# The Unarchiver Published January 1, 2026 · Updated August 10, 2026 Unpacks archive files like ZIP, RAR, and more Category: System Utilities · Free · Replaces BetterZip ($24.95) · [Official website](https://theunarchiver.com) ## Install with Homebrew `brew install --cask the-unarchiver` ## Quick take Keep The Unarchiver at 4.3.9 on every Mac that still receives RAR or 7z mail. Free under MacPaw, slow to ship new versions, still better than Archive Utility for stubborn formats and non-ASCII filenames. Add Keka when you also need to create archives. Do not expect a subscription wall for basic extraction. Best for: Mac users who receive .rar and .7z files and can't open them, Users who work with files from international sources (encoding detection), Anyone who wants set-and-forget archive extraction, Non-technical users who want archives to just work ## What is The Unarchiver? As of August 2026, The Unarchiver remains free under MacPaw at version **4.3.9 (18 March 2025)**. Alive, not discontinued, slow to version. It still runs on Apple Silicon and macOS Tahoe 26.x as a set-and-forget extractor for RAR, 7z, and formats Archive Utility will not touch. The Unarchiver only extracts. No compression UI, no archive creation. Double-click an archive and it unpacks. Format coverage includes ZIP, RAR, 7z, TAR, GZIP, BZIP2, LZH, ARJ, ARC, plus a long tail of obscure formats most people never see. macOS Archive Utility still focuses on ZIP. If someone sends a .rar or .7z in 2026, the system app often cannot open it. Install The Unarchiver, make it the default handler, and Finder double-clicks start working for those formats. Dag Ågren created the app; MacPaw maintains the Mac App Store and Homebrew builds. It has been around since 2009 with millions of installs. Typical setup is install once, accept the default-handler prompt, and stop thinking about it. The hard limit is creation: you cannot build .7z or fancy ZIP packages inside The Unarchiver. Use Keka or Finder's Compress when you need to ship archives. Plenty of people only receive archives, so extraction-only is enough. Filename encoding is the other reason to keep it. Archives from Windows or Linux with Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Cyrillic, or accented European names often land as mojibake under Archive Utility. The Unarchiver detects encodings and writes correct Unicode names, which matters if you trade files with international teams. ## Features - **Exhaustive Format Support.** The Unarchiver extracts ZIP, RAR (including v5), 7z, TAR, GZIP, BZIP2, LZMA, XZ, CAB, MSI, NSIS, EXE (self-extracting), ISO, BIN, LZH, ARJ, ARC, PAK, ZOO, LBR, WARC, and more. The format list includes formats that haven't been common since the 1990s (ARJ, ARC, ZOO), but if you somehow encounter one, The Unarchiver handles it. For practical purposes, it opens everything. - **Automatic Encoding Detection.** Archives created on Windows with Shift-JIS, GBK, EUC-KR, or Windows-1252 encoded filenames often appear garbled on macOS. The Unarchiver detects the filename encoding and converts it to proper Unicode. This is especially important for users who work with files from Japan, China, Korea, or Eastern Europe. - **Finder Integration as Default Handler.** Set The Unarchiver as the default application for archive file types. After that, double-clicking any supported archive in Finder extracts it with The Unarchiver instead of the limited Archive Utility. You can configure this globally or per file type. - **Extraction Location Options.** Choose where extracted files go: same folder as the archive, Desktop, Downloads folder, a custom folder, or ask every time. The 'same folder' option is the most natural, you extract right where the archive is. - **Create Folder Behavior.** The Unarchiver can create a new folder for extracted contents or extract directly. If an archive contains a single folder, it can skip creating an extra wrapper folder (preventing double-nesting). This intelligent behavior avoids the annoying 'folder inside a folder' problem. - **Password-Protected Archive Support.** When you open a password-protected archive, The Unarchiver prompts for the password before extracting. It handles encrypted ZIP, 7z, and RAR archives. - **Move Archive to Trash After Extraction.** Optionally delete (move to Trash) the archive file after successful extraction. This keeps your Downloads folder clean, you extract the file and the .zip or .rar disappears automatically. - **Spotlight and Quick Look Integration.** The Unarchiver includes a Quick Look plugin that lets you preview archive contents by pressing Space in Finder. You can see file names and sizes without extracting. Spotlight also indexes archive contents for search. ## How to Install The Unarchiver on Mac The Unarchiver is available from the Mac App Store and Homebrew. 