TAR – How to Untar a File

To untar (extract) a .tar file in Linux or macOS using the tar command, follow the steps below. The tar command is a powerful utility that allows you to extract .tar, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2, and other compressed tar files.

Basic Syntax

tar -xf <file.tar>

• -x: Extract files from the archive.
• -f: Specifies the file name of the archive.

Steps to Untar a File

1. Navigate to the Directory
   Open a terminal and navigate to the directory where your .tar file is located:

   cd /path/to/your/file
   

2. Untar the File
   Use the tar command to extract the file:

   tar -xf file.tar
   

   This will extract all files and directories in the .tar archive into the current directory.

Extracting Compressed .tar Files

1. For .tar.gz or .tgz Files
   These files are compressed with gzip:

   tar -xzf file.tar.gz
   

   • -z: Indicates gzip compression.
2. For .tar.bz2 Files
   These files are compressed with bzip2:

   tar -xjf file.tar.bz2
   

   • -j: Indicates bzip2 compression.
3. For .tar.xz Files
   These files are compressed with xz:

   tar -xJf file.tar.xz
   

   • -J: Indicates xz compression.

Extract to a Specific Directory

To extract files to a specific directory, use the -C option:

tar -xf file.tar -C /path/to/extract

View Contents Before Extracting

If you want to see the contents of a .tar file without extracting it:

tar -tf file.tar

• -t: List the files in the archive.

Verbose Output

To see detailed output during extraction, add the -v option:

tar -xvf file.tar

• -v: Enables verbose mode to display file names being extracted.

Examples

1. Extract a .tar file:

   tar -xf archive.tar
   

2. Extract a .tar.gz file:

   tar -xzf archive.tar.gz
   

3. Extract to a specific directory:

   tar -xf archive.tar -C /home/user/documents
   

4. List contents of a .tar file:

   tar -tf archive.tar
   

Common Errors and Fixes

• Error: tar: command not found
  Install tar using:

  sudo apt install tar        # Ubuntu/Debian
  sudo yum install tar        # CentOS/RedHat
  

• Error: Permission Denied
  Use sudo to run the command with root privileges:

  sudo tar -xf file.tar