How to Install UNRAR on Fedora 44

RAR files still turn up in Windows backups, game mods, and large split downloads, and Fedora handles them in two different ways. To install unrar on Fedora, you can use the open-source wrapper in the default repositories for plain archives or switch to RPM Fusion for RARLAB’s full binary when you need encrypted archive support and the classic unrar command set.

Fedora’s default repositories ship an unrar package, but the Fedora package page identifies it as a wrapper for unrar-free rather than RARLAB’s build. Fedora’s repositories also do not provide the rar archiver itself, so the packaged options focus on extraction, with the real choice coming down to plain archive support versus full encrypted-archive compatibility.

Both packaged paths install extraction tools only. They do not install the graphical WinRAR application or Fedora-packaged rar command for creating RAR archives.

Install Unrar on Fedora

Fedora’s default repositories and RPM Fusion both provide a package named unrar, but they are not the same build. The Fedora package points to unrar-free, while RPM Fusion Nonfree replaces it with RARLAB’s full binary.

Installation path	Package	Command	Encrypted RAR support	Unencrypted multi-part RAR5	Best fit
Fedora repositories	`unrar` (wrapper to `unrar-free`)	`unrar`	No	Yes	Basic extraction without adding third-party repositories
RPM Fusion Nonfree	`unrar`	`unrar`	Yes	Yes	Full compatibility and classic RARLAB behavior

If you install unrar before RPM Fusion is enabled, Fedora gives you the open-source wrapper. After RPM Fusion is enabled, run sudo dnf upgrade unrar --refresh to switch the installed package to the RARLAB build.

RAR and WinRAR Scope on Fedora

The DNF paths in this section install command-line extractors. If you specifically need to create .rar files, RARLAB publishes a separate RAR for Linux command-line download, but Fedora and RPM Fusion do not package that archiver in these package-manager paths.

Update Fedora Before Installing Unrar

Search for Terminal in Activities to open a shell. Fedora GNOME does not enable Ctrl+Alt+T by default.

Refresh package metadata and apply pending updates first. If you want quicker metadata downloads later, the DNF speed guide for Fedora covers the common tuning options:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Package install and removal commands need root privileges. If your account is not in the sudoers file yet, follow the guide on how to add a user to sudoers on Fedora.

Install Fedora’s Open-Source Unrar Package

This method installs Fedora’s default unrar package, which points to the unrar-free backend. It works well for plain RAR archives and unencrypted multi-part RAR5 files without adding extra repositories.

sudo dnf install unrar

Verify which implementation is active by checking the version string:

unrar --version

unrar-free 0.3.3

If you install unrar-free directly instead of unrar, Fedora gives you the unrar-free command only. Install Fedora’s wrapper package if you want the shorter unrar command name.

Install RARLAB Unrar from RPM Fusion

Use this method if you need encrypted RAR support, predictable unrar x and unrar t behavior, or the closest WinRAR-compatible extraction workflow on Fedora. RARLAB’s unrar package is in RPM Fusion Nonfree, so enable only that repository family for this package.

sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

The $(rpm -E %fedora) expression expands to your current Fedora release number. If you need Free and Nonfree repositories for other packages, use the dedicated guide for RPM Fusion on Fedora.

Confirm that the expected RPM Fusion Nonfree repositories are enabled before installing the package:

dnf repo list --enabled | grep -i '^rpmfusion-nonfree'

rpmfusion-nonfree         RPM Fusion for Fedora 44 - Nonfree
rpmfusion-nonfree-updates RPM Fusion for Fedora 44 - Nonfree - Updates

Install the RPM Fusion build of unrar on a system where the Fedora wrapper is not already installed:

sudo dnf install unrar

If Fedora’s wrapper package is already installed, upgrade the package instead. DNF then selects RPM Fusion’s higher-version package and changes the active unrar command to RARLAB’s binary:

sudo dnf upgrade unrar --refresh

Start unrar without an archive to confirm that the RARLAB binary is in place:

unrar

UNRAR 7.12 beta 1 freeware      Copyright (c) 1993-2025 Alexander Roshal

Usage:     unrar <command> -<switch 1> -<switch N> <archive> <files...>
               <@listfiles...> <path_to_extract/>

Use Fedora’s Default Unrar Package

If you stayed with Fedora’s default package, use it for listing and extracting plain RAR archives. The Fedora wrapper package also handled an unencrypted multi-part RAR5 set, but encrypted archives still fail and some classic RARLAB subcommands behave differently.

List RAR Files with Fedora’s Unrar Wrapper

The wrapper still accepts the familiar l subcommand for a simple file listing:

unrar l plain-rar5.rar

unrar-free 0.3.3  Copyright (C) 2004  Ben Asselstine, Jeroen Dekkers

RAR archive /tmp/rarlab-test/plain-rar5.rar

Pathname/Comment
                  Size   Date   Time     Attr
----------------------------------------------
 sample.txt
                    18 06-03-26 11:39   .....A
----------------------------------------------
    1               18

Extract Plain and Multi-Part RAR Files with Fedora’s Unrar Wrapper

Create the target directory first, then extract a standard archive with the same x subcommand used by RARLAB’s build:

mkdir -p plain-out
unrar x plain-rar5.rar plain-out/

For an unencrypted split archive, create the destination first, point the command at the first volume, and keep every part in the same directory:

mkdir -p multipart-out
unrar x multipart-rar5.part1.rar multipart-out/

Fedora’s wrapper is fine for extraction, but it does not mirror the full RARLAB feature set. The Fedora wrapper listed archive contents when unrar t was used instead of running a true integrity test, so use RPM Fusion’s package when you need the classic test command.

Use RARLAB Unrar from RPM Fusion on Fedora

RPM Fusion’s RARLAB build exposes the classic unrar commands most Linux tutorials assume, including archive tests, password handling, and split-volume extraction.

