App Archiver questions and answers.

App Archiver compresses installed Mac apps so they use less disk space and can still run. It can also store an app as an archive with a restore launcher in its place, or create a ZIP or DMG backup. It shows app sizes and estimated savings before you start.

Compression changes how files are stored, not their contents. macOS decompresses optimized files automatically when they are read. Archives and backups store the original app's files so they can be restored. Lossless compression means the decompressed contents match the originals.

The original app's code signature is preserved. App Archiver verifies copies before installing them. File ownership is a separate property explained underSetup and limits.

App Archiver is built for supported Mac apps. To save space in ordinary files and folders, use DiskPress, another Mac utility by Ighor July.

DiskPress compresses ordinary files and lets identical files share disk space using APFS deduplication. Files keep their contents and locations and can still open normally. DiskPress skips app bundles and executables.

Storage Saver Duo is an App Store bundle that includes App Archiver and DiskPress at a reduced price compared with buying them separately. App Archiver handles your Mac apps, and DiskPress optimizes ordinary files and folders.

View Storage Saver Duo on the App Store.

App Archiver compresses apps rather than clearing caches or uninstalling software. An optimized app can still run. An archived app must be restored before you use it.

By default, archiving changes only the app in Applications. Data stored outside it stays in place. If you choose Include App Data, App Archiver also archives the supported files from the data folder you select and offers to restore them with the app.

Choose Optimize App for software you still use regularly. Choose Archive in Place for an app you want to keep visible but do not need right now. Choose Create a Backup when you want a ZIP or DMG copy in another folder or on an external drive. After creating a backup, you decide whether the installed app stays or is removed.

App Archiver compresses the app's files using macOS filesystem compression. macOS decompresses files as they are read, so the app can run without a separate restoration step. The app stays in the same location and can open and update normally.

The file contents stay the same, but compressible files take less space on disk. If compression does not save useful space, App Archiver leaves the app unchanged.

App Archiver stores the app in a compressed archive and replaces the installed copy with a small restore launcher. The launcher uses the app's icon and stays in the same location. You can find it in Applications and app launchers such as Spotlight.

The archived app cannot run or update until it is restored. Double-click its icon, or select it in the Archived Apps section of App Archiver, to restore the original app to the same location.

App Archiver creates a ZIP or DMG copy of the selected app in a writable folder or on an external drive you choose. Creating a backup alone does not reduce the space used by the installed app. After the backup is ready, you can keep the installed app, archive it, or remove it.

You can restore the backup with App Archiver to the original location or another folder. You can also recover it without App Archiver by expanding the ZIP or opening the DMG and copying the app. The backup contains the app and any app data folder you chose to include. Files stored elsewhere, accounts, licenses, and external helper tools may still be needed by the restored app.

Savings depend on the app. App Archiver shows the current size and estimated result before you start. If processing an app would not free useful space, it leaves the app as it is.

No. Quit the app completely before optimizing, archiving, or removing it. App Archiver will stop the action if the app is still running.

It opens and updates normally. An update may replace the optimized files and reduce the saved space. You can optimize the app again after updating it.

If you use Time Machine, a local snapshot may still refer to the original larger version of an app. App Archiver has reclaimed the space used by the current app, but macOS may retain the old data so Time Machine can restore it. Some storage views can therefore take time to show the saving and may even appear to grow temporarily while a new snapshot is created.

This normally resolves itself after Time Machine completes its backups and macOS removes older local snapshots. New snapshots will contain the smaller optimized or archived app, so the old larger copy no longer needs to remain on your Mac. macOS also treats snapshot storage as available when another task needs the space.

If you want the storage display to update sooner, you can optionally remove local Time Machine snapshots. This removes local restore points from your Mac. It does not change or remove completed backups already stored on your Time Machine backup disk.

sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots /

for d in $(tmutil listlocalsnapshotdates | grep "-"); do sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots $d; done

Terminal asks for your administrator password and does not show characters while you type it. After local snapshots are removed, macOS may need a short time to recalculate and display the newly available space. Time Machine will create new local snapshots as automatic backups continue.

Learn more about local Time Machine snapshots from Apple.

It remains in the same location with its app icon, so it stays visible in Applications, Spotlight, Raycast, Alfred, and other app launchers.

Double-click the archived app. App Archiver opens and restores the full app to the same location. The app must be restored before it can run or update.

This warning usually means the final macOS approval step was not completed when App Archiver created the in-place archive. macOS is blocking the archive's restore launcher. The warning does not by itself mean the original app contains malware.

If you recognize the app and intended to archive it, click Done in the warning. Do not click Move to Trash. Open the Apple menu, choose System Settings, select Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. Click Open Anyway for the blocked app, confirm your choice, and enter your Mac login password if macOS asks. Then open the archived app again. Apple says Open Anyway is available for about an hour after you try to open the app.

Alternatively, open App Archiver, select Archived Apps, choose the app, and restore it there. This avoids opening the in-place archive directly.

Only use Open Anyway for an app you trust. ReadApple's current instructionsfor more detail.

Yes. You choose ZIP or DMG when creating a backup, and App Archiver can restore either format to the original location or another folder you choose.

Choose any writable folder on your Mac or an external drive. App Archiver remembers disconnected drives and reconnects their backups when the storage returns. You can keep multiple versions of the same app in Backup Storage.

App Archiver asks before replacing it. You can confirm the replacement or restore the backup to another folder.

No. The backup stays available until you choose to remove it. You can also ask App Archiver to optimize the restored app immediately.

macOS requires you to allow access to the app folders and backup locations you choose. A Protected app contains root-owned items and requires separate administrator approval before App Archiver can optimize or archive it. App Archiver guides you through these steps only when needed.

No. AppArchiverScript is no longer required and does not add features. It only automates steps you can complete manually, so every App Archiver action remains available without it.

Yes. Add the folder under App Locations in Settings and grant access. The main Applications folder always remains included.

Both statuses mean the app is present on your Mac. Installed means the app is not Protected, not optimized, and not archived. It is ready for App Archiver to optimize or archive.

Protected means the app bundle, or one or more items inside it, is owned by the macOS root account instead of your user account. Apps installed from the Mac App Store are a common example, and Mac App Store apps are already optimized when installed.

A standard user account cannot replace root-owned items, so App Archiver requires separate administrator authorization before it can process a Protected app. Protected apps are supported, and App Archiver guides you through the approval when needed. Protected describes filesystem ownership. It does not mean the app is a macOS system app, and it is separate from the app's code signature and bundle integrity.

Not yet. In the current version, optimizing or archiving a Protected app replaces its bundle with a copy owned by your macOS user account. The optimized app or in-place archive is therefore no longer marked Protected. This ownership change is separate from the app's signed contents, code signature, and bundle integrity, which remain intact.

I have requested additional entitlements from Apple. Once Apple approves them and an App Archiver update includes them, Protected apps will remain protected after they are optimized or archived. Until then, you can restore protection manually with the Terminal steps below.

sudo /usr/sbin/chown -R root "/Applications/Example App.app"

/usr/bin/stat -f "%Su %Sg %N" "/Applications/Example App.app" "/Applications/Example App.app/Contents"

No. macOS system apps cannot be archived.

No. The Mac app works offline, requires no account, and has no analytics or tracking. It does not send information about your apps or files anywhere.

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