What is a .rar file and how do I open it?

RAR is a compressed archive format known for strong compression and recovery features. It is created only by WinRAR's proprietary tools, so while many apps can extract it, you cannot make one for free.

What is a .rar file used for?

RAR often compresses tighter than ZIP and can split archives into parts and add recovery data to repair damaged files.

The format is named after its author, Eugene Roshal, who released the first version in 1993; RAR stands for Roshal Archive and the compressor is sold by his company RARLAB as WinRAR. The current generation is RAR5, introduced with WinRAR 5.0 in 2013, which raised the compression dictionary to 1 GB, switched encryption to AES-256 and added BLAKE2 checksums. RAR5 files start with a slightly different signature, which is how a tool knows which decoder to use.

Reading a RAR is free, writing one is not. RARLAB publishes the unrar source so that other software can extract RAR archives, but its licence forbids using that code to build a RAR compressor, which is why 7-Zip, The Unarchiver and Keka can all open a RAR and none of them can create one. WinRAR itself is a paid product with a trial that keeps working after it expires but nags on every launch.

Since the 23H2 update, Windows 11 extracts RAR archives in File Explorer with no extra software, using the open-source libarchive library. It only extracts: Windows cannot create a RAR, and encrypted RAR archives still need WinRAR or 7-Zip. On earlier Windows versions you still need a third-party tool.

Large RAR archives are usually split. The modern scheme names the parts file.part1.rar, file.part2.rar and so on, while older archives use file.rar followed by file.r00, file.r01. Either way you open the first part with every other part in the same folder and the tool rejoins them; opening a middle part on its own gives a corrupt-archive error that is not really corruption.

RAR is easy to confuse with its neighbours. A .cbr comic book is a RAR archive of page images with a different extension, .rev files are the recovery volumes that repair a damaged set, and .rar files that fail to open are far more often incomplete downloads than genuinely broken archives. For a free format with comparable compression that you can both create and open, 7z is the usual pick.

What opens a .rar file?

The .rar format opens in the following apps, grouped by operating system. If one app does not work, try another from the same list.

Windows

File Explorer (Windows 11 23H2 and later)
7-Zip
WinRAR
PeaZip

macOS

The Unarchiver
Keka
unar (command line)

Linux

unrar
p7zip-rar
Archive Manager (File Roller)

iPhone and iPad

iZip
Documents by Readdle
RAR by RARLAB

Android

RAR by RARLAB
ZArchiver

Web

Not natively; extract locally

Open a .rar file step by step

Confirm the file really is a .rar. Drop it into the WhatFileType identifier, which reads its signature in your browser without uploading anything.
On Windows, open it with File Explorer (Windows 11 23H2 and later) or 7-Zip.
On Mac, use The Unarchiver or Keka.
On Linux, try unrar or p7zip-rar.
On an iPhone or iPad, use iZip or Documents by Readdle.
On Android, use RAR by RARLAB or ZArchiver.
Still stuck? Convert the .rar to ZIP, which opens more widely.

Why can't I open my .rar file?

Almost always because no installed app understands RAR. Install one of the apps above, or convert the file to a format your existing software already reads. If double-clicking opens the wrong program instead of nothing at all, the file association is set to the wrong app rather than the file being broken.

The other possibility is that the file is not really a .rar at all. Drop it into the file identifier to check it by its bytes instead of its name. Nothing is uploaded.

How to convert a .rar file

You can convert a .rar file to ZIP, 7Z.

7-Zip and WinRAR both extract RAR; only WinRAR creates it. The practical route is extract to a folder and re-archive as ZIP or 7Z, which are open formats that every system reads.

What is the .rar file signature (magic bytes)?

A .rar file starts with the hex bytes 52 61 72 21 1A 07 00, which read as Rar!... in ASCII. Programs identify RAR by those bytes, not by the filename, so a renamed file still gives itself away.

These are the documented signatures for RAR. For a full breakdown, see the RAR file signature page.

Documented magic-byte signatures for the .rar format
Hex signature	Offset	ASCII	Note
52 61 72 21 1A 07 00	0	Rar!...	RAR 1.5 to 4.0
52 61 72 21 1A 07 01 00	0	Rar!....	RAR 5.0+

See the full magic-numbers reference for every format.

Frequently asked questions

What is a .rar file?

How do I open a RAR file for free?

Use File Explorer on Windows 11 23H2 or later, 7-Zip on any Windows version, The Unarchiver or Keka on Mac, or the unrar command on Linux. All extract RAR without paying for WinRAR.

How do I open a RAR file on an iPhone or Android phone?

On iPhone and iPad, install iZip, Documents by Readdle or RARLAB's own RAR app, then open the archive from Files or the share sheet. On Android, RAR by RARLAB and ZArchiver both extract to a folder you choose. The stock Files apps on both systems handle ZIP but not RAR.

Is WinRAR free?

No. WinRAR is paid software with a 40-day trial. The trial keeps extracting after it expires but shows a reminder every time you open it. Extracting RAR files with 7-Zip, Keka or unrar is free and always will be, because RARLAB licenses the unrar decoder freely and only restricts building a compressor.

Why does my RAR say the archive is corrupt?

Most often the download did not finish or one part of a multi-part set is missing, so the file simply ends early. Check the file size against the source, make sure every .partN.rar or .r00 file is in the same folder, and only then try WinRAR's Repair function, which can rebuild the archive if it was created with a recovery record.

What is the difference between RAR and ZIP?

ZIP is an open format that every operating system reads and writes without extra software. RAR is proprietary: it usually compresses smaller, supports recovery records and multi-part volumes, but you need WinRAR to create one. Send ZIP when the recipient's software is unknown.

Comparisons

Related formats

Sources

Details on this page were checked against authoritative references. How sources are ranked and what is deliberately left out is set out in the methodology.