Free online PKG to ZIP converter

A recipient may need ZIP because a file manager, archive system, or sharing workflow accepts ZIP but cannot inspect an Apple installer package. Extracting a PKG into ZIP exposes its files, but putting the untouched PKG inside a ZIP is the correct option when installation, signing, or verification must remain possible.

What the PKG format is

In the Archives category, .pkg usually identifies an Apple Installer package for macOS, produced by tools such as pkgbuild and productbuild. A modern flat PKG commonly uses the XAR container format and can contain distribution metadata, PackageInfo, a bill of materials, installation scripts, component packages, and compressed Payload archives.

Apple uses PKG files for macOS applications, system components, developer output, and managed enterprise deployment. A package can contain several component packages, so extracting it may show installer metadata and package structure rather than the final directory tree installed on a Mac. Other systems also use the .pkg extension; check an unfamiliar file with file package.pkg before choosing a method.

What the ZIP format is

.zip is a general-purpose archive format that bundles files and folders with optional compression. Finder, Windows File Explorer, Linux archive tools, and most file-management applications can open ZIP without macOS package-management software.

ZIP is useful for inspection, transfer, submission to systems that accept only ZIP, and broad-compatibility storage. It is not an installable replacement for PKG: a ZIP made from extracted package contents does not supply the Installer metadata, payload handling, scripts, package receipts, or usable signing and distribution logic of the original.

How to convert PKG to ZIP on macOS

1. Work on a copy of the original and confirm its type with file package.pkg. For an Apple package, list the outer container with xar -tf package.pkg.
2. Create a destination directory and expand the package recursively with mkdir expanded-package, followed by pkgutil --expand-full package.pkg expanded-package. This option expands nested component packages where supported.
3. If the installed macOS version does not support --expand-full, use pkgutil --expand package.pkg expanded-package. This may leave component packages or payload archives inside the expanded result.
4. Create a ZIP containing the resulting directory with ditto -c -k --sequesterRsrc --keepParent expanded-package package.zip.
5. Check the archive with unzip -t package.zip, then open it and verify that it contains the intended files.

If pkgutil fails but xar -tf identifies an XAR container, create an empty destination and run mkdir xar-contents, then xar -xf package.pkg -C xar-contents. ZIP will contain the package’s internal files, not an equivalent installer.

How to convert PKG with an archive utility

On Windows or Linux, open the file in a desktop utility that supports XAR, such as a current 7-Zip build. If it recognizes the PKG, choose Extract and write the contents to a new folder; then select that folder, choose Add to archive, set the format to zip, and create the output. The command-line equivalent is 7z x package.pkg -oexpanded-package, followed by 7z a -tzip package.zip expanded-package.

PKG recognition varies by archive utility and build. A failed 7-Zip extraction does not establish that the file is corrupt; use pkgutil or xar on macOS when possible.

Using the built-in online converter

You can convert the file on 101convert.com for free without installing software: upload the PKG, select ZIP, start the conversion, and download the result. Do not upload packages containing credentials, certificates, proprietary software, personal data, licensed material, or unreleased files; local extraction avoids sending those contents to a third party.

Quality and compatibility limits

Extracting and recompressing a PKG does not preserve installer behavior. Scripts become ordinary files, and package signatures, receipts, distribution logic, ownership, permissions, ACLs, extended attributes, hard links, symbolic-link behavior, and payload metadata may be lost or changed. A ZIP reader on Windows or Linux may also ignore macOS-specific metadata or display it as extra files.

Already-compressed payloads can make the resulting ZIP larger than the original PKG. Use the original PKG when installation fidelity, signature validation, permissions, or package receipts matter.

To distribute the installer without changing it, put the untouched file inside a ZIP rather than extracting it: ditto -c -k --keepParent package.pkg package-wrapper.zip, or use Finder’s Compress command. The PKG remains intact inside the wrapper, but the recipient must extract it before using macOS Installer.