RAR File: Open, Extract and Understand Volumes

Quick facts

Extension

.rar

Format

RAR Archive

Category

archive

MIME type

Unknown

Standard / developer

RARLAB

Open with

WinRAR

What is RAR?

RAR is the native archive format used by WinRAR. It supports compression, multiple volumes and encrypted content. The archive is a package around its entries: opening the archive is different from opening a document or running a program inside it.

How to open RAR

Keep the original archive and choose a separate extraction folder.

Common uses and compatibility

• Store files and folders together in a compressed archive.
• Divide an archive across multiple volumes or protect entries with encryption.

Things to check

• Encrypted headers or files may require a password before contents can be listed or extracted.
• RAR versions have different signatures; a RAR 5.0 signature is not a universal test for every RAR file.

Technical details

Signature

RAR 5.0: 52 61 72 21 1A 07 01 00; RAR 4.x: 52 61 72 21 1A 07 00. An SFX module may precede the signature.

Encoding

Unknown

Container

RAR archive blocks; the reviewed structural specification covers RAR 5.0

Compression

RAR compression; file records can also describe stored data

RAR 5.0 archive format

How to extract a RAR file with WinRAR

Start with the archive listing so you can choose the entries and destination. Extraction creates files on disk; it does not convert them to another format.

1. Open WinRAR and browse to the archive, or double-click the RAR if WinRAR is already associated with it.
2. Review the names and folders in the listing. Select the entries you need.
3. Choose Extract To, select a new destination folder and confirm.
4. Open the destination folder and use an appropriate application for the extracted file type.

Sources: WinRAR: open and extract RAR files

Why does it ask for another volume or a password?

RAR supports volume sets and encrypted data. If your archive application requests another volume, obtain the missing part from the sender and retain the set together. If it asks for a password, ask the archive creator; renaming the suffix does not remove encryption.

Sources: RARLAB: RAR 5.0 archive format

Can I rename RAR to ZIP?

Renaming changes the filename, not the archive records. Use an application that supports RAR to extract the original entries, then create a new ZIP separately if the recipient requires ZIP. Keep the RAR until you have checked the extracted files.

Sources: RARLAB: RAR 5.0 archive format · WinRAR: open and extract RAR files

What does the RAR 5.0 signature tell me?

RARLAB documents an eight-byte RAR 5.0 signature and a different seven-byte RAR 4.x signature. A self-extracting module can precede the signature. A matching header alone does not validate the complete archive or the files inside it.

Sources: RARLAB: RAR 5.0 archive format

Related formats

• ZIP Archive

  RAR and ZIP package files differently; renaming an archive does not convert its structure.

• GZIP Compressed File

  GZIP is a separate compression format and requires its own compatible tools.