How can I extract or uncompress a file from tar ball downloaded from the Internet under Linux using bash command prompt?
You need to use the tar command to extract files from an archive or to create an archive (also known as tarball). A tarball or an archive is nothing but a single file that contains various individual files. It also includes information which allows your to restore files to their original form by one or more extraction programs such as tar command.
| Tutorial details | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty level | Easy |
| Root privileges | No |
| Requirements | Linux terminal with tar command |
| Est. reading time | 2 minutes |
Extract or Unpack a TarBall File
To unpack or extract a tar file, type:
tar -xvf file.tar
To save disk space and bandwidth over the network all files are saved using compression program such as gzip or bzip2. To extract / unpack a .tar.gz (gzip) file, enter (note -z option):
tar -xzvf file.tar.gz
To extract / unpack a .tar.bz2 (bzip2) file, enter (note -j option):
tar -xjvf file.tar.bz2
Where,
- -x : Extract a tar ball.
- -v : Verbose output or show progress while extracting files.
- -f : Specify an archive or a tarball filename.
- -j : Decompress and extract the contents of the compressed archive created by bzip2 program (tar.bz2 extension).
- -z : Decompress and extract the contents of the compressed archive created by gzip program (tar.gz extension).
How Do I Extract A Single File Called foo.txt?
To extract a single file called foo.txt, enter:
tar -xvf file.tar foo.txt tar -xzvf file.tar.gz foo.txt tar -xjvf file.tar.bz2 foo.txt
You can also specify path such as etc/resolv.conf, enter:
tar -xvf file.tar etc/resolv.conf tar -xzvf file.tar.gz etc/resolv.conf tar -xjvf file.tar.bz2 etc/resolv.conf
How Do I Extract a Single Directory Called etc?
To extract a single directory called etc, enter:
tar -xvf file.tar etc tar -xzvf file.tar.gz etc tar -xjvf file.tar.bz2 etc
Sample outputs:
etc/ etc/pulse/ etc/pulse/default.pa etc/pulse/client.conf etc/pulse/daemon.conf etc/pulse/system.pa etc/xml/ etc/xml/docbook-xml.xml.old etc/xml/xml-core.xml etc/xml/catalog etc/xml/catalog.old etc/xml/docbook-xml.xml etc/xml/rarian-compat.xml etc/xml/sgml-data.xml etc/xml/xml-core.xml.old etc/xml/sgml-data.xml.old etc/mail.rc etc/Wireless/ etc/Wireless/RT2870STA/ etc/Wireless/RT2870STA/RT2870STA.dat etc/logrotate.conf etc/compizconfig/ etc/compizconfig/config ..... ... .... etc/python/ etc/python/debian_config etc/ConsoleKit/ etc/ConsoleKit/seats.d/ etc/ConsoleKit/seats.d/00-primary.seat etc/ConsoleKit/run-session.d/ etc/ConsoleKit/run-seat.d/ etc/opt/
Exteracting files to directory
Want to extract files to dir called /tmp/out? Try the following syntax to change to /tmp/out before performing any operations using tar:
tar -xvf file.tar -C /tmp/out/
tar -zxvf foo.tar.gz -C /tmp/out/
cd /tmp/out/
ls -l
Summing up
We use the tar command on Linux to extract files from tarball archives. See tar command man page for further information by typing the following man command:
man tar
info tar
tar --help
🐧 13 comments so far... add one ↓
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Great guide, thanks!
So far this is the best guide that I have found to unpack Tars files, thanks for posting it.
The commands worked fine. Thanks a lot for the explanation.
Muduv@
Maputo-Mozambique
Thanks for the info.. I dont know how many times I’ve come here to find this one simple command, but I dont seem to be able to memorize it!! This time, I THOUGHT I had it, and did:
tar -xfv file.tar
So – I had it right, except for the order of the options.. Shouldn’t this have worked? It didn’t, and I’m not clear why..
The -f option has to come last, to tell tar what the filename is.
Universal version for bash https://github.com/xvoland/Extract
Is there any issue if I extract a .tgz file using the command
tar -xvf file_name.tgz
It worked for me in my machine. Will there be any cases where it wont work?
Thanks you! Very useful.
Now, when i search for a tips on Linux, i search on google, and clic on http://www.cyberciti.biz ‘s result !
Well explained for beginners like me, and sooo clear ! Thanks a lot.
Clear, concise, to the point. Thanks a bunch!
Question:
How to extract a wordpress.tar.gz into the current folder without creating a new folder “wordpress”?
thx Joerg
Try:
its not working in my printer