$ Linux Command

Archives

tar

Create, list, and extract tar archives.

archivecompressextractbackupfiles

Additional Notes

tar groups files and directories into one archive file. It is commonly used for backups, source-code releases, Linux packages, and compressed archives such as .tar.gz or .tar.xz.

tar itself creates the archive. Compression is added with options such as -z for gzip, -j for bzip2, or -J for xz.

Syntax

tar [options] archive.tar files...
tar [options] archive.tar

Traditional short options are often combined:

tar -czvf backup.tar.gz directory/
tar -xzvf backup.tar.gz

Parameters

  • options: Flags that change how tar behaves.
  • archive: Archive or compressed file to read, create, or extract.
  • files: Files or directories that should be included or processed.

Core Actions

  • -c, --create: Create an archive.
  • -x, --extract: Extract an archive.
  • -t, --list: List archive contents.
  • -f FILE, --file=FILE: Use archive file. This is usually required.

Compression Options

  • -z, --gzip: Use gzip compression, common for .tar.gz.
  • -j, --bzip2: Use bzip2 compression, common for .tar.bz2.
  • -J, --xz: Use xz compression, common for .tar.xz.
  • --zstd: Use zstd compression when supported.

Other Useful Options

  • -v, --verbose: Show files while processing.
  • -C DIR: Change to directory before extracting or adding files.
  • --exclude=PATTERN: Exclude matching files.
  • -p, --preserve-permissions: Preserve permissions when extracting.
  • --numeric-owner: Use numeric owner IDs instead of names.

Examples

tar -cvf archive.tar project/

Create an uncompressed tar archive.

tar -czvf project.tar.gz project/

Create a gzip-compressed archive.

tar -tzf project.tar.gz

List archive contents without extracting.

tar -xzvf project.tar.gz

Extract a gzip-compressed archive.

tar -xzvf project.tar.gz -C /tmp

Extract into /tmp.

tar -czvf home-backup.tar.gz /home/rani --exclude="*.cache"

Create a backup while excluding cache files.

Practical Notes

  • The f option should be followed by the archive filename.
  • Use tar -tf archive.tar before extracting unknown archives.
  • Be careful extracting archives as root because owners and permissions may matter.
  • Use -C to control where files are extracted.
  • .tar.gz, .tgz, .tar.bz2, and .tar.xz are common tar archive formats.