The Compression Confusion
macOS comes with a built-in tool called the “Archive Utility.” Its primary job is to handle compressed files. Usually, it works seamlessly: you double-click a downloaded .zip file, and it automatically extracts the contents into a new folder. However, a common quirk occurs when you attempt to use the built-in sharing features or right-click context menus on multiple files. If you highlight several large video files, right-click, and select “Compress,” macOS will automatically create an “Archive.zip” file on your desktop. If you accidentally double-click this new zip file to see what’s inside, macOS doesn’t show you the contents—it automatically extracts it again, creating a duplicate folder and wasting gigabytes of space.
Modifying Archive Utility Behavior
To change how your Mac handles compressed archives and stop macOS from automatically extracting (or creating duplicates when you interact with) Zip files, you must tweak the hidden Archive Utility settings.
The Archive Utility has no obvious app icon. To find it, press Command+Space to open Spotlight Search. Type Archive Utility and press Enter. The application will launch, but no window will appear—only the top Menu Bar will change. Look at the top-left corner of your screen next to the Apple logo, click Archive Utility, and select Settings (or Preferences). Here you can change how archives are handled. To stop the automatic extraction upon double-clicking, change the “After expanding” setting. More importantly, to stop Safari from automatically opening “safe” downloaded zips, open Safari, go to Safari > Settings > General, and uncheck the box at the very bottom labelled Open “safe” files after downloading.