What is the best free RAR archiver for mac?

[sparkie7]

I was using SimplyRAR before, but it doesn't work on Monterey. Any suggestions? TIA

 

[bogdanw]

"writing function for compression to RAR format is not allowed to third party applications by the original license of the file format."
https://peazip.github.io/free-rar.html

RAR for macOS https://www.win-rar.com/download.html

 

[sparkie7]

Thanks, I downloaded win-rar, and tried to run the rar file but it said...

“rar” cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer.

 

[bogdanw]

The rar binary can be used in Terminal.
Someone has integrated the rar and unrar binaries into QuickActions
https://apple.stackexchange.com/que...nrar-files-in-finder-with-automator-and-shell
I didn’t have time to test them.

 

[Fishrrman]

"“rar” cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer."

Open the Applications folder.
Now, CONTROL-click on the app that would not open.

You should be given the option to open it.
Do so.

Aside:
This is "Gatekeeper" getting in the way.
One of the first things I do with a new Mac is to DISABLE Gatekeeper.
It can be done by opening terminal and entering:
sudo spctl --master-disable
(password entry will be required).

Do this, and you won't be bothered by Gatekeeper.
I've done this for years, no problems at all.

 

[bogdanw]

"“rar” cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer."
Open the Applications folder.
Now, CONTROL-click on the app that would not open.
You should be given the option to open it.
Do so.

In this case, that is useless. It’s a binary, not an app. It will only open Terminal, list all rar Commands and end with “[Process completed]”.

 

[Fishrrman]

Ah, ok. Thanks for the correction.
I thought it was "just another applicaton..."

 

[bogdanw]

@sparkie7 I’ve tested the QuickActions from the link above and they work in Monterey 12.7.1

Although not mentioned in the documentation, there is also a way to make RAR archives with Peazip: select Type – Custom, in the Advanced tab – Manually set RAR binary and select the rar binary downloaded from win-rar.com

 

[Basic75]

Any suggestions?

brew install rar

 

[pacmania1982]

I use https://theunarchiver.com/

 

[bogdanw]

Other ways to create RAR archives on macOS:
RAR-Archive-Utility https://github.com/gingerbeardman/RAR-Archive-Utility/releases
2.5.1 RC1 64-bit works in Monterey, open it as described by @Fishrrman in post #5 (right-click -> Open)

Keka - Rar compression
https://github.com/aonez/Keka/wiki/Rar-compression#un-sandbox-keka

 

[lastargo]

On my old MacBook Air M1, I used Archiver 4—not the most popular app, but it handled RAR files without issues. When I got my Mac Studio, I decided to start fresh instead of reinstalling everything from my old setup.

This time, I went with Commander One, mostly because I wanted a more functional Finder alternative, and the built-in archive support was a nice bonus.