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Creating a new archive

There are three ways to start a new archive. All of them lead to the Create Archive sheet, where you pick the format and options.

1. Drop files on the dock icon

Drag any combination of files and folders onto the Purrchiver dock icon. A new tab opens with the dropped items staged on the right side and the filesystem on the left:

Staging window

2. File → New Archive (⌘N)

Opens an empty Staging session. Add files by dragging them in from Finder, from the left filesystem pane, or via + Add Files… at the bottom.

3. Finder right-click → Services → Compress using Purrchiver

Select one or more files or folders in Finder, right-click, and pick Services → Compress using Purrchiver. Purrchiver opens a Staging window with your selection pre-loaded as files-to-compress. From there, click Create Archive (or use the format picker in the staging footer) to open the Create Archive sheet, pick a format, optional password, and create.

If you don’t see the Services submenu, enable the item under System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Services → Files and Folders.

The Create Archive sheet

When you click Select Options & Create Archive (or use a quick-path right-click that opens the sheet), you see:

Create Archive sheet

Format

Pick from ~15 supported formats. Each option has a short inline tooltip explaining when to use it. The most common choices:

  • ZIP — cross-platform safe. The default. Use it unless you have a reason not to.
  • 7z — best compression. Good if both you and the recipient have a 7z-capable tool.
  • tar + gzip (.tar.gz) — Unix standard. Use it when sending to Linux/server folks.
  • tar + zstd (.tar.zst) — modern fast Unix archive. Faster than .tar.gz, similar ratio.
  • AAR (Apple Archive) — Apple’s native format. Tiny, fast, Apple-platform-only.

Format support has the full list with notes on each.

Compression level

Four choices: Store / Fast / Normal / Best.

  • Store — no compression, just packaging. Use for already-compressed content (JPG, MP4, etc.) — saves zero space and processing time on those.
  • Fast — quick, modest compression. Use when speed matters.
  • Normal — balanced (default). What you want most of the time.
  • Best — slowest, smallest. Use for archival or distribution.

Encryption

Tick Encrypt with AES-256 to password-protect the archive. The dialog expands to show two password fields (entry + confirm) and a strength meter below the first field.

The confirm field is non-optional — single password fields with no confirmation are how people accidentally lock themselves out of their own archives. The strength meter is local-only (no network, no AI, no SDK) and tells you what would make the password stronger.

Purrchiver verifies every encrypted archive after creation. If your password somehow didn’t work to open the archive you just created (it won’t — but if it didn’t), Purrchiver would tell you immediately. You will never distribute an unopenable file.

See Encrypted archives for the full story.

Split into volumes

Split-volume writing is deferred to v1.1. The Create Archive sheet in v1.0 doesn’t expose a split-size control for any format.

Split-volume extraction works today — point Purrchiver at any one part of a split set you received (.part01.rar, .r00/.r01, .z01, .7z.001/.002, …) and it scans the parent folder, finds the rest, and reads them as a single archive. See Multi-part archives.

Exclude macOS metadata

Defaults per format:

  • ON for ZIP — strips the ._* ghost files that macOS adds and that Windows / Linux recipients see as clutter.
  • OFF for AAR, 7z, tar — these formats handle macOS metadata correctly (or AAR uses Apple’s native treatment).

You can override the default per-archive.

Output filename + location

Defaults to the source folder’s name + format extension (MyProject/ → MyProject.zip) saved next to the source. Both editable.

Presets — save your favorite settings

If you create archives with the same settings repeatedly — say, “ZIP, Best compression, AES-256 encrypted, no metadata, save next to source” — save them as a Preset.

In the Create Archive sheet, choose your settings, then click + Save Current Settings as Preset…. Pick a name. From then on, the preset appears in the Preset dropdown at the top of the sheet, and quick-path Finder right-click items can target a default preset (configurable in Settings → Compression).

Manage your presets in Settings → Compression.

What happens when it’s done

The progress bar in the toolbar transitions to “Done”, the archive is verified (every entry re-read; passwords confirmed if encrypted), and that’s it. No popup. No window pop-up. No interstitial. No banner.

If you turned on completion notifications in Settings → General, you’ll get a quiet macOS notification (no sound by default).

Tips

  • Drag-drop is faster than the menu for most cases. Drop files on the dock, hit ⌘O once for the sheet, done.
  • Use Stickly Defaults. Purrchiver remembers your last format, compression level, and encryption choice between operations. If you always use 7z + Best + AES-256, you’ll only set it once.
  • Save a preset for your common case. If you always reach for “ZIP, Best, AES-256, strip macOS metadata,” save it once as a preset and pick it from the sheet’s Preset dropdown — one click instead of reconfiguring every field.