How to stop Safari from unzipping files after download

Question

Safari unzips .zip and .gz files after downloading. How can I stop this behavior?

score 83 · Accepted Answer · edited Oct 23 '22 at 23:22

83

In the menu bar, go Safari -> Preferences. In the "General" tab, uncheck "Open 'safe' files after downloading". This will stop Safari from automatically unzipping the files.

edited Oct 23 '22 at 23:22

Ezekiel

9,125

answered Sep 01 '10 at 01:12

Kyle Cronin

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1

don't know since when it is the case, but for me and a fresh mojave installation the checkbox did not appear. i first had to activate developer options under Advanced > Show Develop menu in menu bar. Afterwards more options appeared on the general tab. – isaias-b Apr 07 '19 at 12:06
This is a workaround with side effect: all opening of files after download becomes disabled. A full solution without side effects given by @redochka: hold ⌥ alt when clicking to download. See https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/115634/330523 – Cornelius Roemer Oct 23 '22 at 15:01

score 27 · Answer 2 · edited Oct 23 '22 at 23:17

27

Just hold the ⌥ alt button while clicking on the download links.

^{Tested on OS X Mavericks, Big Sur, Monterey. Still works in October 2022.}

edited Oct 23 '22 at 23:17

Cornelius Roemer

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answered Dec 31 '13 at 16:13

redochka

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Still works fine in Yosemite, and is a useful "I only want to do this occasionally" option. – Matt Gibson Jan 18 '16 at 10:37
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Still works on Big Sur (Intel) – ThorstenC Jul 21 '21 at 10:16
Still works on Monterey 12.6 (ARM) as well in October 2022 – Cornelius Roemer Oct 23 '22 at 15:03
Still works on Ventura 13.1 in Mach 2023 – Xaver Mar 05 '23 at 15:18

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 01 '10 at 01:13

2

In Preferences, at the bottom of the General tab, uncheck the "Open "safe" files after downloading" check box.

answered Sep 01 '10 at 01:13

Henry

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score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 17 '12 at 02:28

1

Check out this article if you want to keep the "Safe Downloads" behavior but tweak it a little.

answered Jan 17 '12 at 02:28

segiddins

1,359

Please provide a full answer, do not just link out. This goes against Stackexchange policies. – Cornelius Roemer Oct 23 '22 at 15:02

How to stop Safari from unzipping files after download

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