RAR is a format for compressed files just like ZIP. You need special types of tools to open RAR files on Mac. If you want to learn about that, this post is written specifically for you. After going through it, you will be able to open any RAR file on your Mac PC and access the files within it.
Nov 30, 2020 Keka is an excellent tool for compressing and extracting files. It is available as a standalone installation for both the App Store and Mac. Double click on a RAR file for extracting it after its installation. However, some users complain about their inability to open RAR files before their extraction. If you have a series of.rar files, usually there is one main file and a series of additional files. The main file will end in.rar while the other files may end in.001,.002,.003 etc or they might be.part1,.part2,.part3 etc Usually the main.
Here, I will guide you on how to open RAR files on Mac. I will present multiple methods to do that. So, if you have trouble with a single method, you can simply switch to the other. However, all of them are super-easy and you won’t have any problem with them.
Contents
- 1 What is a RAR File?
- 3 Alternate Methods to Open RAR Files on Mac
What is a RAR File?
RAR is basically a compressed (archived) file format. If you know about ZIP files, you’d easily understand RAR files also. Both of them are very similar. The full name of RAR files is Roshal Archive files, which is named after the Russian developer who invented them These files compress large amounts of data or files into a single .rar format file. This single file is very convenient to transfer or move around.
You can find RAR files at a lot of places, especially on the web when you download any software or other files. The reason is that RAR files reduce the file size and bundles all the essential documents into a single folder. So, you can easily download them. There are even useful features like error recovery and password protection.
Can I Open RAR Files on Mac?
YES, you can easily open RAR files on Mac. But, you will need to use a special method to do that. RAR files function just like the ZIP files but have the file extension as .rar. So, you can’t unpack them with the default tools available in Mac. You have to use a third-party extractor software to decompress the RAR file.
Doing that will unarchive the contents of the RAR file into a folder of the same name. There are many such tools available on the App Store, the most prominent one being The UnArchiver. I’ll explain how you can use it to decompress .rar files on your Mac.
How to Open RAR Files on Mac?
The best method to open RAR files on Mac is to use The UnArchiver. It is a free, easy to use, and highly compatible tool to decompress RAR, ZIP, and many other file formats on Mac. If you want to learn how to use it, follow the simple steps mentioned below.
Step-1: Visit the Mac App Store and download The UnArchiver.
Step-2: Once it is installed, it will prompt you to run it. When you do that, a screen will open where you can choose the file types that you want The UnArchiver to open for you. The common ones, including RAR, will be selected by default.
Step-3: Next, switch to the Extraction tab, and set how the app handles the archives and the folders created after opening them.
Step-4: After that, go to the .rar file that you want to open. You will see that it is showing The Unarchiver icon by default. You can double-click on it to decompress the file. Or, if it isn’t showing the icon, right-click on the file, click on ‘Open With,’ and choose ‘The UnArchiver.’
Step-5: The UnArchiver will then allow you to choose the location where you want to unarchive the file. You can also create a new folder to unarchive the files into it.
Step-6: After choosing a destination, click on the ‘Extract’ button and wait for the files to be extracted. When done, all the files will be placed in the folder that you opted for. You can access them by going to the folder.
That’s it.
Alternate Methods to Open RAR Files on Mac
Apart from using The UnArchiver to open RAR files on Mac, there are several other methods available that you can use. I’m listing some of the most reliable ones here. You can use them to extract any .rar file on your Mac PC.
Method-1: Extract Files Online
You can open RAR files on your Mac online, but the method is not much efficient as you will risk your privacy and will have to download bigger files after extraction. Still, if you want to try it. Follow these simple steps:
- Open a browser, Safari or Chrome, and visit Extract.me.
- Click on the ‘Choose File’ button and upload the .rar file.
- Once it is uploaded, click on ‘Extract.’
- Wait for the extraction to complete and then click on ‘Download’ to download the extracted files.
That’s it.
Method-2: Use Terminal
You can also open RAR files on Mac with Terminal. But, you will need a special package manager called Homebrew. Only use this method if you are comfortable with the Terminal in macOS. Follow these steps to learn more.
