Extract RAR files — no WinRAR, no upload
RAR archives have a way of resurfacing years after you last thought about them — an old forum download, a backup a relative created with WinRAR in 2009, an email attachment from a Windows-using colleague. Because RAR is a proprietary format, most systems still can’t open it natively, and the usual answer is installing yet another program. This tool extracts RAR files right in your browser using libarchive’s open-source RAR implementation: it handles the large majority of RAR archives, including most RAR5 files, though a few newer RAR5 features aren’t supported — see the FAQ for the honest details. Each file inside the archive appears as its own download with folder paths preserved. Everything runs locally via WebAssembly, so a decade-old backup full of personal files never leaves your machine. No WinRAR license nag, no installer, no upload.
How it works
- Drop your .rar file below, or click to select it.
- Let it extract on your device — every contained file is listed with its path.
- Download the files you want individually, or all together as a ZIP.
Frequently asked questions
Will every RAR file open here?
Most, but not all. RAR is proprietary, so this tool uses libarchive’s independent open-source implementation rather than the official code. It extracts the vast majority of RAR and RAR5 archives correctly, but some archives using newer RAR5 features can fail. If yours does, the official unrar tool will handle it.
What about password-protected RARs?
Not supported in this version — an encrypted RAR will fail to extract rather than ask for the password. Better to know before you try: for protected archives, use WinRAR or unrar on your desktop.
Is the RAR uploaded so a server can extract it?
No server is involved at any point. The extraction code (libarchive compiled to WebAssembly) loads into your browser once, and after that your archives are processed entirely on your device — you can even go offline first. Old backups tend to contain exactly the files you would least want sitting on someone else’s server.
Do folders inside the RAR stay organized?
Yes — the directory structure is preserved in the listed file names, so each file shows its full path within the archive. Using “Download all as ZIP” keeps those paths in the resulting ZIP as well.