How to zip a folder on a Mac
Zip a folder or several files on a Mac with Control-click > Compress. How to add a password, keep the ZIP small, and send large folders.
Control-click the folder and choose Compress. macOS creates a .zip with the same name next to it, and leaves the original folder as it was. For several files, select them all first: the result is called Archive.zip.
Zip with Finder
- Select the folder, or several files (⌘-click to add each one).
- Control-click the selection.
- Choose Compress “name” (or Compress 5 Items).
- The ZIP appears in the same folder. Rename a multi-file archive right away: Return, type, Return.
Zip with a password (Terminal)
Finder has no password option. In Terminal:
zip -er ~/Desktop/Project.zip ~/Documents/Project
Type the password twice. -e encrypts, -r includes subfolders. Anyone opening the ZIP on a Mac or a PC is asked for the password.
Keep it small
- Photos and videos barely shrink. JPEG, HEIC, MP4 and MOV are already compressed; a ZIP of photos is about the same size as the photos.
- Text, code and documents shrink a lot. A folder of
.txt,.csvor source code often drops to a quarter. - Leave out Mac-only hidden files when the ZIP is for a PC: in Terminal, add
-x "*.DS_Store".
Sending a big folder
Mail refuses attachments over about 20 MB. For more, Mail Drop (in Mail, on by default with iCloud) sends up to 5 GB as a link, or share the folder from iCloud Drive with Control-click > Share.
Where the archives pile up
Every ZIP you make or receive stays somewhere: on the Desktop after sending, in Downloads after receiving. After a year, that’s a lot of copies of folders you already have.
Archives in one place
DeclutrDeclutr sorts the Desktop, Downloads or any folder into category folders by file type: Archives, Documents, Images, Videos, Audio, Apps, Code & Scripts, 3D Models and more. One Undo button puts every file back. The sort is free; Pro, a one-time $8.99 purchase in the US, adds watched folders, scheduled cleanups and rules by name, extension, age or size. It needs macOS 13 Ventura or later.
Related: how to unzip files on a Mac and how to organize files on a Mac.
Questions people ask
How do I zip a folder on a Mac?
Control-click the folder in Finder and choose Compress. macOS creates a .zip file with the same name, next to the folder. The original folder stays untouched.
How do I zip multiple files on a Mac?
Select the files, Control-click one of them and choose Compress. macOS creates a file named Archive.zip in the same folder. Rename it right away.
How do I password-protect a ZIP file on a Mac?
Finder can't add a password. In Terminal, run zip -er Archive.zip followed by the folder path, then type the password twice. The -e flag encrypts, -r includes the folder's content.