Unzip zip, RAR and 7z files on Mac
To unzip zip, RAR and 7z files on a Mac, double-tap the right Option key and type “unzip it”. Like Finder's Archive Utility: one thing inside lands next to the archive as itself ("Tax 2026.zip" becomes the folder "Tax 2026"); several things go in a folder named after the archive. Nothing is overwritten: if the name is taken, you get "Tax 2026 2".
How to do it
- Select the files in Finder, pick them with @ in the bar, or name them in plain words ("my last pdf").
- Double-tap the right Option key to open the bar.
- Type “unzip it”.
- Press Return. The new file appears next to the original.
Type
- unzip it
- unzip it with password 1234
- extract the rar
- open the 7z
- unzip my last download
What you get
Like Finder's Archive Utility: one thing inside lands next to the archive as itself ("Tax 2026.zip" becomes the folder "Tax 2026"); several things go in a folder named after the archive. Nothing is overwritten: if the name is taken, you get "Tax 2026 2".
Opens .zip (password zips too, ZipCrypto and AES-256), .rar (RAR4 and RAR5), .7z, .tar and .tar.gz. It uses the archive reader built into macOS, so nothing else is installed.
Safe by default: nothing inside can be written outside the new folder, links inside the archive are left out, and so are the Mac's extras (__MACOSX folders, ._ files, .DS_Store). Files from a download keep macOS's "downloaded from the internet" mark, so an app inside is still checked before it opens.
No password said for a locked zip: Whizra says so and asks you to say it. A wrong password: it says the password didn't open it.
For a password zip, say the password in your sentence: “unzip it with password 1234”.
The free Mac way
Finder opens a plain .zip with a double-click (Archive Utility). It can't open .rar or .7z, so people install The Unarchiver or Keka (both free). In Terminal, tar -xf file.rar
also works for many archives.
Limits
- Password-protected RAR and 7z files can't be opened yet; Whizra says so and names The Unarchiver, which can.
- Stops if what's inside would be over 64 GB.
Questions
Is my file uploaded?
No. Whizra does the job on your Mac, and your files never leave it. The only thing the app sends is your license key check.
Does it change the original?
No. The original is never changed or overwritten, and Undo takes the job back.
What can't it do?
Password-protected RAR and 7z files can't be opened yet; Whizra says so and names The Unarchiver, which can. Stops if what's inside would be over 64 GB.
Is there a free way on a Mac?
Finder opens a plain .zip with a double-click (Archive Utility). It can't open .rar or .7z, so people install The Unarchiver or Keka (both free). In Terminal, tar -xf file.rar
also works for many archives.