Step-1: Go to the ‘Utilities’ folder and open ‘Terminal.’
Step-2: Now use the following command to install Homebrew:
Step-3: Next, use the following command to install the BrewRAR extractor:
brew install unrar
Step-4: If the Unrar tool has to be built from source, use this command as well:
xcode-select –install
Step-5: After that, go to your .rar file in Terminal and use this command to extract it:
unrar x [file name].rar
That’s it. The RAR file contents will be extracted to the same location where the file was located. You can easily access it.
Method-3: Use The UnArchiver Alternatives
If the only reason why you are looking for the alternate methods is that you aren’t too fond of The UnArchiver. Then, you can simply use the best UnArchive alternatives on your Mac PC to open RAR files. Here are the apps that you can use instead of The UnArchiver:
These are some of the best The UnArchiver alternatives that you can use on Mac to open RAR files.
Final Take
RAR is a common archived file format. It works in a similar manner to ZIP files. You can compress big amounts of data into .rar files and transfer them conveniently. This is how you open RAR files on Mac. I’d recommend using the UnArchiver to do that. But, if you want, you can try other methods that I have mentioned also.
Remember that decompressing RAR files online puts your privacy in a risk. That’s all for this post. I hope you find it helpful. If you have any queries or suggestions about anything written here, feel free to use the comment box.
Hello Friends and Fans. This is your own Steve Sadiq. Today i’ll share with you guys my working method that will solve your problem of how to open RAR files on Mac. I would like to share some useful knowledge regarding this topic so that you concepts get clear about RAR files. Before that, I would like to ask you a question. Do you know what are RAR files? What is the purpose of creating RAR files? Where RAR files are used. Why don’t we use simple files instead of RAR files?
Basically, RAR files are compressed and zipped files. RAR files are archive file formats. RAR (Roshal Archive Compressed file) files are created by compressing multiple files and compiling them to the same place. A simple RAR file that contains multiple images, doc files etc etc can be easily sent via email. The advantage of using these is that the size gets reduced. You can easily send them to through email or share them via social media messenger. Suppose you have to send a very important project to your university portal/or a business proposal/or pictures to your friends.
The files are of large size and greater in number. For sending them you need to upload them one by one. And some emails don’t allow large size files to send. Here are files solve these issues. you just to create a simple folder and place all your files in those folders. Then zip or compress the folder. All the files/pics get packed and compressed. You just need to attach this single file to send wherever you want.
Now that you have come to know about the advantages of RAR file. There also comes the issue with RAR files. When you receive an email that contains RAR files or you download a RAR file from the internet you would not be able to access that RAR file unless you unzip that.
How to Open RAR files on Windows 10
Yes, Yes I know this article is about how to open RAR files on Mac. But this will be useful for you guys if you learn this as well, this is very easy in case of windows 10. Just select the RAR file. Right-click on that. You will see option extract here, or extract a file to. Just click that and the files get unzipped. Open and use them. See how simple this was.
How to Open RAR files on MAC
How easy it was in the case of Windows. I wish to open RAR files on mac would have been as simple as it was on windows. But this is not the case at all. On the mac, you need a RAR file opener to extract and open RAR files. Let’s start and see how this is done.
You people must have heard the term ZIP files. You must be thinking that what is the difference between RAR files and ZIP files. Am I right?
Is there any difference between RAR and ZIP?
Both RAR and ZIP files are compressed archive files/folders. By default, Mac accesses ZIP archive files. But to open RAR files on the mac you need third-party software to unpack the contents or RAR file. The advantages of using RAR file instead of ZIP file are quite technical. If you are not a technical person or IT professional, you don’t need to worry and you don’t need to understand that as well. But I’ll mention for tech-related people.
In contrast to ZIP files, RAR files feature strong AES-128 encryption meaning more secure. The compression ratio is high in RAR FILES. As i have mentioned earlier mac basically supports zip archive format and not the RAR format. So to unpack the RAR files on the mac you need a third-party app or utility.
