How to Open and Extract .RAR Files (Unrar)

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Last Updated: January 30, 2024 Tested

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RAR files are compressed files similar to ZIP files that consume less storage and can be transferred to other locations more quickly than uncompressed files. RAR files cannot be opened using native programs in Windows or Mac OS X, but can be opened or “unrar-ed” using free third-party applications that support the RAR file format.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Windows

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{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/7\/7d\/Unrar-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/7\/7d\/Unrar-Step-1.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

Navigate to the 7-Zip downloads page at https://www.7-zip.org/download.html . 7-Zip is free, open-source file-archiver software that opens and manages RAR files in Windows.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/7\/7a\/Unrar-Step-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/7\/7a\/Unrar-Step-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

2
Select the option to download the latest version of 7-Zip for your Windows system. 7-Zip is available for 32-bit and 64-bit systems.
- Follow these steps to confirm whether you're using a 32-bit or 64-bit system.
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{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/c\/cd\/Unrar-Step-3.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-3.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/c\/cd\/Unrar-Step-3.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-3.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":346,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":548,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/2\/28\/Unrar-Step-4.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-4.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/2\/28\/Unrar-Step-4.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-4.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

The program will launch, and display files and folders on your computer.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/1\/1c\/Unrar-Step-5.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-5.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/1\/1c\/Unrar-Step-5.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-5.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":346,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":547,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/c\/c5\/Unrar-Step-6.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-6.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/c\/c5\/Unrar-Step-6.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-6.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":346,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":548,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

” This extracts the contents of the RAR file.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/7\/77\/Unrar-Step-7.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-7.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/7\/77\/Unrar-Step-7.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-7.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

The contents of the RAR file will display in the application selected. ^{[1]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Mac OS X

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{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/a\/a1\/Unrar-Step-8.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-8.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/a\/a1\/Unrar-Step-8.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-8.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

Navigate to the Unarchiver downloads page at https://wakaba.c3.cx/ . Unarchiver is a free data compression utility that opens RAR files in Mac OS X.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/3\/3f\/Unrar-Step-9.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-9.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/3\/3f\/Unrar-Step-9.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-9.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

This opens the Unarchiver Preferences window.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/c\/c9\/Unrar-Step-10.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-10.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/c\/c9\/Unrar-Step-10.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-10.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/3\/31\/Unrar-Step-11.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-11.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/3\/31\/Unrar-Step-11.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-11.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/3\/38\/Unrar-Step-12.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-12.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/3\/38\/Unrar-Step-12.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-12.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":346,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":548,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/8\/8d\/Unrar-Step-13.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-13.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/8\/8d\/Unrar-Step-13.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-13.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":344,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":544,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

”
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/51\/Unrar-Step-14.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-14.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/51\/Unrar-Step-14.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-14.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":346,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":548,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

This extracts the contents of the RAR file using Unarchiver, and saves it to the location specified earlier.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/e\/e9\/Unrar-Step-15.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-15.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/e\/e9\/Unrar-Step-15.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-15.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":347,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":549,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

The contents of the RAR file will display in the application selected.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Mobile Devices

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{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/6\/67\/Unrar-Step-16.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-16.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/6\/67\/Unrar-Step-16.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-16.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/0\/09\/Unrar-Step-17.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-17.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/0\/09\/Unrar-Step-17.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-17.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

Examples of useful search terms include “unrar files,” “open rar files,” and “extract rar files.”
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/d\/da\/Unrar-Step-18.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-18.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/d\/da\/Unrar-Step-18.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-18.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

Examples of high-rated apps that open RAR files are iZip by ComcSoft for iOS, and Simple Unrar by Resonance Lab for Android.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/9\/91\/Unrar-Step-19.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-19.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/9\/91\/Unrar-Step-19.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-19.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/1\/16\/Unrar-Step-20.jpg\/v4-460px-Unrar-Step-20.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/1\/16\/Unrar-Step-20.jpg\/v4-728px-Unrar-Step-20.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

The app will open and extract the contents of the RAR file on your device.

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Try opening the RAR file on your computer prior to installing any third-party RAR extraction software. The file will open in the event you already have compatible RAR software installed on your system.

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Consider using ZIP files instead of RAR files to compress large files. Most computers and devices have built-in utilities that open ZIP files without your needing to install additional software.

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How to Open and Extract .RAR Files (Unrar)

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