--- title: "Clean ZIP" description: "Drop a ZIP and download a copy without __MACOSX folders, .DS_Store, AppleDouble ._ files, Thumbs.db and desktop.ini. The archive is rebuilt in your browser and never uploaded." url: https://findutils.com/convert/clean-zip/ category: convert --- # Clean ZIP Drop a ZIP and download a copy without __MACOSX folders, .DS_Store, AppleDouble ._ files, Thumbs.db and desktop.ini. The archive is rebuilt in your browser and never uploaded. **Use this tool:** [Clean ZIP](https://findutils.com/convert/clean-zip/) ## Programmatic access - Browser-only: this tool works on a file, the DOM, or a browser API and has no REST or MCP id. ## 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. ## 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. ## Related Tools - [HEIC to JPG](https://findutils.com/convert/heic-to-jpg/) - [EXIF Remover](https://findutils.com/security/exif-remover/) - [Internet Shortcuts to CSV](https://findutils.com/convert/internet-shortcuts-to-csv/) - [Plist JSON Converter](https://findutils.com/developers/plist-json-converter/) - [CSV to Excel](https://findutils.com/convert/csv-to-excel/) - [Image Compressor](https://findutils.com/convert/image-compressor/)