Unlike the ZIP files, Apple’s macOS and OS X does NOT include a built-in archive utility tool that opens RAR files. Apple’s Archive Utility supports a number of file formats like ZIP, TAR, and GZIP. It does not support RAR files.
How to open RAR files on Mac using Unarchiver
There are multiple 3rd party apps available in the app store that will answer your question – how to open RAR files on Mac. The 3rd party app which I am using and sharing with you to open RAR files on Mac is Unarchiver. You can easily find the app on the utility section of the store.
You can also use the following apps to open RAR files on mac
- Dr. Unarchiver
- Open Any Files
- RAR Extractor.
What Steve Recommends
This is not about using 3rd party app for extracting RAR files on mac. This is general for all the apps which you download. Must read the reviews of the people and you will get the idea that which app is best suited for the purpose.
Why I have selected Unarchiver
The reason of selecting unarchiver, to open RAR files on mac, is that it is easy to use. Also it is small in size and most importantly it is a free tool. Additionally, it is an open source program and supports formats such as Zip, RAR (including v5), 7-zip, Tar, Gzip, and Bzip2.
Step by Step Guide – how to open RAR files on Mac Using Unarchiver
STEP 1
Download and install The Unarchiver
There are two options here. Download via the Unarchiver site or the Mac App Store. The developer prefers downloads from its site rather than the Mac App Store, due to limitations set by Apple and its sandboxing requirements. The developer contends that sandboxing limits the capabilities of the app.
The Minimum system requirements are Mac OS X 10.7. However, for those of us with older Macs, there is an older Mac version available via the Unarchiver site.
STEP 2
Open RAR File(s)
After you install The Unarchiver via the Mac App Store or the Unarchiver site, it’s time to open your RAR file.
Just drag & drop your RAR any compressed file onto the Unarchiver’s icon or right-click the RAR file on your Mac then select Open With and choose The Unarchiver OR double click the RAR file.
Unzip Multiple Rar Files Mac
The Unarchiver extracts the compressed files into that same folder. After that, use these files as you would any other file. They are now the same!
THE FINAL STEP
Updated Your Mac OS?
If you recently updated your Mac’s operating system, and you discover that Unarchiver isn’t working regularly. Try uninstalling the app then going back to the site or your Mac App Store and reinstalling the app. For some reason, OS updates sometimes mess up the app, with no particular pattern.
Additionally, your firewall may be getting in that way of the Unarchiver.
So give the app a refresh and see if that helps! So make sure you allow the Unarchiver access by enabling it to receive incoming connections.
Extract Multiple Rar Files Mac Download
How to give access / allow specific application via Firewall
- The 1st step is, go to System Preferences
- In System Preferences, you will see an option of Security or Security & Privacy
- In Security/Security Privacy you will see Firewall.
- Click the bottom left lock icon and enter an administrator name and password when requested
- Select Firewall Options
- Click the Add Application (+) button
- In Applications, scroll down and click on The Unarchiver and tap Add
- Click OK to close the menu
- Click the lock icon to prevent any additional changes
- Close System Preferences
Concluding Thought
Extract Multiple Rar Files Mac
That’s all for the day. Today you have learned, how to open RAR files on Mac. This was not so difficult. I have shared with you the slight intro of the RAR files. The importance of RAR files. Also, I have discussed with you guys about the RAR vs Zip files. The mac is by default set to open zip files. So to open RAR file on Mac, you need to have a 3rd party app.
Unzip Rar File Mac
I have shared the names of different apps that you can use. Also the methods of how to use the app to open RAR files on Mac. Finally, I have shared with you the 3 step process to open, extract files on Mac using Unarchiver. Hope now you will not have any sort of trouble to open RAR Files on Mac.
If still, something is not clear in your mind, feel free to contact me, or write in the comment section. I’ll try to answer that as soon as I can. This is your very own Steve Sadiq signing off for now.
Stay Blessed.
Extracting Multi Part Rar Files
Peace 🙂