Two Ways to Extract rar (*.rar) files on Mac

There is no built-in support for files with .rar extensions on the Mac running on macOS. So if you have a *.rar file downloaded from the web, or shared with you by your office colleague or friend, you will need an application or a binary that will extract RAR files.

Let us take a look at 2 different ways you can extract rar files,

1. Install rar formula using Homebrew

• Open Terminal App,
• Type the below command,

  % brew install rar
  ==> Downloading https://www.rarlab.com/rar/rarmacos-arm-612.tar.gz
  
  ==> Installing Cask rar
  ==> Moving Generic Artifact 'default.sfx' to '/opt/homebrew/lib/default.sfx'
  ==> Moving Generic Artifact 'rarfiles.lst' to '/opt/homebrew/etc/rarfiles.lst'
  ==> Linking Binary 'rar' to '/opt/homebrew/bin/rar'
  ==> Linking Binary 'unrar' to '/opt/homebrew/bin/unrar'
  🍺  rar was successfully installed!

  Note: If you get error "zsh: brew command not found" then you need to install homebrew

  RAR will be installed from https://www.rarlab.com

• To extract a file use command unrar e filename.rar
  
  Example:

  % unrar e myDir.rar

2. Install tools from the Mac App Store

There is a lot of rar file archiver and unarchive software that you can get from the official App Store on Mac. Here are a few of them you can try,

1. Unzip - RAR ZIP 7Z Unarchiver: https://apps.apple.com/in/app/unzip-rar-zip-7z-unarchiver/id1537056818?mt=12
2. The Unarchiver: https://apps.apple.com/in/app/the-unarchiver/id425424353?mt=12
3. RAR Extractor - Unarchiver: https://apps.apple.com/in/app/rar-extractor-unarchiver/id646295438

Let us take a look at how to install The Unarchiver app on the Mac,

• Open App Store by going to Apple Menu -> App Store... (or Spotlight Search),
• Now Type in search "The Unarchiver",
• Click on the Get icon (you may be asked to enter your Apple ID Password or use Touch ID),
• Click Open once installed.
• Make sure to select the RAR options when the Preferences options come up.

To use this app simply right-click on the rar extension file and select Open With -> The Unarchiver