How to Use Keka: The Free Mac File Archiver

Keka is a free file archiver for Mac. It fills a gap that macOS leaves wide open, since Apple’s own tools cannot touch some common archive formats.

Keka is a free Mac archiver. To extract an archive, double-click it once Keka is set as your default, or drag the file onto the Keka window. To compress files, drag them onto Keka and pick a format like 7z or zip.

The rest of this guide covers install, everyday use, and safety.

Why your Mac needs a separate archiver

macOS already handles one format well. A plain zip file opens with a simple double-click, no extra software needed.

That built-in support stops there, though. macOS cannot open a rar or 7z archive on its own, and both turn up constantly in files shared from outside the Apple world.

Keka fills that gap. It is a universal app, so it runs the same way on an Apple Silicon Mac or an older Intel model.

It goes beyond just rar and 7z, too. Keka also opens tar, gzip, iso, and dmg archives, so one app covers nearly everything you run into. If rar files land in your downloads often, Keka is the go-to Mac tool for opening them, since Macs cannot extract one natively.

Install Keka on your Mac

Installing Keka takes only a few minutes. The permissions step near the end is the one people skip, and skipping it hides the right-click archive options.

Download Keka from keka.io. This copy is free. Keka is also sold on the Mac App Store as a paid app. Buying it there just supports the developer, since it is the same app either way.
Open the downloaded file, then drag Keka into your Applications folder. This puts the app in the standard install location.
Launch Keka and click Open if macOS warns that it was downloaded from the internet. This warning is normal for apps installed outside the App Store.
Allow any Finder extension or file access request in System Settings. This is what makes the right-click archive options appear. Older versions of macOS call this System Preferences instead.

Only use official sources. Download Keka from keka.io or the Mac App Store. Cracked copies from other sites are a common way to pick up malware.

Extract an archive with Keka

Once Keka is installed, opening an archive is close to automatic. There are three ways to do it.

Double-click the archive, once Keka is set as your default app for archives. This is the fastest option day to day.
Right-click the archive, choose Open With, then Keka. Use this if you have not set Keka as the default.
Drag the archive onto the Keka window or its Dock icon. This works no matter what your default app is set to.

Keka reads the archive and extracts its contents automatically with any of the three, and there is no extra dialogue box to click through.

Compress files and folders with Keka

Compressing works the same way, just in reverse.

Drag your files or a folder onto the Keka window or its Dock icon. You do not need to open the app first.
Pick a format when Keka asks. 7z and zip are the most compatible choices for sending an archive to someone else.
Add a password, if you want one. Keka encrypts 7z and zip archives with AES-256, a strong and standard method.
Split the result into smaller volumes, if the file is large. This helps when one archive is too big to send in a single message.

Both 7z and zip open on nearly any computer, Mac or Windows, which is why they are the safer default choice. If your files include a Mac disk image, Keka can compress or extract those too, though the Mac disk image format itself works a little differently from a regular archive.

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers to common Keka questions.

Is Keka free?

Yes, when downloaded from keka.io. The Mac App Store also sells Keka as a paid app. Buying it there just supports the developer, since it is the same app either way.

Does Keka open rar files?

Yes. Keka extracts rar archives but cannot create new ones in that format, since rar creation is controlled by its original maker.

Does Keka work on Apple Silicon Macs?

Yes. Keka is a universal app, so it runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs with no slowdown.

Do I need Keka just to open a zip file?

No. macOS opens zip files on its own with a simple double-click. You only need Keka for rar, 7z, and for creating new archives.