.sit

What is a .sit file?

StuffIt was the dominant compression format on classic Mac OS — now a legacy format replaced by ZIP.

Safe format
Type Archive
By Raymond Lau / Aladdin Systems
MIME application/x-stuffit

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What is it

StuffIt was to classic Mac OS what ZIP was to Windows. From the late 1980s through the Mac OS X transition, .sit was the standard archive format on Macintosh. StuffIt Expander shipped with every Mac, and downloading software from the internet meant downloading .sit files. The format supported Mac-specific features like resource forks that ZIP couldn't handle.

Aladdin Systems (later Smith Micro) developed StuffIt into a commercial product suite with StuffIt Deluxe, StuffIt Expander, and DropStuff. The .sitx format added better compression and encryption. But when Mac OS X arrived with built-in ZIP support and resource forks became obsolete, StuffIt's reason to exist evaporated.

Today, .sit files are encountered only in old Mac software archives and retro computing collections. The Unarchiver (free, Mac) extracts .sit files. On Windows, StuffIt Expander (if you can find it) or some versions of WinRAR handle them. For any new archiving needs, use ZIP.

Technical details
Full Name
StuffIt Archive
MIME Type
application/x-stuffit
Developer
Raymond Lau / Aladdin Systems
Magic Bytes
53 49 54 21
Safety
.sit is a known, safe format. Legacy archive format. Generally safe.
What opens it
The Unarchiver
FREE Mac
StuffIt Expander
FREE Mac / Windows
FAQ
How do I open a SIT file?
The Unarchiver (free, Mac) handles SIT files. On Windows, some versions of WinRAR or 7-Zip may extract them. The format is legacy — you'll only encounter it in old Mac software archives.
Is StuffIt still developed?
Effectively no. Smith Micro stopped updating StuffIt years ago. The format is obsolete — macOS includes native ZIP support, and The Unarchiver handles legacy formats that ZIP can't.
Related formats