Clean ZIP

The archive is opened and rebuilt in your browser and is not uploaded to FindUtils. Analytics and ads may load on the page.

Remove

__MACOSX/.DS_Store._ AppleDouble filesThumbs.dbdesktop.iniAlso remove folders left empty

Drop a .zip file hereor click to choose one. The archive stays on your device.

Why Use Clean ZIP?

A ZIP made on a Mac carries files its sender never sees. Archive Utility adds a __MACOSX folder full of ._ files that hold resource forks and extended attributes, Finder leaves a .DS_Store in every folder it has shown, and a folder that has been on a Windows share brings Thumbs.db and desktop.ini with it. On Windows, Linux or a build server those entries unpack as clutter, get committed to repositories and confuse upload validators. The usual fix is to unzip, hunt for hidden files, delete them and zip again. Clean ZIP does that in one step, in the browser tab, and lists every entry it removed.

A ZIP file is a list of entries, each with a path, and the junk a Mac or a Windows share adds is ordinary entries with recognisable names. Clean ZIP reads that list in your browser, removes the entries you choose, and writes the archive again. It looks for five kinds: the __MACOSX/ folder that macOS Archive Utility adds, .DS_Store files that Finder writes to remember a folder's view, AppleDouble files whose names start with ._, the Thumbs.db thumbnail cache that Windows Explorer writes, and desktop.ini folder settings. Names are matched exactly, with Thumbs.db and desktop.ini matched in any letter case.

Every other entry keeps its path, modification date, permissions and comment. Entries already compressed with DEFLATE are copied as they are rather than compressed again, and stored entries stay stored. When no junk is found, the page says so instead of producing an identical copy.

The page refuses what it cannot handle safely. A password-protected ZIP is not opened. An archive with an entry whose path climbs out of the extraction folder with .. or starts at the root is not rebuilt, and the offending paths are listed. RAR and 7z archives are different formats and are not read, and archives larger than 1 GB are refused because the whole file is held in the tab's memory.

How it compares

Command-line fixes such as zip -d archive.zip "__MACOSX/*" "*.DS_Store" work when you have a terminal and remember the patterns. Clean ZIP needs neither, shows what it removed before you download, and handles Thumbs.db and desktop.ini in the same pass. Unlike online cleaners that ask for an upload, the archive never leaves the browser tab.

Tips for Clean Archives

Keep the original ZIP if the recipient uses a Mac and needs Finder tags or resource forks: the ._ files and __MACOSX folder are where Archive Utility stores them.
A file whose name only contains DS_Store, such as DS_Store.txt, is kept. Only an entry named exactly .DS_Store is removed.
Folders left empty after cleaning stay by default. Turn on Also remove folders left empty to drop them too; a folder that was already empty in the original is always kept.
Compressed entries are copied without being compressed again, so cleaning a large archive does not change the files you keep.
On a Mac, the command-line zip does not add a __MACOSX folder, so zip -r archive.zip folder -x '*.DS_Store' creates a clean archive from the start. Archive Utility's Compress does add one, which is what Clean ZIP removes afterwards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the __MACOSX folder in a ZIP file?

__MACOSX is a folder that macOS Archive Utility adds when you use Compress on a Mac. It holds AppleDouble files that store each file's resource fork and extended attributes, such as Finder tags. A Mac extracting the archive reads them back silently; Windows and Linux unpack them as a visible folder of ._ files.

Is it safe to delete __MACOSX and .DS_Store files?

Yes for almost every use. .DS_Store only remembers how Finder displayed a folder, and the __MACOSX folder only carries Mac metadata. The files you actually zipped are separate entries and are kept. Keep the original archive if a Mac user needs the Finder tags or resource forks those entries preserve.

What are the ._ files in a ZIP?

Files whose names start with ._ are AppleDouble files. macOS writes one next to a file when it copies the file to a disk or share that cannot store Mac metadata, such as a FAT or exFAT drive or some network shares. They contain metadata, not the file's content, so removing them does not change your files.

What are Thumbs.db and desktop.ini?

Thumbs.db is a thumbnail cache that Windows Explorer writes in folders of images, most often on network shares. desktop.ini stores a folder's custom icon, name or view settings. Both are hidden system files on Windows and are not needed by anyone who extracts the archive.

Does Clean ZIP recompress my files?

No. Entries compressed with DEFLATE are copied as they are, and entries stored without compression stay stored. The paths, modification dates and permissions of the files you keep are carried over.

Can it clean a password-protected ZIP?

No. An encrypted archive is refused with a message and nothing is changed, because its entries cannot be read without the password. Extract it with the password, remove the junk, and create a new archive instead.

Does it work with RAR or 7z files?

No. RAR and 7z are different archive formats, and Clean ZIP reads ZIP archives only. Extract a RAR or 7z file with a tool that supports it, then create a ZIP if you need one.

What happens if nothing needs cleaning?

The page reports that no junk entries were found and offers no download, because the rebuilt archive would hold exactly what you already have. Try switching a type back on if you turned it off.

Why was my archive refused as unsafe?

One or more entries have a path that leaves the folder you extract into, such as ../file or an absolute path starting with /. That pattern is used in zip slip attacks. The page lists those paths and does not rebuild the archive, so an unsafe name is never written again.

Is my archive uploaded anywhere?

No. The ZIP is read, filtered and rebuilt by JavaScript in your browser tab, and the cleaned copy is saved from memory. No request carries the file or its contents.