Reviews for Archive Utility
Login to Reviewmwhite9090
Mar 08, 2026Frustratingly basic and unreliable for a built-in tool
Archive Utility is the bare minimum macOS offers for compression, and it shows. It often fails to extract RAR and 7z files properly, leaving me to download third-party apps anyway. The lack of any interface or options, like choosing extraction locations, makes it more of a hassle than a convenience.
liamweb931
Mar 07, 2026It Just Works... Until It Doesn't
As a built-in tool, Archive Utility is incredibly convenient for quickly zipping and unzipping files without thinking about it. The seamless integration with the Finder is fantastic for basic tasks. However, I've run into frustrating issues with password-protected RAR files and 7z archives, where it either fails silently or extracts with errors. For a free tool it's okay, but power users will quickly need to look elsewhere for reliability.
emmadata729
Mar 04, 2026Free but Frustrating - A Bare-Bones Utility
As a longtime Mac user, I appreciate that Archive Utility comes pre-installed, but it feels incredibly basic and prone to issues. It silently and automatically unpacks archives in place without asking, often creating a messy folder of loose files right in my Downloads folder with no option to choose where they go. It also frequently fails to open password-protected or multi-volume archives, forcing me to use third-party software anyway. For a built-in tool, it's frustratingly underpowered for anything beyond the simplest zips, making it feel like a first draft of a utility rather than a polished feature.
olivia_harris40
Mar 01, 2026Built-in but extremely basic
Archive Utility is frustratingly limited and unpredictable. It silently creates annoying .cpgz loops with password-protected zip files, making them impossible to open. The interface offers zero control over compression levels or archive destinations, and it often fails with multi-part RAR files. For something that comes pre-installed, it's borderline unusable for anything beyond the simplest tasks.
qjohnson5646
Feb 13, 2026Invisible but Indispensable
As a longtime Mac user, I appreciate how Archive Utility just works without needing any thought. When I download a .zip or receive a .rar file, it handles everything automatically in the background. It's so seamlessly integrated into Finder that I barely notice it's there until I need it, and then it performs flawlessly every time. For basic compression and extraction of common formats, it's all I'll ever need.
avery_smith61
Jan 19, 2026Convenient but limited
It's great that Archive Utility is built into macOS and handles basic zip files seamlessly when you double-click. However, it struggles with larger RAR archives and often fails silently with 7z files, forcing me to download third-party apps. For quick, simple tasks it's fine, but it lacks advanced options like encryption or splitting archives.
Review Summary
Based on 6 reviews
Rating Distribution
Archive Utility
Archive Utility is a built-in file compression and decompression tool included with macOS. It supports common archive formats like zip, …
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