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The Unarchiver

Opens any archive

freeUtilities

The Unarchiver is an extractor that just works: opens RAR, 7-Zip, tar.gz, ISO, and even ancient PowerPC-era formats. Replaces the built-in "Archive Utility" and stays out of your way. Free forever.

Official site

// Install

Your Mac
Homebrew in /opt/homebrew
brew install --cask the-unarchiver

// What it is for

  • Opens RAR, 7z, tar, and a dozen formats the built-in macOS archiver does not understand
  • Gets filename encodings right in older archives — readable names instead of mojibake
  • Free and install-once: from then on archives open with a double click
  • Handles multi-volume archives starting from the first part

// Common questions

Can The Unarchiver create archives?

No, extraction only — a deliberate limit. For creating archives with encryption or split volumes, use Keka.

What about password-protected archives?

It asks for the password during extraction. If the archive uses an encryption scheme it does not support, Keka is the fallback.

// Alternatives

// CONNECT

Contact Information

Submit a request or write to me directly on Telegram. I'll reply within 24 hours.