Online RAR viewer
An online RAR viewer opens a .rar in your browser so you can browse its file tree and preview files with nothing installed and nothing uploaded — drop the archive onto ZipTool and it is parsed locally. A viewer is browse-first by design: you see what is inside the RAR, and only that, without unpacking the whole thing to disk. For RAR specifically that matters, because most "online RAR" tools are upload-based extractors that ship your file to a licensed server-side decoder.
ZipTool (ziptool.app) is an online RAR viewer that decodes the archive entirely in the browser using a WebAssembly unrar module. You open it, drop a .rar onto the page (or paste a direct URL), and the file tree renders locally. Because the parsing happens client-side, the archive never leaves your device — there is no upload, no server, and nothing stored. Confirm it yourself: open a RAR, then disconnect from the internet; browsing, searching, and previewing keep working.
How an online RAR viewer works
A "viewer" differs from an "extractor," and the distinction matters for RAR. An extractor decompresses the whole archive and writes the original files to disk. A viewer leaves the archive intact and renders its contents on demand — you browse the tree, click a file, and the viewer shows you that one file. Nothing is unpacked unless you choose to save it.
In ZipTool the workflow is: add the .rar (drag-and-drop, the file picker, or a URL), the browser reads the bytes locally, and the WebAssembly unrar module walks the archive and builds the file tree on the left. From there you search the tree by name, expand folders, and click any entry to preview it. The whole loop runs in your tab; the network is used only to load the page and (once, then cached) the decoder module. When you do want the files out, see extracting a RAR online.
What you can preview inside the RAR
The point of a viewer is not just to list files — it is to let you actually read them without unpacking. ZipTool previews the common contents inline:
- Code and config — JavaScript, TypeScript, JSON, Python, Markdown, HTML, CSS, YAML, XML, and many more open in a syntax-highlighting editor. You can read a bundled script straight out of the RAR.
- Images — PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP, SVG, and other common formats render inline, useful for inspecting a bundle of assets.
- Documents — PDFs render in the page, and plain-text files show as readable text.
- Audio and video — common audio and video formats play inline without a separate player.
- Nested archives — a zip stored inside the RAR opens as its own archive without leaving the page. Anything the viewer cannot render is still listed by name and size.
Why "online" does not have to mean "uploaded"
The phrase "online RAR viewer" raises an obvious question: if it runs in the browser, is my archive being uploaded somewhere? For most "online RAR" tools the honest answer is yes — RAR decoding is license-restricted, so they send your file to a server that holds a licensed decoder and send the listing back. ZipTool is built the other way: the page loads, the WebAssembly unrar runs locally, and your file contents are not transmitted anywhere.
This matters for privacy and for verifiable trust. Open a RAR, open DevTools, and watch the Network tab: you see the page load and a one-time fetch of the decoder, but no upload of your file. Then unplug your network and confirm the viewer keeps working. For the confidentiality angle (NDA work, client files, regulated content), see the private zip viewer and the broader security and privacy treatment.
Honest limits
A browser-based RAR viewer is genuinely useful, but RAR has features the in-browser decoder does not cover.
- Encrypted RAR entries are not supported. Password-protected RAR files cannot be decoded in the browser by this tool. (ZipTool can decrypt password-protected ZIP and 7z, but not RAR.) Use a desktop tool for encrypted RAR.
- Split / multi-volume RARs are not supported. A RAR split across
.part1.rar,.part2.rar, … needs reassembly by a tool that understands the spanning format. - It is a viewer. ZipTool browses and previews; it can also extract a single-volume RAR to a folder or bundle. But it does not create RAR files — RAR encoding is proprietary to WinRAR.
- Client-side parsing is not a security guarantee. A malicious archive is still malicious. Parsing in a sandboxed tab limits the blast radius, but "opens in a browser" is not the same as "safe to open from an untrusted source." See malware in zip files.
Frequently asked questions
Is the online RAR viewer really free?
Yes. Browsing the file tree, searching, and previewing files inside a RAR is completely free, with no account and no install — open the page in a modern browser and drop a RAR in. Core viewing always will be.
Do you upload my RAR?
No. The archive is decoded entirely in your browser using a WebAssembly unrar module; your file contents are never transmitted to a server, never stored, and never handed to a third party. The only network traffic is the page and a one-time fetch of the decoder. Confirm it in DevTools (the Network tab shows no upload) and by disconnecting from the internet after the page loads — browsing and previewing keep working.
Can I search inside the RAR without extracting?
Yes. Once the archive is loaded, the search box filters the file tree by name across the whole RAR — useful for finding one file in a large bundle without unpacking it. The search runs locally against the in-memory tree; nothing about your query leaves the browser.
Can it open a password-protected RAR?
No. Encrypted RAR files are not supported in the browser by this tool. ZipTool can decrypt password-protected ZIP and 7z archives when you supply the password, but not RAR — for those, use WinRAR, 7-Zip, or The Unarchiver. Without the password, no honest tool can open an encrypted archive.
What is the difference between viewing and extracting a RAR?
Viewing leaves the archive intact and renders files on demand — you look inside without writing anything to disk. Extracting decompresses the entries and writes them out as real files. ZipTool does both: browse and preview first, then extract when you want the files out. See extracting a RAR online.