CleanZip

A lightweight native macOS archive app for clean ZIPs, RAR/7Z extraction, quick previews, Finder right-click actions, and split archives.

Download latest release · Product page · CleanZip 2.6.35 · Build from source

CleanZip for macOS is built for the everyday archive jobs that should be fast and boring: create ZIP files that do not contain macOS metadata, remove .DS_Store noise before sharing, inspect an archive before extracting it, split large archives, and use one clear Finder action instead of a crowded context menu.

It is intentionally small: no always-on background app, no history database, no archive editor, and no heavy all-in-one file manager.

Best For

• Sending ZIP files to Windows or Linux users without hidden macOS metadata.
• Quickly previewing ZIP, 7Z, RAR, TAR, and other archives before extracting them.
• Creating split ZIP or split 7Z archives for upload limits.
• Keeping Finder's right-click menu simple with one compress/extract action.
• Using a local-first archive utility that does not upload files or keep history.
• Running the same app on supported Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

Screenshots

Preview archive contents before extracting.

Manage selected files and folders, then create a clean archive.

Download

Download CleanZip-2.6.35.pkg from the latest release. For most users, the .pkg installer is the easiest option.

The installer places:

• CleanZip.app in /Applications
• CleanZipService.service in /Library/Services

CleanZip is ad-hoc signed for open source distribution, but it is not notarized with an Apple Developer ID. macOS may block the installer before it opens and show a warning such as "Apple could not verify CleanZip is free of malware."

For the .pkg installer:

1. In Finder, Control-click CleanZip-2.6.35.pkg and choose Open.
2. If the same warning still appears with only Done and Move to Trash, open System Settings -> Privacy & Security.
3. At the bottom of Privacy & Security, choose Open Anyway for CleanZip-2.6.35.pkg, then confirm.

After installation, if macOS blocks CleanZip.app itself, Control-click CleanZip.app in /Applications and choose Open. If it is still blocked, use System Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Open Anyway for CleanZip.app.

After you approve the installer or app once, macOS opens it normally.

Advanced terminal alternative for the downloaded package:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine ~/Downloads/CleanZip-2.6.35.pkg
open ~/Downloads/CleanZip-2.6.35.pkg

Manual installation is also available from CleanZip-2.6.35.zip: move CleanZip.app to /Applications and CleanZipService.service to /Library/Services.

Compatibility

CleanZip requires macOS 14 or later. The app, Finder service, and bundled 7zz helper are universal binaries with both x86_64 and arm64 slices, so the same download works on supported Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

On macOS 26, CleanZip uses Liquid Glass interface effects where available. On macOS 14 and 15, it falls back to native AppKit visual effects and standard toolbar behavior.

Features

Area	Details
Clean compression	Creates clean ZIP output and excludes .DS_Store, __MACOSX/, and ._* metadata.
Finder integration	Adds one right-click service for compressing ordinary files/folders or extracting archives.
Archive preview	Lists archive contents with name, size, modified time, and folder structure. Includes search.
Encrypted archives	Requests passwords in a native secure field; passwords are sent to 7zz through standard input and never placed in process arguments.
Extraction	Extracts common formats through bundled 7zz and system tools.
Split archive creation	Supports split ZIP and split 7Z creation with common presets and custom sizes.
Progress	Shows cancellable progress for larger compression and extraction jobs in the app and lightweight service HUD, then removes partial output after cancellation.
Compatibility	Universal app for supported Intel and Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 14 or later.
Localization	Localized app UI, Finder service menu, notifications, errors, and document metadata.

Supported Formats

CleanZip can preview and extract common archive formats supported by bundled 7zz, including:

• ZIP, 7Z, RAR
• TAR, TGZ, GZ, BZ2, XZ, ZST
• ISO, CAB, DMG, XAR
• JAR, WAR, APK
• split ZIP and split 7Z archives

CleanZip creates regular ZIP, split ZIP, regular 7Z, and split 7Z archives. It does not create RAR archives.

Supported Languages

CleanZip follows the user's macOS language preferences and falls back to English when a preferred language is unavailable.

• English
• Simplified Chinese
• Traditional Chinese
• Japanese
• Korean
• French
• German
• Spanish
• Italian
• Brazilian Portuguese
• Russian

Privacy

CleanZip runs locally on your Mac. Archive operations are performed with local system tools and the bundled 7zz binary. It does not upload files, phone home, keep a history database, or run a permanent background service.

Repository Layout

• work/CleanZipBuild/src/main.swift: main AppKit/SwiftUI app.
• work/CleanZipBuild/src/service.swift: Finder service helper.
• work/CleanZipBuild/CleanZip.xcodeproj: canonical Xcode project used for release builds.
• work/CleanZipBuild/AppIcon.icon: Icon Composer source for the Liquid Glass app icon.
• work/CleanZipBuild/Assets.xcassets: static fallback app icon catalog.
• work/CleanZipBuild/src/CleanZip-Info.plist: app bundle metadata, document types, and archive UTIs.
• work/CleanZipBuild/src/CleanZipService-Info.plist: Finder service bundle metadata.
• work/CleanZipBuild/src/Resources/*.lproj: localized app, service, and Info.plist resources.
• work/CleanZipBuild/src/build_xcode.sh: Xcode release build script for the app and Finder service.
• work/CleanZipBuild/src/build.sh: lightweight local Swift build fallback for Macs without full Xcode.
• work/CleanZipBuild/src/package.sh: package and ZIP release artifact script.
• docs/RELEASING.md: optional Developer ID signing and Apple notarization setup for maintainers.
• work/CleanZipBuild/src/generate_filled_icon.py: vector icon generator and Assets.car compiler when Xcode actool is available.
• .github/workflows/cleanzip-liquid-glass-icon.yml: macOS 26 GitHub Actions release build that uses full Xcode, compiles the dynamic icon stack, packages CleanZip, and can update release assets.

Build From Source

Recommended release build with full Xcode:

work/CleanZipBuild/src/build_xcode.sh
work/CleanZipBuild/src/package.sh

If full Xcode is not installed locally, use GitHub Actions. The workflow builds the Xcode project on a macOS runner with Xcode, verifies Intel and Apple Silicon slices, compiles the Icon Composer document, creates the installer, and uploads build artifacts:

gh workflow run cleanzip-liquid-glass-icon.yml --repo lyc280705/CleanZip --ref main

To rebuild and update an existing GitHub release asset set:

gh workflow run cleanzip-liquid-glass-icon.yml --repo lyc280705/CleanZip --ref main -f release_tag=v2.6.35 -f upload_release=true

Lightweight local fallback with Command Line Tools:

work/CleanZipBuild/src/build.sh

Dynamic Liquid Glass icon compilation requires Xcode 26 actool. The lightweight fallback still creates a usable app bundle, but the GitHub Actions/Xcode path is the canonical release path. Both paths compile in Swift 6 language mode with complete concurrency checking; long-running archive work uses Swift 6.2 structured concurrency to stay off the main actor.

License

CleanZip source code is released under the MIT License. Bundled 7-Zip/7zz files are distributed under their own upstream license; see 7-Zip-License.txt and 7-Zip-readme.txt in the app resources.