How to Edit the Contents of a .Jar File on a Mac

Last Updated: February 18, 2019

Have you ever had a .jar file on your Mac that you want to edit? Edit the contents? Well this article is for you! I will show you how to edit the contents of a .Jar file on your Mac without any fancy applications!

Steps

1
Open the .Jar file that you want to edit.
2
Right click the file and click "Rename". Or just click it then hit the enter key. replace the .jar extension with a .zip extension.

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3
Double click the .zip file you made. Now open the folder and add all the files you need to put in your .jar.
4
Delete the .zip file you made in the following step. Next right click the folder and click "Compress".
5
Rename it. Now you have a .zip file similar to the one you made before. Just rename the file with a .jar extension.
6
Now have fun with your edited jar!!

Community Q&A

Question

My Mac keeps opening .jar files with Archive Utilities instead of Java. I need to open .jar files, but it will just make a folder with Archive Utilities. Any suggestions?

Community Answer

Secondary-click (right-click or two-click) the file, then hover your mouse over "Open With". A list of apps should now appear. Select the app you wish to open the file in. If the app you are looking for is not on the list, choose "Other..." A new window should open now. Set the box at the bottom of the new window to "All", and then double-click the app you want to open the file in.