Received a .sit or .sitx file from a Mac user and nothing on your PC will open it? StuffIt Expander, the free unpacker from Smith Micro, opens StuffIt archives along with ZIP, RAR, TAR, GZ and other common formats.
ZIP, RAR, and SIT archives
StuffIt Expander is made for extracting files from compressed archives. It is one of the few Windows tools that reliably opens both the classic SIT and newer SITX StuffIt formats, often found in older Mac archives. The tool also handles TAR and GZ archives.
After opening an archive, the goal is to access its contents as regular files. This suits tasks such as unpacking a shared collection of documents or retrieving files from an older archive.
TAR and GZ files
The supported formats include both TAR and GZ, which are often encountered in Unix and cross-platform file collections. Having these alongside ZIP, RAR, and SIT gives Expander a role when files arrive from different systems or older workflows.
Archive extraction
Expander only extracts; creating archives needs another tool. The Windows edition (version 15) is updated rarely, so for everyday ZIP, RAR and 7z files a maintained archiver such as 7-Zip is the better daily choice, keeping Expander for StuffIt files.
Pros
- Opens ZIP and RAR archives
- Supports SIT, TAR, and GZ formats
- Focused on unpacking compressed files
Cons
- Extract only; cannot create archives
- Windows version is rarely updated
System requirements: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11 · 32-bit and 64-bit
Can StuffIt Expander open .sitx files?
Yes. It opens both the older SIT and newer SITX StuffIt formats.
Can StuffIt Expander create a ZIP or other archive?
No. It only extracts files from archives.