Creating A tar File in Linux Via Command Line Options

How do I create a tar file under Linux using command line options?

You need to use the tar command to create an archive (also known as tar ball) under Linux operating systems.

Linux tar command syntax

The syntax is as follows to create a tar file:

tar -cvf output.tar /dirname

OR

tar -cvf output.tar /dirname1 /dirname2 filename1 filename2

OR

tar -cvf output.tar /home/vivek/data /home/vivek/pictures /home/vivek/file.txt

OR

tar -cvf /tmp/output.tar /home/vivek/data /home/vivek/pictures /home/vivek/file.txt

Where,

• c : Create a tar ball.
• v : Verbose output (show progress).
• f : Output tar ball archive file name.

Example

Create a tar ball called /tmp/data.tar for /home/vivek/data directory, enter:

tar -cvf /tmp/data.tar /home/vivek/data

To View a Tar Ball Contains (list file inside a tar ball)

Type the following command:

tar -ctvf /tmp/data.ta

To Extract a Tar Ball

Type the following command to extract /tmp/data.tar in a current directory, enter:

tar -xvf /tmp/data.ta

Type the following command to extract /tmp/data.tar in a directory called /home/sales/data, enter:

tar -xvf /tmp/data.tar -C /home/sales/data

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