why dont apple products support .rar files as default?

it’s annoying to download third party apps to “unrar”. This is a shame to suchh an experienced company.

Posted on Sep 14, 2025 04:35 AM

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4 replies

Sep 14, 2025 11:11 AM in response to super221

There are many compression and archiving formats available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_archive_formats


RAR is a proprietary file format with paid, proprietary archive-creation tooling, while tools to extract the RAR archives are available from various sources including from the vendor: RARLAB.


Given the vendor restrictions on the archive-creation tools, I wouldn’t expect RAR support to become available as part of macOS.


If you need RAR support, download the tools from RARLAB.


Apple provides various tools for unpacking common archive formats, including tools associated with (optionally digitally signed) software installations and updates including packages and DMG files. Third-party frameworks including Sparkle are also available.


You can send your RAR feedback to Apple here: Product Feedback - Apple


why dont apple products support .rar files as default?

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