FileHint

.rar

Use caution

RAR archive

WinRAR's proprietary archive format. Higher compression ratios than ZIP and optional recovery records for repairing damaged splits.

MIME types

  • application/vnd.rar

Category

archive

What opens this file

  • WinRAR
  • 7-Zip
  • The Unarchiver
  • Keka

How to open by OS

Windows

  • WinRAR, 7-Zip (read-only).

Mac

  • The Unarchiver, Keka.

Linux

  • `unrar` or 7-Zip.

Ios

  • iZip, Documents by Readdle.

Android

  • RAR, ZArchiver.

Safety notes

  • WinRAR's historical ACE-decompression CVE (CVE-2018-20250) allowed remote code execution. Keep WinRAR patched.
  • Password-protected RAR evades corporate mail scanning and is a common malware delivery vehicle.

Common mistakes

  • Forgetting to enable recovery records means a single missing split makes the whole archive unrecoverable.
  • RAR is proprietary — for distribution, ZIP or 7z is usually friendlier to recipients.

Related extensions

References