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How to Unzip Files and Folders on Mac?

  author
Jamie Kaler   Contribution
Rollins Duke
Rollins Duke  Approved By
Published On June 18th, 2022 • 4 min read

Overview: I am going to show you how to unzip files on mac using the easiest and simplest techniques. Here you will get the complete information about the zip files and the process to unzip files and folders on Mac OS.

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?

How to Open Zip Files on Mac OS?

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

1 Method: Double Click on the Files and Folders

  1. Click dual time on the zipped file to open.
  2. Now a prompt of the Archive Utility tool will open the file on mac by creating a new folder.
  3. Hit on the appropriate icons to unzip files on mac.

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. All the steps are mentioned below:

  1. If you relocate the.zip file you want on the desktop, you will have an easier time finding the.zip file you want to use. And open the terminal on your mac machine.
  2. Now type the following command in terminal
Last login: Wed Jan 28 13:47:29 on console
robertpatricia-MacBook-Pro-2:~ robertpatricia$ cd desktop
  1. Unzip the File
Type:
unzip {name of your zipped file}.zip
Last login: Wed Jan 28 13:47:29 on console
robertpatricia-MacBook-Pro-2:~ robertpatricia$ cd desktop
robertpatricia-MacBook-Pro-2:desktop robertpatricia$ unzip test.zip

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

More Information about ZIP File

One or more compressed files or directories may be stored inside of a ZIP file, which is a single file. It offers a method for compressing huge files, encrypting information, separating archives, and keeping similar files together for the purposes of storage or transfer. Consider the operation of a folder on a Macintosh computer. 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.

The operation of ZIP files is the same. However, to conserve space, the files included inside the ZIP file have been compressed. Additionally, it simplifies the process of sending or sharing material over the internet. Email communication does not support the sending of folders. If the folder on the Mac includes ten files, you will have to email each of those ten files separately, which is a demanding task. ZIP files are in helpful since they enable you to compress and aggregate all 10 files into a single ZIP archive, which you can then send to another person. 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.

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 despite the fact that the command has a large number of them.