How to Install UnRAR DLL for Third-Party Applications

This guide explains how to obtain and install the official UnRAR dynamic link library (DLL) for third-party applications on Windows. By downloading the precompiled binaries from RARLAB and placing them into the appropriate application or Windows system directories, you enable external software—such as custom scripts, emulators, media managers, and development environments—to extract RAR archives natively without installing the full WinRAR software suite.

Step 1: Download the Official UnRAR Source and Binaries

  1. Open your web browser and navigate to the official RARLAB extras or download page (rarlab.com).
  2. Locate the link for the UnRAR source code or the UnRAR.dll package (often distributed as unrarsrc.exe or a standalone ZIP archive containing the compiled binaries).
  3. Download the package to your local computer.

Step 2: Extract the DLL Files

  1. If the download is a self-extracting archive (unrarsrc.exe), run it or extract its contents using your existing archive tool.
  2. Open the extracted folder and navigate to the bin or x64 / x86 subdirectories.
  3. Locate the compiled dynamic link library files:
    • unrar.dll (for 32-bit applications)
    • unrar64.dll (for 64-bit applications)

Step 3: Determine the Installation Location

Third-party applications typically locate the UnRAR DLL using one of two methods:

This is the cleanest and most common approach, ensuring the DLL is available specifically to the program that requires it.

  1. Navigate to the root installation folder of the third-party application (the directory containing the software's main .exe file).
  2. Copy the appropriate DLL version based on the architecture of the application:
    • If the application is 64-bit, copy unrar64.dll.
    • If the application is 32-bit, copy unrar.dll.
  3. Check your application's documentation. If the program explicitly searches for unrar.dll even on 64-bit systems, make a copy of unrar64.dll and rename it to unrar.dll in that application's directory.

Method B: Windows System Directory (System-Wide Access)

If the software requires the DLL to be globally accessible in the Windows path:

  1. Copy the 64-bit unrar64.dll to:
    C:\Windows\System32
  2. If necessary for 64-bit third-party applications expecting a standard name, rename the copied file in System32 to unrar.dll.
  3. Copy the 32-bit unrar.dll to:
    C:\Windows\SysWOW64

Step 4: Verify the Installation

  1. Restart the third-party application to ensure it reloads its library dependencies.
  2. Attempt to open, extract, or scan a .rar file within the software.
  3. If an error persists indicating that unrar.dll is missing, verify whether the software requires a 32-bit or 64-bit binary, and confirm the DLL resides in the working directory or an active system PATH folder.