Extract RAR Files with RARLAB Unrar

Use x to keep archived directories intact, or switch to e if you want every file in one flat destination directory:

unrar x plain-rar5.rar extracted-files/

unrar e plain-rar5.rar extracted-files/

List and Test RAR Archives with RARLAB Unrar

List archive contents before extracting:

unrar l plain-rar5.rar

UNRAR 7.12 beta 1 freeware      Copyright (c) 1993-2025 Alexander Roshal

Archive: plain-rar5.rar
Details: RAR 5

 Attributes      Size     Date    Time   Name
----------- ---------  ---------- -----  ----
 -rw-r--r--        18  2026-03-06 11:39  sample.txt
----------- ---------  ---------- -----  ----
                   18                    1

Check archive integrity before extraction when the download looks suspicious or arrived in multiple parts:

unrar t plain-rar5.rar

UNRAR 7.12 beta 1 freeware      Copyright (c) 1993-2025 Alexander Roshal

Testing archive plain-rar5.rar

Testing     sample.txt                                                   OK
All OK

Extract Password-Protected RAR Files with RARLAB Unrar

RARLAB’s build can prompt for a password interactively with -p. It also accepts automation-friendly inline passwords such as -pYourPassword, but avoid that form on shared shells because the password appears in your command history.

unrar x -p encrypted-rar5.rar encrypted-ok/

Enter password (will not be echoed):

UNRAR 7.12 beta 1 freeware      Copyright (c) 1993-2025 Alexander Roshal

Extracting from encrypted-rar5.rar

Extracting  encrypted-ok/sample.txt                                      OK
All OK

Extract Multi-Part RAR Files with RARLAB Unrar

Start with the first volume and keep every part in the same directory. unrar automatically reads the remaining volumes in sequence:

unrar x multipart-rar5.part1.rar multipart-ok/

UNRAR 7.12 beta 1 freeware      Copyright (c) 1993-2025 Alexander Roshal

Extracting from multipart-rar5.part1.rar
Extracting  multipart-ok/random.txt

Extracting from multipart-rar5.part2.rar
...         random.txt

Extracting from multipart-rar5.part3.rar
...         random.txt

Extracting from multipart-rar5.part4.rar
...         random.txt

Extracting from multipart-rar5.part5.rar
...         random.txt                                                   OK
All OK

Troubleshoot Unrar on Fedora

Fix unrar-free Encryption Is Not Supported on Fedora

This message means Fedora’s default unrar wrapper reached an encrypted archive. The open-source backend can list and extract plain RAR files, but it cannot decrypt password-protected archives.

unrar-free: Encryption is not supported

Switch to the RPM Fusion method so Fedora installs RARLAB’s full binary. After that, rerun the extraction with the password:

unrar x -p protected.rar

Fix command not found for unrar on Fedora

If you installed unrar-free directly, Fedora added the unrar-free command, not unrar. That mismatch shows up as a shell error like this:

zsh: command not found: unrar

Install the wrapper package if you want the shorter command name, or use the RPM Fusion method if you want the RARLAB binary instead:

sudo dnf install unrar

Verify that Fedora now resolves the command correctly:

command -v unrar

/usr/bin/unrar

Fix Incorrect Password Errors with RARLAB Unrar

RARLAB’s binary reports a bad password immediately. This usually means the password is wrong, the archive was re-packed with a different password, or one volume in a split set is from another release.

UNRAR 7.12 beta 1 freeware      Copyright (c) 1993-2025 Alexander Roshal

Incorrect password for encrypted-rar5.rar
Total errors: 1

Retry with the exact password and use -p by itself so unrar prompts you interactively. If automation requires an inline password, keep the value attached to -p with no space, such as -pYourPassword.

unrar x -p encrypted-rar5.rar

Update or Remove Unrar on Fedora

Both Fedora’s wrapper and RPM Fusion’s RARLAB package update through DNF. Keep RPM Fusion Nonfree enabled if you installed the RARLAB build, because that repository owns future package updates:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

To remove the active extractor cleanly, build a package list from the names that are actually installed. This covers Fedora’s wrapper, the unrar-free backend, and RPM Fusion’s replacement package without failing on a package that is already absent:

packages=()
rpm -q unrar >/dev/null 2>&1 && packages+=(unrar)
rpm -q unrar-free >/dev/null 2>&1 && packages+=(unrar-free)

if ((${#packages[@]})); then
    sudo dnf remove "${packages[@]}"
else
    printf 'No UnRAR packages are installed.\n'
fi

Confirm that neither extraction package remains installed:

rpm -q unrar unrar-free

package unrar is not installed
package unrar-free is not installed

If you enabled RPM Fusion Nonfree only for this package and no longer need any software from that repository, remove the Nonfree release package afterward. Leave RPM Fusion enabled if you still use codecs, drivers, or other packages from it:

sudo dnf remove rpmfusion-nonfree-release

If you followed a broader RPM Fusion setup that enabled both Free and Nonfree repositories, review the full RPM Fusion cleanup path before removing shared repository packages.

Verify that the RPM Fusion Nonfree release package and enabled repositories are gone:

rpm -q rpmfusion-nonfree-release
dnf repo list --enabled | grep -i '^rpmfusion-nonfree' || printf 'RPM Fusion Nonfree repositories are not enabled.\n'

package rpmfusion-nonfree-release is not installed
RPM Fusion Nonfree repositories are not enabled.

Conclusion

unrar on Fedora is now aligned with the archive type you need: Fedora’s wrapper covers plain extraction, while RPM Fusion’s RARLAB build handles encrypted archives and classic list and test behavior. Keep RPM Fusion Nonfree enabled if you chose that package so future DNF updates continue to reach it.