WebArchiveExtractor: unpack webarchive files

WebArchiveExtractor

A Claude Code skill for macOS that unpacks Safari .webarchive files into plain HTML files and assets in one request

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Skill

Extended access

Why this level

  • The skill runs a local program and writes files into the chosen folder
All reasons and checks

robrohan/webarchiveextractor

Install

In your terminal, with SkillFoxx CLI

npx skillfoxx add skills/webarchiveextractor

Detects the agents on your machine, shows the access level and pins the version.

Other ways to install

Access and checks

How we review

Extended accessThe tool runs code or makes network calls and only reads external data.

  • The skill runs a local program and writes files into the chosen folder

This is third-party code. Review the repository files before installing.

What it does

The webarchive skill for Claude Code unpacks .webarchive files with the WebArchiveExtractor macOS app from the same repository. Safari creates such files when you save a page as a web archive, and the app lays their content out as ordinary HTML files and assets. The same executable runs from the command line and opens a window when started without arguments. You ask Claude Code in plain words, for example to extract this webarchive file. The agent takes the archive path from the request, asks for an output folder if needed and runs the program with the -i, -o and -p options. The -p option prepends a prefix to all asset links in the HTML, which helps when the result is published in a subfolder of a site. After extraction the skill reports the folder path, the number of files and the main HTML file. Then it offers to open that file in the browser.

Who it is for. For Mac owners who have pages saved from Safari as web archives and need plain HTML files.

Good fit when

  • You need to pull HTML and images out of a page saved in Safari so it can be placed on a website
  • You want to unpack a batch of webarchive files with one sentence in Claude Code
  • The result is published in a site subfolder, so asset links get a prefix through the -p option
  • You want to see which files and scripts sit inside a saved page

Not a fit when

  • You use Windows or Linux: the app is written in Objective-C and runs on macOS only
  • The app is not installed: the skill only calls it and unpacks nothing by itself
  • You need to capture a page from the internet afresh: the tool only unpacks ready archives

Example request

Extract ~/Desktop/report.webarchive and tell me which HTML file is the main one.

Limitations

Works on macOS only. The app must be built from source with `xcodebuild -project WebArchiveExtractor.xcodeproj` or bought as a ready build from the author's site. Building needs Xcode from the App Store, and `xcodebuild -runFirstLaunch` has to be run once after installing it.

The app runs in the macOS sandbox, so it can reliably write only to the Downloads folder. By default the skill puts the result in ~/Downloads, and if writing elsewhere fails the author advises going back to Downloads.

The license is a separate LICENSE.md file without a standard identifier, and the project is a fork of an older SourceForge project. The skill runs a local program and downloads nothing from the network.

How to disable. Delete the ~/.claude/skills/webarchive folder. The app in the Applications folder is removed separately.

FAQ

How do I install the webarchive skill in Claude Code?

Create the folder with mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/webarchive and copy skills/webarchive/SKILL.md from the repository into it. The app itself must sit at /Applications/WebArchiveExtractor.app.

What is a .webarchive file?

It is a binary plist format in which Safari saves a page together with its images and styles. The tool unfolds such a file into an ordinary folder with HTML and assets.

Why does the result land in the Downloads folder?

The app runs in the macOS sandbox and can reliably write only to Downloads. So by default the skill creates a ~/Downloads folder named after the archive.

How do I run extraction without Claude Code?

Run the executable from the command line: WebArchiveExtractor website.webarchive unpacks the archive into a website folder next to it, and the -o option sets your own folder. Without arguments the program opens a window.

Do I have to build the app myself?

Not necessarily. The author sells a ready build on his site therohans.com, and you can build the app from source for free if Xcode is installed.

Discussion

No questions or reviews yet.

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README badge

Original SKILL.md

---
name: webarchive
description: Extract .webarchive files (saved from Safari) into plain HTML/assets using the WebArchiveExtractor CLI. Use when the user wants to unarchive, extract, or convert a .webarchive file.
---

The user wants to extract a `.webarchive` file using WebArchiveExtractor.

If arguments were provided (`$ARGUMENTS`), use them to infer the input file and optionally the output directory or URL prepend. Otherwise, ask the user for the path to the `.webarchive` file.

## How to run WebArchiveExtractor

```
/Applications/WebArchiveExtractor.app/Contents/MacOS/WebArchiveExtractor [-h] [-o <OutputDirectory>] [-p <URLPrepend>] -i <WebArchiveFile>
```

**Options:**
- `-i <WebArchiveFile>` — **required** — path to the `.webarchive` file
- `-o <OutputDirectory>` — directory to write extracted files into (optional; defaults to a directory named after the archive next to it)
- `-p <URLPrepend>` — URI prefix to prepend to all asset URLs in the extracted HTML (optional; useful when serving the result from a subdirectory)

**Shorthand (no flag):**
```
WebArchiveExtractor website.webarchive
```
A positional argument is treated as the `-i` value.

## Prerequisites

The app must be installed at `/Applications/WebArchiveExtractor.app`. Check with:

```sh
test -x /Applications/WebArchiveExtractor.app/Contents/MacOS/WebArchiveExtractor && echo "found" || echo "not installed"
```

If not found, tell the user to build and install from source (`xcodebuild -project WebArchiveExtractor.xcodeproj`) or drag a release build to `/Applications`.

To use `WebArchiveExtractor` without the full path, the user can add it to `PATH`:

```sh
export PATH="$PATH:/Applications/WebArchiveExtractor.app/Contents/MacOS/"
```

Or create a symlink:

```sh
ln -s /Applications/WebArchiveExtractor.app/Contents/MacOS/WebArchiveExtractor ~/.local/bin/WebArchiveExtractor
```

## Steps

1. Check the binary exists using the test command above. If not found, stop and direct the user to install the app.
2. Determine the input `.webarchive` file from `$ARGUMENTS` or ask the user.
3. Determine the output directory:
   - If the user explicitly provided one in `$ARGUMENTS`, use that.
   - Otherwise, default to `~/Downloads/<archive-name>` (where `<archive-name>` is the input filename without the `.webarchive` extension).
   - If the user asks why `~/Downloads` is the default, explain: macOS sandboxes the WebArchiveExtractor app, which restricts which directories the CLI can write to. The `~/Downloads` folder is one of the few locations reliably accessible, so it's used as the default to avoid silent failures.
4. Determine (optional) URL prepend from `$ARGUMENTS` or ask if needed.
5. Run the extractor using the Bash tool:
   ```sh
   /Applications/WebArchiveExtractor.app/Contents/MacOS/WebArchiveExtractor -i "<input>" -o "<output>" [-p "<prepend>"]
   ```
6. If successful, list the output directory contents with `ls` and summarise:
   - The output directory path
   - How many files were extracted
   - The main HTML file name (if identifiable)
7. Offer to open the extracted HTML in the browser with `open <file>`.

## Notes

- `.webarchive` is a macOS-specific binary plist format used by Safari's "Save As Web Archive" feature.
- The CLI and the GUI app are the same binary — running with `-i` suppresses the GUI.
- Running with no arguments launches the GUI instead of extracting anything.

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