How to Open 7z Files on Mac (5 Methods, Free)

Why your Mac cannot open 7z files

If you double-click a .7z file on a Mac, one of two things happens: either nothing at all, or a dialog saying the file cannot be opened. This is not a bug or a corrupt file. It is simply that macOS does not support the 7z format.

macOS Archive Utility handles ZIP, tar, gzip, and bzip2 natively. The 7z format is a different beast entirely. It was created by Igor Pavlov and released as open-source software through 7-zip.org. Despite being open-source, Apple has never added 7z support to macOS. The format uses the LZMA compression algorithm, which achieves significantly better compression than ZIP but requires a dedicated library to decompress.

7z files appear most commonly when downloading software packages, game mods, large datasets, or anything where the creator wanted maximum compression. They are widespread in developer communities and on distribution platforms like GitHub releases and forum attachments. If someone on Windows sent you a .7z, they almost certainly used 7-Zip or a similar tool that defaults to the format for its compression efficiency.

Why 7z compresses better than ZIP

The core reason is the compression algorithm. ZIP uses DEFLATE, a combination of LZ77 and Huffman coding that was designed in the early 1990s. 7z uses LZMA (Lempel-Ziv-Markov chain Algorithm), which is significantly more sophisticated. LZMA uses a much larger dictionary size, which means it can find and eliminate repeated patterns across a larger window of data. For executable files, source code, and documents, this typically results in 30-70% smaller archives compared to ZIP. For already-compressed data like JPEG images or MP4 videos, the difference is negligible.

What about ZIP files on Mac?

ZIP files are a completely different story. macOS handles ZIP natively: double-click, and Archive Utility extracts it instantly. If whoever sent you the file could have used ZIP instead of 7z, that would have saved everyone the trouble. But if you received a .7z file, you need one of the methods below.

5 methods compared: which one is right for you?

Here is an honest breakdown of every practical method to open 7z on Mac in 2026. Read the table first, then jump to the section for your preferred approach.

The short version: if you open 7z files regularly or also need to create them, install Keka. If you only need to open one .7z file right now and do not want to install anything, use SammaPix in your browser.

Method 1: Keka (best all-rounder for 7z on Mac)

Keka is the go-to archiving app for Mac power users, and it handles 7z better than any other option on this list. Unlike most alternatives, Keka can both extract and create 7z archives. If you need to compress files into 7z format or extract what someone sent you, Keka does both in the same app. Download it free from keka.io or pay $3.99 on the Mac App Store to support the developer.

Step-by-step: open a 7z file with Keka

1. Download Keka from keka.io. Open the .dmg file and drag Keka to your Applications folder.
2. Set as default (optional). Open Keka, go to Preferences, and set it as the default extractor for 7z and other archive formats. After this, double-clicking any .7z file will open it automatically.
3. Drag your .7z file onto the Keka icon in the Dock, or onto the main Keka window. Extraction starts immediately.
4. Alternatively, right-click your .7z file in Finder and select Open With, then Keka.
5. Done. The extracted folder appears in the same directory as the .7z file, or in the destination you configured in Keka preferences.

Creating 7z archives with Keka

To compress files into a 7z archive using Keka, select the format (7z) in the Keka window, then drag the files or folder you want to compress onto the Keka window. Keka creates the archive in the same location as the original files. You can set compression level, add a password, and split the archive into multiple volumes from the same interface.

What formats does Keka support?

Keka extracts: 7z, RAR (RAR4 and RAR5), ZIP, tar.gz, tar.bz2, tar.xz, tar.zst, ISO, DMG, CAB, JAR, and many more. It creates: 7z, ZIP, tar.gz, tar.bz2, tar.xz, tar.zst, and a few others. It is one of the most versatile free archive apps available for Mac.

Method 2: The Unarchiver (lightweight and free on the App Store)

The Unarchiver is the most popular free archive extractor on the Mac App Store, with over 10 million downloads. It handles 7z extraction well and integrates seamlessly with macOS: once installed, double-clicking any .7z file opens it automatically, just like ZIP files. Find it for free on the Mac App Store.

