How to open a .ace file (Windows, Mac, Linux)

Q: Why can't I open my .ace file?

Usually your computer lacks an app that understands ACE. Install one of the apps listed here, or convert the file to a more common format.

A .ace file is a WinAce Compressed Archive. If double-clicking does nothing, your computer simply does not have an app that reads ACE yet. Here is how to fix that on each operating system, using free software wherever possible.

Open a .ace file step by step

Confirm the file really is a .ace. Drop it into the WhatFileType file identifier, which reads its signature without uploading anything.
On Windows, open it with 7-Zip (via plugin) or WinRAR 5.61 and older (not recommended) or PeaZip.
On Mac, use The Unarchiver.
On Linux, try unace (nonfree package).
Still stuck? Convert the .ace to zip, which opens more widely.

Best apps to open .ace files

Windows

7-Zip (via plugin) or WinRAR 5.61 and older (not recommended)
PeaZip

macOS

The Unarchiver

Linux

unace (nonfree package)

Before you open it: Caution. The archive is just data, but the historic ACE extraction library had a serious vulnerability abused by malware. Use a maintained extractor, never an old WinRAR, for .ace files from the wild.

Frequently asked questions

Why can't I open my .ace file?

Almost always because no installed app understands ACE. Install one of the apps above, or convert the file to a format your existing software already reads.

How do I extract an .ace file today?

On Windows, PeaZip handles most ACE archives; on macOS, The Unarchiver; on Linux, the unace utility. Repack anything you keep as ZIP or 7z.

Why did WinRAR remove ACE support?

Because of CVE-2018-20250: the bundled unacev2.dll could write files outside the extraction folder (into Startup, for example). WinRAR 5.70 dropped the DLL entirely.