# Peel

> Peel is a free macOS unarchiver from Snack Studio. Double-click a ZIP, RAR, 7z or TAR archive and it opens like a folder in Finder; extract it with Peel, Peel to… or Peel & Reveal; preview it with Quick Look. Current release: 1.1.0 (November 3, 2026).

Facts about the current release (1.1.0):

- Platform: macOS 13 Ventura or later, Apple silicon and Intel (universal app).
- Price: free. No account, no ads, no trial. A paid Peel Pro for recovering locked archives is planned and not yet available.
- Install: download and open Peel-1.1.0.pkg (signed, notarized installer); or open Peel-1.1.0.dmg and drag Peel to Applications (opened from there, Peel offers to move itself); or run `brew install --cask snackstudio/tap/peel`.
- Uninstall: drag Peel to the Trash, or `brew uninstall --cask peel`.
- Updates: Peel updates itself (Peel ▸ Check for Updates…), using Sparkle with signed updates.
- Formats: ZIP and ZIP-based files (EPUB, JAR, WAR, EAR, APK, CBZ, USDZ, 3MF, Office and OpenDocument files); RAR, including multipart sets; 7z, including solid archives; TAR, plain or compressed with gzip, bzip2, xz or zstd; single gzip, bzip2, xz or zstd files; installer packages (.pkg, .mpkg); comic books (.cbz, .cbr, .cb7, .cbt); Sketch and single-file Pages, Numbers and Keynote documents.
- Passwords: password-protected ZIP (ZipCrypto, WinZip AES), 7z and RAR archives ask for the password once; Peel can remember it in the Keychain.
- Making archives: Compress with Password… in Finder makes AES-256 ZIPs; `peel create` makes ZIP and tar archives.
- Finder: Peel, Peel to… and Peel & Reveal in the right-click menu (turned on once in System Settings); Quick Look previews; Spotlight finds files inside tar, 7z and RAR archives.
- Safety: entries that point outside the destination (`../`, absolute paths) are refused, and symbolic links in an archive can't redirect a write outside it. The app and disk image are signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple.
- Privacy: Peel doesn't collect, store or share personal data; files never leave the Mac; no analytics. The only network request is the update check.
- Not yet: a Mac App Store edition (in the works) and Peel Pro (recovery for locked archives, planned).
- Publisher: Snack Studio (https://www.snackstud.io), hello@snackstud.io. Made by Zach Shallbetter (https://www.zachshallbetter.com, https://github.com/zachshallbetter).

## Pages

- [Peel home page](https://filesunwrapped.com/): what Peel does, formats, safety, install
- [Questions and answers](https://filesunwrapped.com/#faq): price, Macs, Archive Utility, passwords, safety, privacy, Homebrew, default app, App Store, Pro, help
- [Support](https://filesunwrapped.com/support): report a problem, install, update, uninstall
- [Privacy policy](https://filesunwrapped.com/privacy)

## Downloads and support

- [Releases and release notes](https://github.com/SnackStudio/peel-releases/releases)
- [Report a problem](https://github.com/SnackStudio/peel-releases/issues)
- [Homebrew cask](https://github.com/SnackStudio/homebrew-tap/blob/main/Casks/peel.rb)
- [Update feed (Sparkle appcast)](https://filesunwrapped.com/appcast.xml)