A JAR file is an archive file but is more than a file compression format. Here's how to open, run, or execute JAR files.

How do you run a JAR file on Windows, Mac or Linux? Double click the JAR? Run the JAR at the command line? Several approaches will work if you have Java or the JDK installed.

Right-click an empty spot inside the directory. Click Open in the terminal. Issue the command (including sudo) to open the file with elevated privileges. That’s a bit extra.