The application for the REA format
REA Archiver
macOS · Linux (CLI)
The archive that stays readable, verifiable and safe to restore.
REA Archiver brings fast compression, a browsable index, selective extraction and built-in protections to Mac. The Linux command-line version (CLI) is available for Debian and Ubuntu, and as a portable AMD64 archive.
Control at every step
An archive should not be a black box.
REA lets you see what an archive contains, choose exactly what to restore and check that the files are intact.
Fast compression
Create archives quickly, even when bringing together many files.
Browsable contents
Review names, sizes and dates before starting a restoration.
Restore what you need
Recover one file or folder without extracting everything.
Integrity checks
REA automatically checks that restored files match what was originally archived.
Data protection
Add a password or separate key and receive a warning if the archive has changed.
Safer restoration
Items that could write outside the chosen folder are blocked.
Mac OS Classic heritage
Useful characteristics of older Mac files are preserved during archiving and restoration.
Controlled operation
Operations are kept predictable, including when an unusual archive is opened.
Large-volume backups
116 GB of MariaDB dumps compressed in 4.48 minutes.
Historical REA 0.4 measurements from the .sql dumps of 58 MariaDB databases, totalling 116.03 GB, with one run per format.
REA archive
vs 10.93 GB for GZIP and ZIP · 23.94% smaller
REA compression
vs 17.67 min for GZIP and 16.65 min for ZIP
Peak memory
a contained footprint that preserves server resources
REA reaches 411.45 MiB/s in this test, 3.94× the speed of GZIP and 3.71× that of ZIP. Results may vary with storage and data.
Fair comparison
What each format offers in everyday use.
“Partial” or “variable” means the result depends on the software or options selected.
| Feature | REA | ZIP | 7z | RAR5 | TAR.GZ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restore one file | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial | No |
| Check restored files | Yes | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial |
| Password protection | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | No |
| Built-in restoration precautions | Yes | Variable | Variable | Variable | Variable |
| Mac OS Classic characteristics | Yes | Variable | Variable | Variable | Variable |
| Free to use | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes |
Trust built in
Verify before accepting. Control before restoring.
When protection is enabled, a wrong password, wrong key or change to the archive is detected before the files are treated as trustworthy.
In REA 0.5, encryption also protects the file list. The password or key is required to display names, sizes and dates.
Simple every day
Every essential action in one place.
Create, browse, verify and restore your archives from one clear and consistent Mac interface.
REA CLI 0.6.7 — Release notes
- New archives use REA 0.5.0. Encryption also protects names, sizes, dates and hashes; browsing requires the password or key. Encrypted archive headers are authenticated. Reading 0.4 archives remains supported; older tools cannot read 0.5. CLI export with --format-version 0.4.0 retains the privacy limits of 0.4. Optional Ed25519 signatures are available in the CLI and require a trusted public key.
rea /chemin/Documents
rea /chemin/document.pdf
rea /chemin/Documents.reaLinux AMD64 · DEB · 0.6.7 · TAR.GZ + install.sh · ZIP + install.sh
Download the Debian / Ubuntu .sh installerREA Archiver 0.6.14 · REA Format 0.5.0
New archives use REA 0.5.0. Encryption also protects names, sizes, dates and hashes; browsing requires the password or key. Encrypted archive headers are authenticated. Reading 0.4 archives remains supported; older tools cannot read 0.5. CLI export with --format-version 0.4.0 retains the privacy limits of 0.4. Optional Ed25519 signatures are available in the CLI and require a trusted public key.
REA Archiver · macOS
Archive so you can find, prove and restore.
REA Archiver brings creation, browsing, verification and restoration together in an easy-to-use native interface.