A XAR file (short for eXtensible Archive) is an open-source software archiving format that utilizes XML for metadata storage. Created to solve the limitations of older formats, XAR stores its directory catalog, file permissions, and attributes in an XML block at the start of the archive. This allows utilities to search the archive without decompressing the data. XAR is heavily integrated into the Apple macOS ecosystem, serving as the container format for Safari extensions and macOS installers (.pkg).
The XAR project was created in 2004 as an open-source alternative to TAR and ZIP, designed to support metadata attributes natively. Apple adopted the format for Safari browser extensions and flat macOS package (.pkg) installer scripts, making it a critical container format for Mac software delivery.
A XAR file consists of three parts: a header declaring the format version and catalog sizes, a compressed XML table of contents (TOC) containing the directory tree and file metadata, and a heap containing the raw compressed file payloads (using Gzip, Bzip2, or Lzma). The XML catalog contains references to offset locations in the heap.
Typical naming templates and folder layouts:
Rare in non-Apple environments, requiring third-party tools on Windows or Linux., Requires XML parsing libraries to decode the file catalog., Easily corrupted if the XML catalog block is altered.
Because XAR is used for macOS installers, malicious XAR archives can contain script payloads. Verify signatures and extract XAR files in our local browser sandbox to inspect their contents.
It is an Extensible Archive format that uses an XML block to store catalog metadata separate from the compressed data payload.
Windows doesn't open XAR natively. Use our free online client-side tool or a program like 7-Zip.
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A macOS PKG file is typically a XAR archive containing setup files, configuration scripts, and target locations.
Yes. The XAR heap can use LZMA or Bzip2 compression during creation to reduce file sizes.
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This basic version supports standard, unencrypted ZIP, RAR, 7z, and TAR archives. Support for password-protected archives is not currently active.
The file size exceeds the supported safety limit.