tar Command Cheatsheet

The tar command is used to create, manipulate, and extract archive files. It is commonly used for bundling multiple files into a single file for easy distribution and backup.

Syntax

tar [OPTION]... [FILE]...

Common Options

• -c: Create a new archive.

• -x: Extract an archive.

• -t: List the contents of an archive.

• -f FILE: Specify the archive file name.

• -v: Verbose mode, display the progress.

• -z: Filter the archive through gzip (use with .tar.gz).

• -j: Filter the archive through bzip2 (use with .tar.bz2).

• -J: Filter the archive through xz (use with .tar.xz).

• --delete: Delete files from the archive.

Examples

Create a Tar Archive

tar -cf archive.tar file1.txt file2.txt

• Creates archive.tar containing file1.txt and file2.txt.

Create a Tar.gz Archive

tar -czf archive.tar.gz file1.txt file2.txt

• Creates archive.tar.gz with gzip compression.

Create a Tar.bz2 Archive

tar -cjf archive.tar.bz2 file1.txt file2.txt

• Creates archive.tar.bz2 with bzip2 compression.

Create a Tar.xz Archive

tar -cJf archive.tar.xz file1.txt file2.txt

• Creates archive.tar.xz with xz compression.

Extract a Tar Archive

tar -xf archive.tar

• Extracts archive.tar.

Extract a Tar.gz Archive

tar -xzf archive.tar.gz

• Extracts archive.tar.gz.

Extract a Tar.bz2 Archive

tar -xjf archive.tar.bz2

• Extracts archive.tar.bz2.

Extract a Tar.xz Archive

tar -xJf archive.tar.xz

• Extracts archive.tar.xz.

List Contents of an Archive

tar -tf archive.tar

• Lists contents of archive.tar.

Verbose Listing

tar -tvf archive.tar

• Lists contents of archive.tar with details.

Extract to a Specific Directory

tar -xf archive.tar -C /path/to/directory

• Extracts archive.tar to /path/to/directory.

Add Files to an Existing Archive

tar -rf archive.tar newfile.txt

• Adds newfile.txt to archive.tar.

Delete Files from an Archive

tar --delete -f archive.tar file_to_delete.txt

• Deletes file_to_delete.txt from archive.tar.

Combining Options

You can combine options for more concise commands. For example:

tar -czvf archive.tar.gz file1.txt file2.txt

• Creates archive.tar.gz with gzip compression, verbose mode.

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This cheatsheet covers the most common usages and options for the tar command. For more detailed information, refer to the tar man page by typing man tar in your terminal.