File extraction guides for macOS

ZIP is the most widely used archive format on macOS. It supports lossless compression and is natively handled by Finder and Archive Utility.

RAR is a proprietary archive format known for high compression ratios and multi-part archives. macOS has no built-in RAR support.

7z is an open-source archive format with excellent compression. macOS has no built-in 7z support.

TAR (tape archive) bundles files without compression. Often combined with GZ, BZ2, or XZ for compressed archives. Natively supported via Terminal on macOS.

DMG is Apple's native disk image format. It's the standard way to distribute macOS applications. macOS handles DMG files natively.

ISO is the standard disk image format for optical media. Used for OS installers, software distributions, and disc backups.

PKG is Apple's installer package format. Used for macOS software that requires system-level installation.

ZIP is the most widely used archive format on macOS. It supports lossless compression and is natively handled by Finder and Archive Utility.

RAR is a proprietary archive format known for high compression ratios and multi-part archives. macOS has no built-in RAR support.

7z is an open-source archive format with excellent compression. macOS has no built-in 7z support.

TAR (tape archive) bundles files without compression. Often combined with GZ, BZ2, or XZ for compressed archives. Natively supported via Terminal on macOS.

CAB (Cabinet) is Microsoft's archive format used in Windows installers and updates. macOS has no built-in CAB support.

CPIO is a Unix archive format used in RPM packages, initramfs images, and macOS PKG payloads. Supported natively on macOS via Terminal.

XAR (eXtensible ARchive) is Apple's archive format used internally for PKG installers and Xcode distributions.

StuffIt was the dominant Mac compression format in the Classic Mac OS era. Legacy format still found in old archives.

Self-Extracting Archives were common in the Classic Mac OS era. They contain both the archive data and extraction code.

ARJ was a popular DOS-era archive format. Rarely used today but still found in legacy archives and retro computing.

LHA (also known as LZH) is a Japanese archive format popular in retro computing and the Amiga community.

LZH is an alternative extension for LHA archives, particularly common in Japanese computing.

LZX is an Amiga archive format. Very rare today, primarily found in Amiga software preservation.

CHM (Compiled HTML Help) is Microsoft's help documentation format. Contains compressed HTML, images, and an index.

DMG is Apple's native disk image format. It's the standard way to distribute macOS applications. macOS handles DMG files natively.

ISO is the standard disk image format for optical media. Used for OS installers, software distributions, and disc backups.

FAT (File Allocation Table) filesystem images are used for USB drives, SD cards, and cross-platform storage.

NTFS is Windows' default filesystem. NTFS images are found in Windows backups and forensic disk captures.

VMDK is VMware's virtual disk format. Contains the filesystem of a virtual machine.

VHD is Microsoft's virtual disk format used by Hyper-V and Azure. Contains a complete filesystem image.

VHDX is the newer version of Microsoft's VHD format with support for larger disks and improved resilience.

VDI is VirtualBox's native virtual disk format. Contains the filesystem of a VirtualBox virtual machine.

QCOW2 is QEMU's disk image format with copy-on-write support, snapshots, and compression. Used in KVM/QEMU virtualization.

SquashFS is a read-only compressed filesystem used in Linux live CDs, AppImages, snap packages, and embedded systems.

Gzip is the most common compression format on Unix/macOS. Usually wraps a TAR archive to create .tar.gz files. Natively supported on macOS.

Bzip2 offers better compression than Gzip at the cost of speed. Common for source code distributions and Linux packages.

XZ uses LZMA2 compression for excellent compression ratios. Common in Linux distributions and large software packages.

LZ4 prioritizes speed over compression ratio. Used in real-time applications and Apple's own APFS filesystem.

The original Unix compress format. Largely superseded by Gzip but still found in legacy systems and old archives.

TAR.Z is a TAR archive compressed with the original Unix compress utility. Found in legacy Unix archives.

PKG is Apple's installer package format. Used for macOS software that requires system-level installation.