The macOS Finder uses the system's built-in Archive Utility to perform file compression (archiving) and expansion in the background, without opening a window for the utility itself. It relies on several preconfigured defaults: Out of the box, the Finder always uses the ZIP format, and always saves archives to the same folder as the original. You can change these defaults for more control over the archive format, what happens to the original files, and where expanded or compressed files are saved by using the Archive Utility directly.

You can find the Archive Utility in your computer's System folder under /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications (or under /System/Library/CoreServices in versions prior to Yosemite).

Archive Utility opens without presenting a window; instead, there is only a set of menus at the top of the screen. To change the default settings of the utility, open Archive Utility > Preferences.

The Preferences window consists of two sections: one for extracting files and one for compressing them.