Step-by-step: open a 7z file with The Unarchiver

1. Open the Mac App Store. Search for "The Unarchiver" and click Get. It is completely free.
2. Set as default. When you first launch The Unarchiver, check the file types you want it to handle, including 7z. Click Associate.
3. Double-click your .7z file. The Unarchiver extracts everything to the same folder. If the archive is password-protected, a dialog appears asking for the password.
4. Done. The extracted folder appears next to the .7z file.

The Unarchiver vs Keka for 7z

• Extraction only: The Unarchiver cannot create archives. If you only need to extract, it is perfectly fine.
• Simpler install: Available directly from the App Store with one click, no .dmg to open.
• No archive creation: For creating 7z files, you need Keka or Terminal.
• RAR support too: The Unarchiver also handles RAR, tar, bz2, and dozens of other formats including legacy ones.

Method 3: SammaPix online (no installation, ideal for one-time use)

If you received a single .7z file and have no plans to open 7z archives regularly, installing an app just for this seems excessive. The SammaPix 7Z Opener solves exactly this scenario: open your browser, drop the file, extract what you need, close the tab. No installation, no account, no email address required.

How it works technically (the privacy part)

SammaPix uses WebAssembly to run the 7-Zip engine directly in your browser. The .7z file you drop is read by JavaScript running locally on your Mac. It is never sent to any server, never stored, and never visible to SammaPix. This is important because many popular "online 7z extractors" upload your file to their servers for processing, which creates a genuine privacy risk for sensitive documents, source code, or personal files.

Step-by-step: open a 7z file with SammaPix

1. Go to sammapix.com/tools/open-7z in Safari or Chrome on your Mac.
2. Drag and drop your .7z file onto the page, or click to browse for it.
3. Enter password if needed. If the archive is password-protected, a field appears automatically.
4. Browse the file list. You will see all files inside the archive with their names and sizes.
5. Download what you need. Click individual files to download them, or click "Download all as ZIP" to get everything at once.

The free plan handles archives up to 200 MB, which covers the vast majority of 7z files sent between individuals. For very large archives, a Day Pass ($2.99 for 24 hours) removes the size limit entirely.

When SammaPix is not the right choice

• Multi-volume archives: .7z.001, .7z.002 style archives are not supported in the browser. Use Keka or Terminal instead.
• Very large files (>200 MB on free plan): Extracting large archives in-browser can also be slower than a native app for very heavy files.
• Regular use: If you open 7z files every week, installing Keka makes the workflow faster and more seamless.

Method 4: Terminal with p7zip (for developers and command-line users)

If you are comfortable with the command line, p7zip from Homebrew is the most powerful option. It is the Unix port of the official 7-Zip engine and supports every 7z feature, including multi-volume archives and solid archives. It can also create 7z archives with full compression level control.

Install p7zip via Homebrew

If you do not have Homebrew installed, get it first from brew.sh. Then install p7zip:

brew install p7zip

Common 7z Terminal commands

# Extract a 7z file to the current folder
7z e archive.7z

# Extract preserving folder structure
7z x archive.7z

# Extract to a specific folder
7z x archive.7z -o~/Desktop/extracted

# Extract password-protected 7z
7z x -p'YOURPASSWORD' archive.7z

# List contents without extracting
7z l archive.7z

# Create a 7z archive
7z a output.7z folder/

Note the difference between 7z e (extract flat, no folders) and 7z x (extract with full paths). Use 7z x in almost all cases to preserve the original directory structure.

The Terminal method is ideal for batch processing. To extract all .7z files in a folder:

for f in *.7z; do 7z x "$f"; done

Method 5: Archive Utility (the built-in tool that does not work for 7z)

This section exists because many guides list Archive Utility as a potential option. It is not. Archive Utility is the app macOS uses when you double-click a .zip file. It lives at /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications/Archive Utility.app.

If you try to open a .7z file with Archive Utility, you will get an error saying the format is unsupported. This is expected behavior. Archive Utility simply has no knowledge of the LZMA compression format that 7z uses.

What Archive Utility supports: .zip, .tar, .tar.gz / .tgz, .tar.bz2, .tar.xz, .gz, .bz2. What it does not support: .7z, .rar, .cab, .ace, and most other third-party formats. If you find a guide suggesting you can open .7z with Archive Utility on Mac, it is incorrect.

