How to Unzip Files and Folders on Mac?

  

Jamie Kaler   Contribution

Rollins Duke  Approved By

Published On July 24th, 2025 • 4 min read

Let’s find out how to unzip files on macOS. As unzipping the files is a straightforward process, thanks to macOS’s built-in capability. Whether the files are downloaded or received from a colleague, macOS makes it easy to access the content. The guide will give in-depth details, including the default approach, which can be one of three different approaches.

When you are getting close to approaching the storage restrictions of your computer or phone, it might be helpful to give it some additional room by compressing it into a ZIP file.

Photos, media, documents, and other things that you’ve acquired from friends, family, or work, or that you’ve just obtained from the internet, may all be compressed into a single zipped file.

When huge files are zipped, it is simpler and takes less time to distribute them over the Internet; however, once they have been shared, the files will need to be unzipped. This article will walk you through unzipping files on a Mac.

Also Read: How to Reset Admin Password on Mac?

What Exactly are Zip Files?

The ZIP files are bundles of files in a single file. It is a way to compress one or more files into a single package, which makes them easier to move, download and also store locally, as it takes less storage space. One of the common formats is to send batches of files via email, or other online sharing services, or to store large files in a single file. It offers a method for compressing huge files, encrypting information, separating archives, and keeping similar files together for storage or transfer. Also, to clear up space on the desktop of your Mac, you may declutter it by dragging and dropping folders and documents into a folder. To maintain space, the files included inside the ZIP file have been compressed. Additionally, it simplifies the process of sending or sharing data over the Internet.

Emails take time when transferring huge files or files in bulk. If the folder on the Mac includes ten files, you will have to add each of those ten files separately, which is a challenging task. ZIP files are helpful since they enable you to compress and aggregate all 10 files into a single ZIP archive. Because ZIP files are compressed, the overall size of your file will be reduced, which means it will require less time to submit and the receiver will be able to get it more rapidly.

Now, let’s see how to unzip files on macOS with different methods.

How to Unzip Files on Mac OS?

Here we are going to show you 2 manual methods to unzip files and folders on Mac OS. The complete steps and guide are below:

1 Method: Double-click on the Files and Folders

To Unzip files on Mac, follow the steps:

1. Click twice on the Zip file to open.
2. Now, a prompt of the Archive Utility tool will open the file on the Mac by creating a new folder.
3. Hit the appropriate icons to extract files.

2 Method: Using the “Open With” Option

1. Firstly, select the file that you want to open on Mac OS.
2. Now right-click on it and choose the “Open With” option.
3. After that, select “Archive Utility” from the list.

3 Method: Unzip Files on Mac using Terminal

Here we will show you how to open zip files and folders on Mac OS in 3 steps. Here are the steps:

1. If you relocate the .zip file you want to the desktop, you will have an easier time finding the .zip file you want to use. Open the terminal on your Mac.
2. Now type the following command in the terminal

3. Unzip the File

You’ll see in Terminal that the zip file has already been unzipped. Its contents are now readily accessible on your desktop thanks to a few lines of code generated by Terminal.

Other related solutions: How to Rename a File on Mac?

Conclusion

If you want to unzip files on Mac Terminal, you will discover that the procedure is lightning quick and not at all challenging in any way. You can find out what the command’s various options and arguments are by either entering the command by itself or consulting the man page. This is true even though the command has a large number of them.