1. **Install via Homebrew.** Run `brew install --cask the-unarchiver` in Terminal. Alternatively, download it for free from the Mac App Store. 2. **Launch and Set as Default.** Open The Unarchiver once. It will offer to set itself as the default handler for all supported archive formats. Accept this, it's the whole point. 3. **Configure Extraction Settings.** In Preferences, set your extraction destination (same folder recommended), folder creation behavior (create folder if there isn't one), and whether to move archives to trash after extraction. 4. **Forget About It.** The Unarchiver runs automatically whenever you double-click an archive. You'll never need to open it manually again. ## Pros - Extracts every archive format you'll encounter (and many you won't) - Free with no ads or premium tier - Correct handling of non-ASCII filenames (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, etc.) - Set-and-forget: configure once, works automatically from Finder - Option to delete archives after extraction - Quick Look plugin for previewing archive contents - Available on the Mac App Store for easy discovery - Lightweight, minimal resource usage ## Cons - Extraction only, cannot create archives - No archive browsing (can't view files without extracting) - No compression level selection (extraction only) - Quick Look plugin occasionally doesn't work after macOS updates - UI is minimal to the point of being non-existent, works but isn't pretty ## Closer look: why archive filenames break on Mac Filename encoding in archives looks minor until a ZIP from a Windows PC lands with mojibake folder names. Millions of Mac users hit that once and never forget it. ## FAQ ### Is The Unarchiver still free and maintained in 2026? Yes. It remains free under MacPaw. The latest published build is 4.3.9 from March 2025, slow updates, not abandonment. ### Does The Unarchiver work on Apple Silicon and macOS Tahoe 26? Yes. Requirements are far below Tahoe; it runs on Apple Silicon Macs as a lightweight utility. ### What formats can it open that Archive Utility cannot? RAR (including multi-volume), many 7z variants, and a long tail of legacy and exotic formats listed on MacPaw's site. ### Can The Unarchiver create archives? No. It only extracts. Use Keka or macOS's built-in 'Compress' for creating archives. ### Is it better than Keka? For extraction only, they're equivalent. Keka can also create archives. If you only extract, either works. If you also compress, use Keka. ### Does it handle password-protected files? Yes. It prompts for the password when you open an encrypted archive. ### Why are my filenames garbled? You might be using Archive Utility instead of The Unarchiver. The Unarchiver detects character encoding and preserves non-ASCII filenames correctly. ### Does it work on Apple Silicon? Yes. Native Apple Silicon support. This applies to current macOS releases (Sonoma, Sequoia, Tahoe) on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. ### What's the difference between The Unarchiver and Archive Utility? Archive Utility only handles ZIP. The Unarchiver handles 30+ formats including RAR, 7z, TAR, and dozens of others. The Unarchiver also handles character encoding correctly. ### Can I browse archive contents without extracting? Partially, the Quick Look plugin shows file names and sizes when you press Space in Finder. For full archive browsing, use BetterZip. ## Sources - [The Unarchiver - MacPaw](https://macpaw.com/the-unarchiver) - [The Unarchiver site](https://theunarchiver.com/) - [Mac App Store - The Unarchiver](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-unarchiver/id425424353) - [MacPaw download](https://macpaw.com/download/the-unarchiver) - [Welcome to MacPaw](https://theunarchiver.com/welcome-to-macpaw) - [Keka](https://www.keka.io/) - [Homebrew cask info context](https://formulae.brew.sh/cask/the-unarchiver) ## Related - [Maccy](https://bundl.run/apps/maccy) - [Stats](https://bundl.run/apps/stats) - [SuperWhisper](https://bundl.run/apps/superwhisper) - [MacWhisper](https://bundl.run/apps/macwhisper) - [HyperWhisper](https://bundl.run/apps/hyperwhisper) - [Aqua Voice](https://bundl.run/apps/aqua-voice) - [The Unarchiver vs Keka](https://bundl.run/compare/keka-vs-the-unarchiver) - [Free alternative to BetterZip](https://bundl.run/https:/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://bundl.run/#organization", "name": "Bundl.run", "url": "https://bundl.run", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://bundl.run/og-image.png", "width": 1200, "height": 630 }, "description": "The Ninite for Mac. 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