Extract macOS .pkg Files Online

How to extract a macOS PKG file without installing it

1. Drop the .pkg file onto the box above, or click to choose it.
2. If the payload is in the supported format, the files it would install are listed. Browse or search them.
3. Download the files you need, or tick several and download them as one archive.

What is inside a .pkg

A macOS installer package is a XAR archive holding a few bookkeeping files, optional install scripts and a payload: a compressed archive of everything that gets copied onto the Mac. Running the package walks you through Installer and writes those files wherever the vendor decided, usually with administrator rights.

Opening it here skips all of that. You see what is in the package and can take out a single driver, plug-in, font or command-line binary, on a Mac or on any other desktop system.

The pbzx limitation

There are two payload formats in the wild. Older and many third-party packages use a gzip-compressed cpio archive, and those are read: the installed files appear in the list. Newer packages, including many that Apple builds itself, compress the payload with pbzx. That format is not supported, so the installed files of such a package cannot be listed here.

There is no way to tell from the file name which kind you have. Drop the package in; if the payload files do not appear, it is a pbzx package. On a Mac, pkgutil --expand-full package.pkg outdir handles both kinds.

Other files that end in .pkg

The extension is also used by game consoles and other systems for unrelated formats. This page is for macOS flat packages and plain .xar archives only. Whatever you drop is read locally and is not sent to a server.

Frequently asked questions

Can I open a .pkg file on Windows or Linux?

Yes, if its payload uses the gzip format. The package is read in the browser, so no Mac is needed. Packages with a pbzx payload cannot be unpacked here.

What is pbzx and why does it matter?

pbzx is a newer compression wrapper used for the payload of many macOS packages, especially Apple’s own. This tool does not read it, so the files inside such a payload cannot be listed or extracted.

Does it run the install scripts?

No. Nothing in the package is executed and nothing is installed. The tool reads the archive and copies files out.

Does it open XAR archives too?

Yes. A flat .pkg is a XAR archive, and plain .xar files are read the same way.

Can I extract an app from a PKG and run it?

You can extract the files when the payload is supported, but they are macOS files. An application taken out of a package runs on macOS only, and unpacking it does not perform the steps an installer script would.