Archive Compress Pack and Unpack Files Using tar

In this lesson we’ll cover how to create, inspect, compress, and extract tar archives on Linux. Think of TAR (Tape ARchive) as placing multiple files and folders into a single box; compression is like vacuum-sealing that box to make it smaller. For RHEL administrators and RHCSA candidates, tar is indispensable for bundling logs, backing up directories, and transferring multiple files between systems.

What is an archive?

An archive is a single file that contains a collection of files and directories (useful for transfer or backup).
The tar format is a container that preserves file metadata and directory structure; tar archives typically end in .tar.
Tar archives are not compressed by default; you can compress them using tar options (-z, -j, -J) or separate compression utilities (gzip, bzip2, xz).

A dark-themed slide titled "Archiving" with several rounded black text boxes describing the tar archive format (e.g., .tar extension, not compressed by default, can be written to backup tape). The layout shows three boxes across the top and two below on a navy background.

Basic tar operations and options

Operation	Short option	Description	Example
Create archive	`-c`	Create a new archive	`tar -cvf archive.tar files/`
List archive contents	`-t`	View files inside an archive	`tar -tvf archive.tar`
Extract archive	`-x`	Extract files from an archive	`tar -xvf archive.tar`
Verbose output	`-v`	Show processed files	`tar -cvf archive.tar files/`
Specify archive file	`-f`	Archive filename must immediately follow `-f`	`tar -cvf archive.tar files/`
Change extraction directory	`-C`	Extract into a specific directory	`tar -xvf archive.tar -C /target/`

Tip: -f requires the archive filename as the very next argument (e.g., tar -cvf archive.tar files/). Use -C <directory> to extract into a different location.

Compression flags

Compression	tar flag	Common filename suffix
gzip	`-z`	`.tar.gz` or `.tgz`
bzip2	`-j`	`.tar.bz2`
xz	`-J`	`.tar.xz`

Examples of creating and extracting archives Create an uncompressed archive:

tar -cvf /home/andrei/archive2.tar file1

List contents:

tar -tvf /home/andrei/archive2.tar

Extract into the current directory:

tar -xvf /home/andrei/archive2.tar

Extract into a specific directory:

tar -xvf /home/andrei/archive2.tar -C /path/to/target/

Create and extract compressed archives:

# gzip-compressed archive:
tar -czvf /home/andrei/archive2.tar.gz file1

# bzip2-compressed archive:
tar -cjvf /home/andrei/archive2.tar.bz2 file1

# Extract gzip-compressed archive:
tar -xvzf /home/andrei/archive2.tar.gz

# Extract bzip2-compressed archive:
tar -xvjf /home/andrei/archive2.tar.bz2

Demo: create, compress, and extract archives Step through a practical example to see how tar behaves with real files. Create a working directory and sample files:

student@control:~/tar-demo$ mkdir -p tar-demo/data
student@control:~/tar-demo$ cd tar-demo
student@control:~/tar-demo$ mkdir -p data
student@control:~/tar-demo$ touch data/file1 data/file2 data/file3
student@control:~/tar-demo$ tree
.
└── data
    ├── file1
    ├── file2
    └── file3

Create an uncompressed tar archive:

student@control:~/tar-demo$ tar -cvf archive.tar data/
data/
data/file1
data/file2
data/file3
student@control:~/tar-demo$ ls
archive.tar  data

List archive contents with details:

student@control:~/tar-demo$ tar -tvf archive.tar
-rw-r--r-- user/group        0 2024-04-15 16:19 data/file1
-rw-r--r-- user/group        0 2024-04-15 16:19 data/file2
-rw-r--r-- user/group        0 2024-04-15 16:19 data/file3

Extract into a different directory using -C:

student@control:~/tar-demo$ mkdir data_backup
student@control:~/tar-demo$ tar -xvf archive.tar -C data_backup/
data/
data/file1
data/file2
data/file3
student@control:~/tar-demo$ ls data_backup/
data
student@control:~/tar-demo$ tree data_backup/
data_backup/
└── data
    ├── file1
    ├── file2
    └── file3

2 directories, 3 files

Create gzip and bzip2 compressed archives:

student@control:~/tar-demo$ tar -czvf archive.tar.gz data/
data/
data/file1
data/file2
data/file3

student@control:~/tar-demo$ tar -cjvf archive.tar.bz2 data/
data/
data/file1
data/file2
data/file3

student@control:~/tar-demo$ ls -l
total 20
-rw-r--r--. 1 student student 10240 Apr 15 16:20 archive.tar
-rw-r--r--. 1 student student   167 Apr 15 16:24 archive.tar.bz2
-rw-r--r--. 1 student student   162 Apr 15 16:23 archive.tar.gz
drwxr-xr-x. 2 student student    45 Apr 15 16:19 data
drwxr-xr-x. 3 student student    18 Apr 15 16:21 data_backup

Extract a bzip2 archive into a chosen directory:

student@control:~/tar-demo$ mkdir uncompressed
student@control:~/tar-demo$ tar -xjvf archive.tar.bz2 -C uncompressed/
data/
data/file1
data/file2
data/file3
student@control:~/tar-demo$ ls -l uncompressed/data
total 0
-rw-r--r-- 1 student student 0 Apr 15 16:19 file1
-rw-r--r-- 1 student student 0 Apr 15 16:19 file2
-rw-r--r-- 1 student student 0 Apr 15 16:19 file3

Using standalone compression utilities If you forget tar’s compression flags, you can compress/decompress an existing .tar file with dedicated tools:

# Compress with gzip (adds .gz suffix)
student@control:~/tar-demo$ gzip archive.tar
student@control:~/tar-demo$ ls -l
total 4
-rw-r--r--. 1 student student 162 Apr 15 16:20 archive.tar.gz
drwxr-xr-x. 2 student student  45 Apr 15 16:19 data
drwxr-xr-x. 3 student student  18 Apr 15 16:21 data_backup
drwxr-xr-x. 3 student student  18 Apr 15 16:26 uncompressed

# Decompress with gzip
student@control:~/tar-demo$ gzip -d archive.tar.gz

# Compress with bzip2 (adds .bz2 suffix)
student@control:~/tar-demo$ bzip2 archive.tar
student@control:~/tar-demo$ ls -l
total 4
-rw-r--r--. 1 student student 167 Apr 15 16:20 archive.tar.bz2

# Decompress with bzip2
student@control:~/tar-demo$ bzip2 -d archive.tar.bz2

Warning: When extracting archives, be cautious—archives may contain absolute paths or files that overwrite existing data. Audit contents with tar -tvf archive.tar before extraction, and use -C to extract into a safe directory when unsure.

Quick reference: common patterns

Task	Command
Create archive of directory	`tar -cvf archive.tar /path/to/dir`
Create gzip archive	`tar -czvf archive.tar.gz /path/to/dir`
Create bzip2 archive	`tar -cjvf archive.tar.bz2 /path/to/dir`
Extract archive to current directory	`tar -xvf archive.tar`
Extract archive to specific directory	`tar -xvf archive.tar -C /target/dir`
List archive contents	`tar -tvf archive.tar`

Introduction

Working with the Command Line

File Management

Working with Text Files

Output Redirection

User Management

Linux Permissions

Enhanced Command Line

Storage Management

Managing Services

Controlling the Boot Process

Scheduling Future Tasks

Working with Logs

Installing Software

Process Management & Tuning

Managing Network Configuration and Security

SELinux

Configuring SSH

Archive Compress Pack and Unpack Files Using tar

Watch Video