Linux Terminal Command: tar

The tar command is an essential tool in File Manipulation & Viewing. In this tutorial, we will explore what tar does, look at everyday examples, and cover advanced options to supercharge your command-line workflow.

Concept & Explanation

The tar command binds multiple files and directories into a single archive file, commonly called a ’tarball’. It can optionally compress archives using gzip or bzip2.

Common Options & Syntax

tar [options] [arguments]

Here are the most common flags used with tar:

Simple Usage: Basic default commands.
Detailed View: Shows diagnostic information.
Advanced Actions: Can chain parameters for scripting.

1. Interactive Example (Simple)

Here is how most people run the command:

# Example
tar -cvf archive.tar ./files

What it does: Creates a tar archive (-c), showing file progress (-v), named ‘archive.tar’ (-f) from the ‘./files’ directory.

2. Power-User Example (Advanced)

For scripting and advanced diagnostics, use this configuration:

# Advanced
tar -xzvf archive.tar.gz -C /opt/destination

What it does: Extracts (-x) a gzipped archive (-z) into a target directory (-C) showing file logs.

⚙️ Warning & Common Pitfalls

[!WARNING] Always put the -f (file) flag at the very end of your options block (e.g. -cvf) because the command expects the file name to immediately follow the -f flag.

Here are some related posts on cli_tty1 you might want to check out:

gzip : Compress files.
bzip2 : High-quality data compressor.
at : Queue, examine or delete jobs for later execution (one-off).