How to open a password-protected 7z file on Mac

All the working methods above support password-protected 7z archives. 7z supports two types of encryption: encrypting the file contents only, and encrypting the file contents plus the file names. If file names are also encrypted, you need the password just to see what is inside the archive. Here is what happens with each method:

Keka

Keka detects encryption automatically. When you open a password-protected 7z, a password prompt appears before extraction begins. Keka also has a built-in password manager if you frequently open archives from the same source.

The Unarchiver

A dialog will appear asking for the password as soon as The Unarchiver detects the archive is encrypted. Enter it and click OK. If the password is wrong, an error is displayed.

SammaPix online

When you drop an encrypted 7z archive into the SammaPix 7Z Opener, a password field appears automatically. Enter the password and the tool extracts the archive. Because everything runs locally in your browser, the password is never sent anywhere.

Terminal (p7zip)

7z x -p'YOURPASSWORD' archive.7z

Replace YOURPASSWORD with the actual password. The password immediately follows -p with no space. If your password contains spaces, wrap it in single quotes.

Multi-volume 7z archives: .7z.001, .7z.002

Sometimes large files are split into multiple 7z parts. You will see files named something like:

bigfile.7z.001
bigfile.7z.002
bigfile.7z.003

This is different from RAR multi-volume naming (which uses .part1.rar, .part2.rar). The rules for extraction are similar:

Rules for multi-volume 7z

• You need all parts. If any volume is missing, extraction will fail. Download every .7z.00x file before attempting to extract.
• Put all parts in the same folder. The extractor finds them automatically based on naming.
• Open only the first part. Double-click bigfile.7z.001 in Keka or The Unarchiver. The remaining parts are handled automatically.
• In Terminal: Run 7z x bigfile.7z.001. The 7z engine finds and reads the other parts.
• Browser tools do not support this. SammaPix and other in-browser tools cannot handle multi-volume 7z archives. Use a desktop app.

7z vs ZIP vs RAR: when to use which

All three formats are archive containers, but they have different strengths and compatibility profiles. Here is a practical breakdown:

Use ZIP when:

• The recipient might be on any operating system. ZIP opens natively on Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android.
• You are sharing files via email, Slack, Dropbox, or cloud storage. Most services handle ZIP natively.
• You are attaching files to a web form. ZIP is the universally expected format.

Use 7z when:

• Maximum compression is the priority (software packages, source code, large text datasets).
• You need AES-256 encryption with filename encryption (stronger than ZIP's built-in encryption).
• All recipients have 7-Zip, Keka, or The Unarchiver installed and understand the format.
• You are a developer distributing software and want to minimize download size.

Use RAR when:

• You need multi-volume archives with built-in error recovery records (very useful for files distributed over unreliable connections).
• Your recipients are on Windows and already have WinRAR installed.
• You received a RAR and want to re-share in the same format for familiarity.

For almost all everyday use cases, ZIP wins on compatibility. If you received a 7z and want to convert it to ZIP for easier sharing, extract it first and then re-compress as ZIP. On Mac, right-click the extracted folder and choose Compress.

If you also need to open a RAR file, the SammaPix RAR Opener works the same way as the 7z tool: browser-based, no installation, no upload. You can also read our full guide on how to open RAR files on Mac.

What to do after extracting: working with the files

Once you have extracted the 7z archive, here are common next steps depending on what was inside:

Images: compress before sharing

If the archive contained a batch of photos, you may want to compress them before sending via email or messaging apps. The SammaPix Image Compressor handles batches of images entirely in your browser, no server upload needed.

Images: check for hidden EXIF / GPS metadata

Photos extracted from an archive often retain their original EXIF metadata, including GPS coordinates from the camera or smartphone. If you plan to share these images publicly, check and strip the location data first using the SammaPix EXIF Viewer.

PDFs: merge multiple documents

If the 7z archive contained multiple PDF files that belong together, merge them into one document with the SammaPix PDF Merger. All processing is in-browser with no server upload.

Need to open a .rar file instead?

If you have a RAR archive rather than a 7z file, use the SammaPix RAR Opener. Same browser-based approach: no installation, no upload, works on any Mac. It supports RAR4, RAR5, and password-protected archives.