tar

Pack a folder into one compressed file, look inside it and unpack it somewhere else.

>_ Try it: a simulated Linux, right herenothing runs on your computer

Loading the terminal…

Examples

tar -czf logs.tar.gz logs pack the logs folder, compressed
tar -tzf logs.tar.gz look inside without extracting
mkdir restore && tar -xzf logs.tar.gz -C restore unpack into another folder
ls restore/logs there they are
tar -cvf logs.tar logs not compressed, showing each file

How it works

tar packs many files into one archive. Pick what to do (-c create, -t list, -x extract), add -z to compress with gzip (the .gz), and -f with the archive's name.

Backups, downloads and releases are often .tar.gz files: tar -xzf is the command to open them.

Syntax

tar -c|-t|-x [-z] [-v] -f ARCHIVE [FILE...]

Options

Option	What it does
`-c`	create an archive
`-x`	extract an archive
`-t`	list what is inside
`-z`	compress / decompress with gzip (.gz)
`-f`	the archive file (the name comes right after)
`-v`	show each file as it goes
`-C`	extract into another folder

Good to know

Read the letters as a sentence: -czf = create, gzip, file.
Look inside with -t before extracting: an archive can spill files into the current folder.