---
name: "unar"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "unarchiver"
version: "1.10.8-6"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/unar"
---

# unar(1)

extract archive file contents

## NAME

unar - extract archive file contents

## SYNOPSIS

**unar** \[*OPTION*\]... *ARCHIVE* \[*FILE*\]...

## DESCRIPTION

Extract *FILE*s or the contents of *ARCHIVE*.

## OPTIONS

- **-o**, **-output-directory** *DIRECTORY*

  The directory to write the contents of the archive to.  Defaults to the current directory.

- **-f**, **-force-overwrite**

  Always overwrite files when a file to be unpacked already exists on disk.  By default, the program asks the user if possible, otherwise skips the file.

- **-r**, **-force-rename**

  Always rename files when a file to be unpacked already exists on disk.

- **-s**, **-force-skip**

  Always skip files when a file to be unpacked already exists on disk.

- **-d**, **-force-directory**

  Always create a containing directory for the contents of the unpacked archive.  By default, a directory is created if there is more than one top-level file or folder.

- **-D**, **-no-directory**

  Never create a containing directory for the contents of the unpacked archive.

- **-p**, **-password** *PASSWORD*

  The password to use for decrypting protected archives.

- **-e**, **-encoding** *ENCODING*

  The encoding to use for filenames in the archive, when it is not known.  If not specified, the program attempts to auto-detect the encoding used.  Use "help" or "list" as the argument to give a listing of all supported encodings.

- **-E**, **-password-encoding** *ENCODING*

  The encoding to use for the password for the archive, when it is not known.  If not specified, then either the encoding given by the -encoding option or the auto-detected encoding is used.

- **-i**, **-indexes**

  Instead of specifying the files to list as filenames or wildcard patterns, specify them as indexes, as output by lsar.

- **-nr**, **-no-recursion**

  Do not attempt to extract archives contained in other archives. For instance, when unpacking a .tar.gz file, only unpack the .tar file and not its contents.

- **-t**, **-copy-time**

  Copy the file modification time from the archive file to the containing directory, if one is created.

- **-k**, **-forks visible**\|**hidden**\|**skip**

  How to handle Mac OS resource forks.  **visible** creates AppleDouble files with the extension ".rsrc", **hidden** creates AppleDouble files with the prefix ".\_", and **skip** discards all resource forks.  Defaults to **visible**.

- **-q**, **-quiet**

  Run in quiet mode.

- **-v**, **-version**

  Print version and exit.

- **-h**, **-help**

  Display help information.

## SEE ALSO

[**lsar**(1)](/lsar/1.md)