The tar uncover on Linux is in overall aged to place .tar.gz or .tgz archive recordsdata, moreover is conception as “tarballs.” This uncover has a immense selection of choices, but you fair want to be privy to a letters to mercurial place archives with tar. The tar uncover can extract the following archives, too.
The GNU tar uncover integrated with Linux distributions has built-in compression. It can probably place a .tar archive after which compress it with gzip or bzip2 compression in a single uncover. That’s why the following file is a .tar.gz file or .tar.bz2 file.
Replace, 7/18/22: We’ve reviewed this article for accuracy and can confirm it nonetheless works on the latest version of Ubuntu and other Linux distributions.
Compress an Total Itemizing or a Single File
Mumble the next uncover to compress a complete directory or a single file on Linux. It’ll moreover compress every other directory internal a directory you specify–in other phrases, it works recursively.
tar -czvf name-of-archive.tar.gz /course/to/directory-or-file
Right here’s what those switches in actuality point out:
- -c: Create an archive.
- -z: Compress the archive with gzip.
- -v: Existing progress in the terminal whereas increasing the archive, moreover is conception as “verbose” mode. The v is frequently optional in these instructions, but it completely’s beneficial.
- -f: Helps you to specify the filename of the archive.
Let’s sing that it is probably you’ll maybe desire a directory named “stuff” in the latest directory and you luxuriate in to pray to place it aside to a file named archive.tar.gz. You’d bustle the next uncover:
tar -czvf archive.tar.gz stuff
Or, let’s sing there’s a directory at /usr/local/something on the latest system and you luxuriate in to pray to compress it to a file named archive.tar.gz. You’d bustle the next uncover:
tar -czvf archive.tar.gz /usr/local/something
Compress Plenty of Directories or Files at As soon as
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While tar is in overall aged to compress a single directory, that it is probably you’ll maybe moreover employ it to compress extra than one directories, extra than one particular person recordsdata, or every. Fair present a listing of recordsdata or directories in jam of a single one. For instance, let’s sing you luxuriate in to pray to compress the /dwelling/ubuntu/Downloads directory, the /usr/local/stuff directory, and the /dwelling/ubuntu/Documents/notes.txt file. You’d fair bustle the next uncover:
tar -czvf archive.tar.gz /dwelling/ubuntu/Downloads /usr/local/stuff /dwelling/ubuntu/Documents/notes.txt
Fair listing as many directories or recordsdata as you luxuriate in to pray to abet up.
Exclude Directories and Files
In some cases, that it is probably you’ll maybe luxuriate in to compress a complete directory, but no longer consist of obvious recordsdata and directories. Which that you have to perhaps attain so by appending an --exclude switch for every directory or file you luxuriate in to pray to exclude.
For instance, let’s sing you luxuriate in to pray to compress /dwelling/ubuntu, but you don’t resolve on to compress the /dwelling/ubuntu/Downloads and /dwelling/ubuntu/.cache directories. Right here’s how you’d attain it:
tar -czvf archive.tar.gz /dwelling/ubuntu --exclude=/dwelling/ubuntu/Downloads --exclude=/dwelling/ubuntu/.cache
The --exclude switch is terribly powerful. It doesn’t prefer names of directories and recordsdata–it in actuality accepts patterns. There’s mighty extra that you have to perhaps also attain with it. For instance, that it is probably you’ll maybe archive a complete directory and exclude all .mp4 recordsdata with the next uncover:
tar -czvf archive.tar.gz /dwelling/ubuntu --exclude=*.mp4
Mumble bzip2 Compression As a replace
While gzip compression is most most regularly aged to place .tar.gz or .tgz recordsdata, tar moreover supports bzip2 compression. This permits you to place bzip2-compressed recordsdata, fundamentally named .tar.bz2, .tar.bz, or .tbz recordsdata. To attain so, fair replace the -z for gzip in the instructions here with a -j for bzip2.
Gzip is sooner, but it completely in overall compresses a bit less, so that you catch a seriously larger file. Bzip2 is slower, but it completely compresses a bit extra, so that you catch a seriously smaller file. Gzip is moreover extra normal, with some stripp