Clean ZIP — Remove Hidden System Files

Mac and Windows quietly inject metadata into archives: macOS adds a __MACOSX folder, ._ resource-fork files and .DS_Store files, Windows leaves behind Thumbs.db and desktop.ini. Inside your own machine these are invisible, but the moment a ZIP leaves it they become visible clutter, and sometimes a real obstacle. This tool strips that junk and rebuilds a clean archive, so the recipient opens exactly the files you meant to send and nothing else.

The use cases that genuinely fit are sharing and delivery scenarios. Sending a deliverable to a client where a stray __MACOSX folder looks unprofessional; uploading to a submission portal or web form that rejects or chokes on hidden entries; preparing a source-code or asset bundle for a Windows or Linux colleague who has no use for Mac resource forks; or tidying a ZIP you received from someone else before passing it on.

It suits cross-platform handoffs too: a Mac designer sending assets to a Windows team, or a Windows user removing Thumbs.db before Mac reviewers see it.

Drop or select a .ZIP file (up to 300 MB), and the tool reads the archive in your browser. You then see a checklist of what to remove: .DS_Store, __MACOSX and ._ files, Thumbs.db, and desktop.ini are enabled by default, with two optional toggles for hidden files and folders (any name starting with a dot, at any depth) and for folders left empty. A separate, off-by-default section offers filename cleanup (replacing special characters, converting spaces to hyphens, and lowercasing names), with long names truncated to 80 characters. Click Clean ZIP and a rebuilt <name>-clean.zip downloads automatically, alongside a summary of how many entries were removed or renamed and the before and after size.

Supported input and output are both ZIP only. RAR and 7Z are not handled: convert those to ZIP first. The standard categories match whole names (a file called .DS_Store in any folder, anything inside __MACOSX/, any file whose name starts with ._), so they are conservative and predictable.

What it does not do: it does not edit or recompress your real files. Everything you keep is copied into the new ZIP exactly as it was stored, with its date and permissions, so a script that was executable stays executable. It cannot read inside a password-protected ZIP; the tool tells you when an archive is encrypted. Anything that does not match a junk pattern must be removed with Remove Files from ZIP instead.

The biggest trap is the optional Hidden files checkbox. It removes every file or folder whose name starts with a dot, which sweeps up legitimate files such as .gitignore, .env, .htaccess and .editorconfig, and whole folders such as .git, not just metadata. Leave it off unless you are certain the archive contains no dot-files you need; the default categories already cover ordinary system junk.

Filename cleanup is powerful and therefore easy to over-apply. Lowercasing and special-character replacement change the actual stored paths, which can break things that depend on exact names: case-sensitive servers, code imports, or links between files inside the bundle. When two names end up the same after cleaning, the second is numbered (report-2.pdf) rather than overwriting the first. Treat these toggles as deliberate choices, not defaults.

Two smaller points: the on-screen list of removed paths shows only the first twenty, and because only ZIP is supported, a RAR, 7Z, or encrypted archive is refused with a message saying why rather than cleaned.

Open the downloaded <name>-clean.zip and confirm the structure first: the __MACOSX folder and any .DS_Store, ._, Thumbs.db, or desktop.ini entries should be gone, while every document, image, and code file you intended to keep is still present and in the right folder. Cross-check the removed and renamed counts in the summary against what you expected; a surprisingly high number is a sign the Hidden files or cleanup toggles caught more than you wanted. If you enabled filename cleanup, scan for renamed files and make sure nothing your project references by exact name was altered.

If hidden files you needed are missing, or names changed in ways that broke something, change the options and click Clean ZIP again. The original on your disk is untouched, so you can iterate freely.

For official deliverables, extract the cleaned ZIP and check the file count, names and contents yourself; the tool removes system metadata only.