Compressing files into a ZIP archive is essential when you need to email large documents, group dozens of photos together, or save hard drive space. ZIP files are a universally recognised format, meaning an archive created on a Mac can be effortlessly opened by someone using Windows or Linux.
Unlike other operating systems that often require third-party software like WinRAR or 7-Zip, macOS includes a powerful, built-in Archive Utility that handles standard ZIP compression and extraction seamlessly right from the desktop.
How to Zip (Compress) Files and Folders
You can compress a single large file, an entire folder, or a custom selection of multiple files simultaneously.
- Open the Finder application and locate the files or folders you want to compress.
- To select multiple items, hold down the Command (⌘) key and click on each file individually. If the files are grouped together, you can click and drag a box around them.
- Once your items are highlighted, right-click (or hold Control and click) on any one of the selected files.
- From the context menu that appears, select Compress. (If you selected multiple items, it will say “Compress [Number] Items”).
macOS will immediately generate a new file in the exact same location. If you compressed a single file, the new ZIP file will share the original’s name (e.g., Report.zip). If you compressed multiple files, the system will automatically name the new archive Archive.zip. You can rename this ZIP file just like any other document by pressing the Return key.
How to Unzip (Extract) Files
Extracting the contents of a ZIP file on a Mac is even simpler than creating one.
- Locate the
.zipfile in the Finder. - Simply double-click the ZIP file.
The macOS Archive Utility will silently extract the contents in the background in a fraction of a second. A new folder containing the extracted files will instantly appear in the same directory, right next to the original ZIP file. The original ZIP archive remains perfectly intact, allowing you to delete it or archive it elsewhere.
Troubleshooting: Password-Protected ZIP Files
The native Archive Utility is excellent for basic tasks, but it has one significant limitation: it cannot create password-protected ZIP files from the graphical interface, and it occasionally struggles to open highly encrypted archives sent from Windows users.
If you double-click a ZIP file and receive an “Error 1 – Operation not permitted” message, the file is likely heavily encrypted. In this specific scenario, you will need to download a free third-party application from the Mac App Store, such as The Unarchiver or Keka, to handle the complex extraction.