Is unrar Included by Default in macOS?

No, the unrar utility is not included by default in any standard macOS installation. While Apple's operating system natively supports standard archive formats like ZIP, TAR, and GZIP, it lacks built-in support for extracting or creating RAR archives out of the box. Users who need to open RAR files on a Mac must install third-party command-line utilities or graphical extraction applications.

Why macOS Does Not Include unrar

The RAR compression format is proprietary, owned and developed by Eugene Roshal and Alexander Roshal. Because the decompression algorithm and source code carry specific licensing restrictions, Apple does not bundle the unrar binary into macOS. Instead, macOS ships with the built-in Archive Utility, which natively handles formats like .zip, .tar.gz, and .bz2, but completely ignores .rar archives.

How to Install unrar via the Terminal

If you prefer using the command line, the fastest and cleanest way to get the official unrar tool on modern macOS is via Homebrew, the popular Mac package manager.

  1. Open Terminal.
  2. If you have Homebrew installed, run: 
    brew install unrar
  3. Once the installation completes, verify it by checking the version: 
    unrar --version

To extract a RAR file using the command line, navigate to the folder containing the file and run:

unrar x filename.rar

The x flag ensures that files are extracted while preserving their original folder structure.

GUI Alternatives for Opening RAR Files

If you do not want to use the Terminal, several free graphical tools provide drag-and-drop RAR extraction:

  • The Unarchiver: One of the most popular free apps on the Mac App Store. Once installed, it integrates with Finder and automatically unpacks .rar files just like macOS handles native .zip files.
  • Keka: A lightweight, open-source file archiver that supports RAR extraction alongside many other compression formats.

In summary, while macOS cannot extract RAR files on its own, adding unrar through Homebrew or installing a dedicated extraction utility takes only a few moments.