How to Extract or Untar a File on Linux

In Linux terminology, we are about to see how to “untar” those files. People new to the .tar format usually equate it to a .zip archive, but a tar archive is not compressed. Tar collected all the files into one package, but the files can be compressed with separate utilities. When extracting the contents of a .tar.gz file into a specific directory, use a descriptive name for the destination directory.

With practice, you’ll find tar invaluable for managing files and archives on Linux. Here, -c initiates archive creation, -v enables verbose output (listing files as they are archived), and -f specifies the archive filename (archive.tar). This command will bundle the contents of /path/to/directory/ into a single file named archive.tar. You’ll encounter them frequently while using a Linux distribution like Ubuntu or even while using the terminal on macOS.

List Contents of a Tar File Without Extracting

In the above command, the option “x” stands for extract, “f” stands for regular file/archive, and “v” is used to show the files after extraction, also known as verbose. This will extract the contents of the archive into the specified directory. It also integrates with the Windows Explorer context menu, which enables users to create and extract archives directly from the right-click menu. This command extracts all files from backup.tar how to get free bitcoins on prime dice buy bitcoin with bank wire into the current directory.

Untar tar File

You will learn how to list the contents of a tar archive without unpacking it and how to extract only a single file or a single directory. A file using .tar.gz format is a file that has been created using the Unix-based archival application tar and then compressed using the gzip compression. These files are often referred to as “tarballs.” While you can find them with a double extension (.tar.gz), the extension can also be shortened to .tgz or .gz. Several operations involving multiple files might store and compress the result in a .tar.gz format. It’s an alternative to the ubiquitous ZIP format and popular among backup and archiving tools, especially in Unix or Linux operating systems. Gzip compression uses a checksum to make sure data integrity.

Dealing with Large Archives

  • Follow the steps below to archive, compress, extract, and manage files efficiently using the tar command.
  • This example uses example1.tar.gz in the Home directory.
  • Before joining Beebom, he contributed to leading publications like Android Police, How-To Geek, and Fossbytes.
  • Learning these options is important to manage.tar,.tar.gz, and.tar.bz2 files properly.

To learn about data management and converting RVZ to ISO for gaming, visit here. Running this command performs the untar tar.gz operation only on the files named FileName1 and FileName2 in the tar.gz file named how to buy reef crypto “CompressedFile”. If you want to untar a tar file, you’ll need the -x and -f options. The -z flag is added to process files that are compressed with gzip.

If we want to specify the destination directory where the content should be extracted and kept then we need to use -C or –directory argument. We learned how to install packages according to Linux distributions. The -p (parents) option causes mkdir to create any parent directories that are required, ensuring the target directory is created. If your file extract11 is in a subfolder, you should specify the path within the tarball.

Extract any Archive in Linux using PeaZip

Also, its trial version does not have time limitations, and users can still use it even after the trial period has expired, with occasional reminders to purchase the license. The -C option is used to specify a different directory other than the current working directory. If the directory does not exist, tar will create it automatically. This takes out all the files and puts them into the current folder.

Perhaps you might also be interested in learning how to unzip files in Linux. Sometimes you need to view the content of a tar file as it collects many files and ensures if a specific file is present. If you want to create your own tar.gz file, you can use the tar command with the -c option, which tells tar to create a new archive. You also need to use the -z option to compress the archive with gzip, and the -f option to specify the file name. If you want to see the progress of the extraction, you can use the -v option, which makes the tar command more verbose and prints the names of the files being extracted.

The tar command is a powerful and flexible tool for managing files in Linux. Whether you’re backing up data, compressing files, or extracting archives, these commands will help you handle your tasks efficiently. If you need help using the tar command or face any issues, feel free to contact our 24/7 support team. This guide will teach you the easiest way to extract tar.gz files. We’ll cover extracting to specific places, picking out certain files, and even getting them from the internet. To untar tar.gz files just means to extract the contents of the tar file (also known as a tarball).

This command will only print “Extraction successful” if the tar command completes without errors. You can then use the jobs command to check the status of the background job. At Unixmen, we take every effort to ensure everyone understands the command and its usage before going head-first into the command and shortcuts. Here is the essential part where we explain what tar.gz means.

Method 3: Extract TAR Files Using Online Converters

It’s an open-source application that can extract almost all popular archives including 7z, rar, tar, and zip. PeaZip is available for almost all Linux bases and can also be installed using Flatpak or from the app store of your Linux distro. However, Windows 10 includes native support for tar files, and you can use Command Prompt to extract these files. Or you can even use the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) that includes native support for Ubuntu, Fedora, SUSE, and many other distros.

  • Gzip compresses the archive, creating a .tar.gz file that’s easier to store and transfer.
  • Linux experts like how straight the tar extract command works.
  • This linux untar tutorial will show you how to open and extract these files.
  • You have to select the TAR File & want to choose the operation.

How to List Contents of a tar.gz File in Linux

The –strip-components option requires a numerical parameter. The number represents how many levels of directories to ignore. Files from the ignored directories are still extracted, but the directory structure is not replicated on your hard drive. So far we’ve just taken a reasons experts say it’s not too late to invest in cryptocurrency leap of faith and extracted the files sight unseen. You can review the contents of a tar file before you extract it by using the -t (list) option.

The -t option tells tar to list the contents of the archive. The -C option changes the directory to the specified path before extracting the files. Here, /path/to/destination is the directory where you want to extract the files. People use tar.gz files to back up directories and compress logs. They also consolidate project data and share software or code. In most Linux versions, like Ubuntu or Fedora, you can open the terminal with CTRL+ALT+T.

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