Compressing and Extracting Files with Archive Utility on macOS Tahoe
Archive Utility is the built-in tool on macOS for working with compressed archives, primarily in the ZIP format. While it lacks a dedicated interface, it seamlessly integrates into Finder, making archiving and unarchiving files simple.
Compressing Files and Folders
To create a ZIP archive:
- Select the files and folders you want to compress in Finder.
- Right-click (or Control-click) on the selected items.
- Choose Compress [number] items from the context menu.
A new ZIP archive with the same name as the selected item (or the first selected item) will be created in the same location.
Extracting Archives
To extract the contents of an archive:
- Double-click the ZIP archive.
Archive Utility will automatically extract the contents into a new folder in the same location as the archive. The new folder will have the same name as the archive (without the .zip extension).
Supported Archive Formats
Archive Utility primarily supports the ZIP format, but it can also handle other formats, including:
- ZIP (.zip): Most common format.
- Gzip (.gz): Used for single-file compression (often used in conjunction with
.tar). - Bzip2 (.bz2): Another single-file compression format.
- Tar (.tar): Archive format (no compression).
Alternative: ditto Command
For advanced users, the ditto command in Terminal provides more control over the archiving process, including preserving file metadata and permissions.
- Advanced: Advanced Copying and Archiving with Ditto
Related Guides
- Master Guide to macOS Tahoe
- Getting Started with Finder on macOS Tahoe