If your work revolves around a desktop, you come across many files knowingly or unknowingly. You might’ve encountered RAR files on your Mac, and you just can’t open them because there’s no simple way to do so. RAR is a compressed file format, it carries a bunch of more than one file together in one place in the reduced file size format. Also, RAR files are mostly used for downloading or sending a copious amount of data.

In this article, we’ll be discussing, how to open and extract .rar files on macOS. Unlike ZIP format files that open easily on macOS, there’s no native way to open RAR files directly. Here’s how you can do that, just follow the explanatory guide that we’ve managed to provide you to open .rar files and extract them on macOS. Without further delay, let’s get started.

How to open .rar files on macOS

We are going to open .rar files on macOS with the help of third-party software. We need to extract the .rar file first and then open it in order to access the files. Following are some useful third-party software that will help you to open and extract .rar files on Mac.

1. How to extract .rar files on macOS using Keka

Keka is a macOS file archiver that is free to use from the developer’s websites, but you can support the software by downloading it from App Stores. You just need to access the software In order to access the .rar files on Mac. Here’s how you can do that:

• Download and install Keka on your Mac.
• Open the Keka through Application.
• Now, just drag the .rar files in the Dock of Keka’s icon.
• The .rar files will extract automatically according to the location set by default.

To set Keka your default application for RAR files on Mac, users need to do the following:

• Search any .rar file in Finder on your Mac.
• Select Get Info, by doing a control-click on the .rar file.
• Now open the Open With drop-down menu.
• Search and select Keka.
• Now, to make Keka your default app for the .rar file, click on Change All…

2. How to extract .rar files on macOS using The Unarchiver

The Unarchiver is free use program that can easily let you unarchive .rar files on your Mac. It also supports more archive formats for macOS 10.7 and above. Follow the steps to open and extract the .rar files on macOS:

• Download and install The Unarchiver on your Mac.
• Visit Applications to open The Unarchiver.
• Go to menu bar >select Files > Unarchiove to…
• Click on Unarchive by selecting your .rar file.
• Choose the location for extracting the file to save it.
• Click on Extract.

You can also just drag the .rar file to the Dock of The Unarchiver’s icon, to extract the .rar file to the location set by default.

To set The Unarchiver your default application for RAR files on Mac, users need to do the following:

• Search any .rar file in Finder on your Mac.
• Select Get Info, by doing a control-click on the .rar file.
• Now open the Open With drop-down menu.
• Search and select The Unarchiver.
• Now, to make The Unarchiver your default app for the .rar file, click on Change All…

3. Extract .rar files online on macOS

You can also unarchive or extract .rar files online as there are few websites available to let you do so. While unarchiving or extracting .rar files online you might compromise privacy. Extract.me is a good website where you can extract .rar files freely. You just need to upload the particular file that you want to extract, once done the file will start downloading on your Mac.

The file might take some time ddepending upon its size as its no longer remained compressed.

Not able to open the extracted .rar files on Mac?

If you’re unable to open the extracted files, then it’s possible that your macOS is not updated on its latest version. You can ensure that by visiting System Preferences > Sofware Updates if any update is available then it’s recommended to update the firmware.

The possibility might exist that the third-party software you are using to extract the .rar files has stopped working. Just uninstall the program from the scratch, reboot your Mac and start a fresh download of the program on the latest version from the developer’s website.

Your firewall could be the culprit, it could interfere with the third-party program to not work as it supposes to be. Here’s how to allow third-party apps to work through Firewall.

• Visit System Prederence >Security & Privacy > Firewall.
• Now, click on the padlock and enter your administrator password to make changes.
• Select Firewall Options… > click on “+” button.
• Locate and select the required third-party app > click on Add.
• Click on OK, close the lock icon.

Now, you are ready to use the third-party programs to open and extract the .rar file once you allow the firewall to use third-party apps.

If you have any queries, you can drop it in the comment section below.