Archiver (originally iArchiver, then Rucksack) is a comprehensive file‑archiving utility for

macOS macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

, developed by Dare to be Creative Ltd. in Vienna, Austria.Archiver for macOS – Official site. Retrieved June 2025. https://archiverapp.com/

Development

Archiver is created by Dare to be Creative Ltd., an independent Viennese studio known for macOS utilities such as Renamer and ResizeMe.

History

21 October 2007 – Launched as iArchiver.Archiver for Mac – Softonic review. Retrieved June 2025. https://rucksack.en.softonic.com/mac April 2010 – Relaunched as Rucksack, adding preview and splitting.Rucksack: A Better Way to Handle Archives on Mac OS X. MacStories, April 2010. Retrieved June 2025. https://www.macstories.net/stories/rucksack/ 2018 – Rebranded to Archiver (v2) with fresh UI. 4 December 2024 – Released version 4.2.0 with UI enhancements.Archiver 4 on the Mac App Store. Retrieved June 2025. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/archiver-4/id1556026599

Features

Archiver supports numerous file types including ZIP, RAR, 7z, TAR variants, CPIO, as well as read-only support for ACE, ARJ, CAB, StuffIt, BinHex, PAX, DMG, RPM, and Amiga formats. It features a QuickLook-style in-app preview and supports AES-256 (7z), PKZip (ZIP), and password-protected RAR archives.Archiver Support FAQ. Retrieved June 2025. https://archiverapp.com/support Users can split and recombine archives, with optional checksum validation. It also allows conversion between formats and includes a proprietary .archiver format optimized for images and audio.

Licensing and pricing

Archiver is distributed as shareware. A free trial is available, with the full version priced at €24.99. Discounts are occasionally offered through software bundles.

Use cases

Archiver is used by freelancers and photographers for compressing and transferring large media files, by system administrators for handling legacy formats such as RAR and ACE, and by general macOS users for creating encrypted or split archives. It is also useful for batch processing and previewing archive contents.Comprehensive Review of Archiver for Mac. FileHippo, Nov 2024. Retrieved June 2025. https://filehippo.com/mac/download_iarchiver/

Limitations

Archiver does not include tools for archive repair or editing. Users have reported issues with non-Western or Unicode filenames.MacUpdate user reviews – Archiver. Retrieved June 2025. https://archiver.macupdate.com/

Version history

Platform support

Archiver 4 requires macOS 13 Ventura or newer. Earlier versions such as iArchiver, Rucksack, and Archiver 2–3 supported macOS 10.4 through 10.12.

Reception

Softonic praised Archiver as a "no-fuss but effective archiver" and highlighted its encryption, splitting, and preview features, while noting the lack of Finder integration. MacStories described the app as “very promising” and appreciated its clean interface. FileHippo called it feature-rich but noted occasional issues with Unicode filenames. On the Mac App Store, it held a 3.7/5 user rating as of 2024.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official Archiver website

Archiver 4 on Mac App Store
macOS archivers and compression-related utilities File archivers