WordPress plugins are usually packaged in a compressed ZIP format. If you’re using Safari on a Mac, you may notice that after downloading, instead of getting a .zip file, you receive an extracted folder. This can prevent you from uploading the plugin directly to your WordPress dashboard.

This happens because Safari automatically extracts ZIP files upon download. To fix this, you can either switch to another browser like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox to download the plugin, or adjust Safari’s settings to prevent it from automatically unzipping ZIP files.

To stop Safari from automatically unzipping downloaded ZIP files, open Safari, then navigate to the top menu and click on Preferences.

A settings box will pop up. On the General tab, which should open, automatically look at the bottom of the options presented.

Un-check the box next to Open “safe” files after downloading option

That’s it! By disabling this option, Safari will no longer automatically unzip downloaded ZIP files. Now, when you download a ZIP file, it will remain in its original compressed format. This allows you to manually manage the files as needed, such as uploading them directly to your WordPress dashboard.