A Comprehensive Guide to Using the tar Command for Linux
The tar command is a powerful tool used to create archives by grouping multiple files into a single file. The name “tar” comes from “tape archive,” as archives were originally stored on tapes. In this guide, we will explore various ways to use the tar command effectively.
Creating an Archive
To create an archive with the name archive.tar and include file1 and file2, you can use the following command:
1 | tar -cf archive.tar file1 file2 |
Here, the -c option signifies the creation mode, and the -f option is used to specify the output file as the archive.
Extracting Files from an Archive
To extract files from an archive in the current directory, use the command:
1 | tar -xf archive.tar |
The -x option denotes the extraction mode. If you want to extract the files to a specific directory, you can use the -C option followed by the directory path, as shown below:
1 | tar -xf archive.tar -C directory |
Listing Files in an Archive
To view the files contained in an archive without extracting them, use the following command:
1 | tar -tf archive.tar |
This command will display a list of files included in the archive.
Creating Compressed Archives
The tar command can also be used to create compressed archives by using the z option. This option gzip’s the archive. To create a gzipped archive named archive.tar.gz with file1 and file2, use the following command:
1 | tar -czf archive.tar.gz file1 file2 |
This command creates a tar archive first and then runs gzip on it. You can also use the j option instead of z to create a Bzip2 compressed archive.
Extracting Compressed Archives
To unarchive a gzipped archive, you can use the tar command directly. For example, to extract archive.tar.gz, simply run:
1 | tar -xf archive.tar.gz |
The tar command automatically recognizes that it is a gzipped archive and extracts the files accordingly.
Compatibility
The tar command works seamlessly on Linux, macOS, WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux), and anywhere you have a UNIX-like environment.
tags: [“Linux commands”, “tar”, “archive”, “file compression”, “file extraction”]