How to Ignore File Attributes in Unrar

When extracting RAR archives, you may want to prevent the archive from applying saved metadata such as read-only, hidden, or system flags to your destination filesystem. The unrar command-line utility provides the -ai switch specifically to ignore file attributes entirely during extraction. This guide explains how the -ai switch functions, how to apply it in common extraction commands, and how to combine it with related options to handle archive metadata cleanly.

The -ai Switch

The switch used by unrar to ignore file attributes is:

-ai

By default, unrar restores original file attributes stored in the archive, including:

  • Read-Only
  • Hidden
  • System
  • Archive

Using the -ai switch forces unrar to discard these attributes upon extraction, creating the extracted files with default OS permissions rather than their archived states. This is especially useful when extracting read-only files that you plan to immediately edit or delete, or when preventing hidden files from remaining invisible on your target system.

Basic Usage Examples

To extract an archive into the current directory with full directory paths while ignoring all file attributes, run:

unrar x -ai archive.rar

To extract all files directly into the current folder without preserving their internal folder structure:

unrar e -ai archive.rar

While -ai handles general file attributes, you may want to exclude other metadata types depending on your use case:

  • Ignore File Timestamps (-ts-): Prevents unrar from setting modification, creation, or last-access times from the archive. 
    unrar x -ai -ts- archive.rar
  • Ignore File Owner/Group Security (-ow- on Unix/Linux): Skips the extraction of original owner and group security information. 
    unrar x -ai -ow- archive.rar