Website version: free, with its own updater. If you like Keka, the developer accepts tips on the website.
• App Store version: paid. Buying it supports development, and it updates through the App Store.

Download Keka only from keka.io or the App Store. The download button here gets the latest Keka-….dmg that Keka’s website links to.

How to install Keka

1. Open the downloaded Keka-….dmg in your Downloads folder.
2. In the window that opens, drag Keka to the Applications folder, then eject the Keka disk in the Finder sidebar.

3. Open Keka from Applications and click Open when macOS asks about an app downloaded from the internet.
4. To compress, drag files or folders onto Keka’s window or its Dock icon. To extract, open an archive with Keka: Control-click it and choose Open With › Keka.

For the App Store version, search for Keka in the App Store, click the price, then Buy or Install.

What to set up after the first launch

• Access to your folders. Keka works in a sandbox and asks for access to a folder before it saves an archive next to your files. In Keka’s settings, on the file access panel, you can add folders or allow your whole home folder at once.
• Default app for archives. To open archives in Keka with a double-click, download the small Helper from Keka’s website and run it: Keka can’t make itself the default on its own.
• Finder menu. Control-click a file: Send to Keka, Compress using Keka and Extract using Keka are in its menu, under Services if not at the top. On macOS 15 and later, the Keka Helper also turns on Keka’s Finder extension.
• The installer. Move the .dmg from Downloads to the Trash once Keka runs.

If Keka won’t install or work

• «Keka is damaged and can’t be opened». The download was incomplete. Delete it and download it again from Keka’s website.
• Keka asks where to save every time. Give it access to the folder, or to your home folder, on the file access panel in its settings.
• Keka misbehaves after an update. Remove Keka completely and install it again: see how to uninstall Keka on Mac.

Alternatives to Keka

• The UnarchiverOpens almost any archive with one click, free.