Someone somewhere is probably still using tar with tape. Tar stands for «tape archive» and is GNU software originally developed for backing up data to tape drives. It is still used today for consolidating and compressing data. Archives created with tar are typically saved with a .tar extension and can also be compressed to save space, resulting in files like .tar.gz or .tar.bz2. WinRAR is a popular file compression & archive utility software. It allows users to create, view, and extract files in various archive formats, including its native .RAR format as well as other common formats like .ZIP, .7z, ISO, .TAR, and more.
The command extracts files to a new directory called example1, which is located in the current directory. A user-friendly way to extract files from a .tar.gz archive is via a Graphical User Interface (GUI). A GUI is more suitable for beginners than a command-line tool. Moreover, if you want to extract the tar file at different location you can use the option -C, which specifies change to directory before performing any operations. Whether you prefer command-line tools or graphical file archivers, the extraction process is pretty simple. You can notice in the above image that the archive files are extracted in the same working directory.
What command do I need to unzip/extract a .tar.gz file?
If we list the files in the Download directory we will see that another directory called Guitar Songs has been created. This error occurs if you try to decompress a file without specifying a decompression utility, specifically -z for gzip. Some third-party tools also offer extended flexibility for converting between file types, saving more time if you want to change between compression formats. Knowing how to unzip a .tar.gz file allows users to extract and access the archives’ contents efficiently. Both commands will have the same effect, because current working directory doesn’t matter when you use absolute path. Any path that starts with a forward slash / is an absolute path.
- It just bundles files & directories together while preserving their file structure and metadata.
- Ubuntu LTS (Long-Term Support) versions, known for their stability and extended support periods, are typically released every two years in April.
- 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.
Unzip .tar.gz in Linux
However, while tools like 7-Zip are free, many more “robust” solutions are only available for a price after a trial period. As a result, we recommend sticking to free (but trustworthy) tools or simply using the command line. To access the Windows command line, search for “command prompt” or “cmd” in the search bar. Right-click the first result and select the “Run as administrator” option. Ubuntu Core is a minimalistic and immutable version explicitly designed for the Internet of Things (IoT) and embedded systems. It is based on Ubuntu and tailored for use in scenarios where reliability, security, and ease of maintenance are critical, relying on the Snap package and atomic transactional updates.
How to Extract/Unzip .tar.gz Files: Step-by-Step Windows and Linux Guide
For sending and storing, both .zip and .tar.gz files allows you to send relatively large packages as a single file. However, there are some pretty major differences when it comes to accessing data within the files and the compression efficiency. Of course, that’s not to say .tar files are some kind of “lesser” format than .zip. Rather, they both accomplish the same task (file compression) in the same way. A “.tar” file is a collection of files compressed into a single file or archive. Short what is being done when shares are bought and sold for “Tape ARchive,” the name “TAR” is a throwback to when files were stored on magnetic tape drives.
In Linux, the term «untar command» isn’t a standalone command. Instead, it commonly refers to the process of extracting, unzipping, or uncompressing tar and tar.gz files from a tar archive. The actual command used for this purpose is the tar command, combined with specific extraction options or arguments, enabling you to untar files, as we will cover next. The .tar portion of the file extension stands for tape archive, and is the reason that both of these file types are called tar files. Tar files date all the way back to 1979 when the tar command was created to allow system administrators to archive files onto tape. Forty years later we are still using the tar command to extract tar files on to our hard drives.
Similar to the previous error, this error occurs when an archive was saved as a .tar despite not being a .tar archive. While there are many tools to choose from, the most popular include 7-Zip and WinZip. While slightly different, they are quite lightweight and offer a much simpler alternative to using the command line. You can also add the verbose output option (-v) to provide detailed listings, including dates, securities/permissions, and more.
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. Then we’ll jump into the step-by-step process of unzipping on both Linux and Windows platforms. If you plan to distribute and store .tar.gz files on your website, Kinsta’s managed hosting services can help make the most of your space.
If the command line isn’t your thing, there are plenty of user-friendly tools available to unzip tar.gz files. You can easily unzip the resulting .tar.gz file with the decompress (-d) option. But with .zip being the easier of the two to use, why use .tar in the first place? The next section shows how .tar comes with a few extra features that make it the better compression format for certain files and applications. Thankfully, you don’t need to be a 1960s computer technician to use and extract .tar files – nor do modern .tar files even have anything to do with old computers.
The output shows a newly created archive example1.tar.gz. You may also be interested in learning about the best WinZip alternatives to compress files. These files can be used in incremental backup strategies – where only new or modified files are added to the archive. Gzip compression reduces the overall file size, which makes it more efficient for distribution, backup, and storage purposes.
When you extract files from a .tar.gz archive, the checksum is automatically verified to detect & handle any potential data corruption. To do this we’ll use almost exactly the same command as before but with one important difference. The .bz2 extension suffix tells us it has been compressed using the bzip2 command. Instead of using the-z (gzip) option, we will use the -j (bzip2) option to unzip the bz2 file. The .gz or .bz2 extension suffix indicates that the archive has been compressed, using either the gzip or bzip2 compression algorithm.
From videos to entire software packages, many files are compressed and stored using the .tar.gz format. While extracting a .tar.gz file isn’t quite as easy as unzipping a .zip, it’s still pretty straightforward. Tar is an archiving program designed to store multiple files in a single file (an archive), and to manipulate such archives. The .gz extension indicates the gzip program is used for compression. 7-Zip is a free and open-source tool with high compression ratios & supports a wide range of archive formats.
For example, it goes without saying, that it is inadvisable to untar the whole large archive if you need for example to extract only a dingle file or a directory from it. The name “Tar” stands for “Tape Archiver” because it was used to place data on storage tapes when tar was invented. The tar program takes one or more files and “wraps” them into a self-contained file. In this guide, you will learn how to extract or unzip .tar.gz files in Linux. That means users can download and use it for free during a trial period.
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 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. It is usually convenient to pipe the output through the less command. List the files in the directory with ls and you’ll see that a directory has been created called Ukulele Songs.