RAR (.rar)
Roshal Archive Compressed format with superior compression ratios to ZIP. Widely used for distributing large files online, supports multi-part archives and recovery records.
- Extension
- .rar
- MIME Type
- application/x-rar-compressed
Last updated
Overview
RAR (Roshal Archive Compressed) is a proprietary archive format developed by Russian software engineer Eugene Roshal, first released in 1993. RAR achieved better compression ratios than ZIP through more sophisticated algorithms and became dominant in the late 1990s and 2000s as the preferred format for distributing large files on the internet and on physical media.
RAR supports multi-volume archives (splitting a large archive across multiple files: .rar, .r00, .r01...), recovery records (extra parity data that allows repairing a damaged archive), and AES-256 encryption. The current version RAR5 (WinRAR 5.0+) uses a new archive format with improved compression and SHA-256 checksums.
Common Uses
- Large file distribution — splitting files across multiple volumes for file-hosting services with size limits
- Software and game distribution — historically used by warez scene for software distribution
- Recovery-protected archives — recovery records allow fixing archives where some data was corrupted during download
- Password-protected archives — AES-256 encryption for sensitive file sharing
Advantages
- Better compression than ZIP — typically 10–15% smaller than ZIP for the same content
- Multi-volume splitting — designed natively for splitting large archives across multiple files
- Recovery records — parity data enables reconstructing damaged archives
- AES-256 encryption — strong encryption with filename obscuration option
Limitations
- Proprietary format — controlled by win.rar GmbH; creation requires WinRAR (paid software after 40-day trial)
- No native OS support — Windows, macOS, and Linux cannot open RAR files without third-party software
- Superseded by 7Z — free 7-Zip format offers comparable or better compression without proprietary restrictions
- RAR5 compatibility — RAR5 files (.rar created with WinRAR 5+) cannot be opened with older extraction software
Supported Software
- Windows: WinRAR (official), 7-Zip (free), PeaZip (free)
- macOS: The Unarchiver (free, App Store), Keka, BetterZip
- Linux: unrar (command-line), p7zip-rar, PeaZip
- Online: FixFile.online ZIP Extractor (supports RAR)