Linux tar command examples 2016-03-15 06:31

tar is one of the most common commands in Linux. We usually use it to package files. You can also compress files to save disk space during packaging. I will show you how to use it in this tutorial. Maybe you can't remember all parameters at one time. The more you practice the more skillful you will become.

-c: create a new archive
-x：extract files from an archive
-t：list the contents of an archive
-r：append files to the end of an archive(why r mean append?)
-u：only append files newer than copy in archive(update)

You can use only one of these 5 parameters in a command. You can't create a new archive meanwhile extract files from it. They are mutually exclusive. But you can append other parameters when you want compress or extract files.

-z：filter the archive through gzip(use gzip compress the archive)
-j：filter the archive through bzip2(use bzip2 compress the archive)
-Z：filter the archive through compress(use compress compress the archive)
-v：verbosely list files processed
-f: use archive file or device ARCHIVE(must put it in the last of parameters)

Sample Examples

1. Put all jpg file in all.tar. -c means create new file(all.tar), use -f specifying a file name.

   tar -cf all.tar *.jpg

2. Append all gif file in all.tar. -r means append

   tar -rf all.tar *.gif

3. Update old logo.gif in all.tar with new logo.gif file

   tar -uf all.tar logo.gif

4. Show all files in all.tar

   tar -tf all.tar

5. Extract all files in all.tar

   tar -xf all.tar

Compress Examples

1. Put all jpg file in jpg.tar and show the process

   tar -cvf jpg.tar *.jpg

2. Package all jpg file in jpg.tar.gz and compress it with gzip

   tar -czf jpg.tar.gz *.jpg

3. Package all jpg file in jpg.tar.bz2 and compress it with bzip2

   tar -cjf jpg.tar.bz2 *.jpg

4. Package all jpg file in jpg.tar.Z and compress it with compress

   tar -cZf jpg.tar.Z *.jpg

Extract Examples

1. Extract file.tar and show the process

   tar -xvf file.tar

2. Extract file.tar.gz and show the process

   tar -xzvf file.tar.gz

3. Extract file.tar.bz2 and show the process

   tar -xjvf file.tar.bz2

4. Extract file.tar.Z and show the process

   tar -xZvf file.tar.Z

Happy learning.