Archive guides
Choose your archive's format or the task you need to complete. These guides cover all 16 formats listed on the Kernir home page, with reading, writing and password limitations explained in each article.
Try it with sample files
- Sample archive downloads: small ZIP, 7z, TAR and compressed-stream files, including password-protected examples and checksums.
- Archives on iPhone and iPad: real screenshots of browsing, previews, extraction, editing and the password prompt.
Choose a format
- Common archives: ZIP, 7z and RAR.
- TAR archives: TAR, TAR.GZ / TGZ, TAR.BZ2 and TAR.XZ.
- Compressed streams: GZ, BZ2, XZ and Zstandard / ZST.
- Images and other containers: ISO, CPIO, XAR, LHA / LZH and CAB.
Kernir reads and writes ZIP, 7z, TAR, TAR.GZ, TAR.BZ2 and TAR.XZ. The other formats in this list are read-only in Kernir. A compressed stream such as notes.txt.xz is different from a compressed archive such as Project.tar.xz; choose the guide that matches your file. The Zstandard guide also covers the read-only TAR.ZST combination.
Look inside or take files out
- Preview an archive with Quick Look: see the file list before unpacking, use Terminal for a listing, and check your Mac's preview extension.
- Extract one file from ZIP, 7z or RAR: find the full path, choose a destination, and decide whether to preserve its parent folders.
- Open RAR files on Mac: list and extract an unencrypted RAR, understand read-only support, and distinguish RAR from ZIP.
If you only need one document, start with single-file extraction. You do not need to convert or edit the archive just to copy something out of it.
Change an archive or its format
- Add or remove files in a ZIP: update an existing archive with Terminal, or add and delete files in Kernir.
- Convert RAR to ZIP on Mac: create a separate ZIP copy, choose its folder layout and check that the conversion is complete.
- Open and create 7z files: try Archive Utility, list or extract with Terminal, and create a new unencrypted 7z.
Changing an archive's filename extension does not convert the format. Use a reader and writer that understand the input and output formats, and keep the original until you have checked the new copy.
Problems and app choices
- ZIP file won't open on Mac?: check downloads, disk space, passwords and reader support before trying to repair an archive.
- Keka vs The Unarchiver: compare creation and extraction tasks, decide when Archive Utility is enough, and understand where Kernir fits.
Formats and passwords
- ZIP vs 7z: which should you use?: consider the recipient's tools and compare the formats on your own files.
- Create a ZIP with a password on Mac: choose between Terminal's ZipCrypto and AES, then test the saved archive.
- Open a password-protected ZIP: distinguish a wrong password from unsupported encryption or damaged data.
Being able to list an archive does not always mean an application can decrypt or extract every entry. Password support depends on the encryption scheme, not just whether the filename ends in ZIP, 7z or RAR.
About these guides
These instructions are published as part of the Kernir project. Each guide includes an update or verification note. App workflows are checked against source code; recorded macOS checks are identified by version. Built-in-tool support on a different Mac may vary.
Kernir is a free, open-source archive viewer and editor for macOS 14 or later. The Mac download is being prepared, and the source repository includes build instructions. For a problem with the app, visit Kernir support and include your OS version, archive format and the operation that failed.
Format coverage and app capabilities were checked against current source code. Mobile illustrations are screenshots supplied by the project owner. Updated .
