tar Cheat Sheet

Here’s a basic tar command cheat sheet:

Tar Command Basics

Create a Tar Archive

tar -cvf archive.tar file1 file2 directory/
  • Options:
    • -c: Create a new archive.
    • -v: Verbose mode (show the progress).
    • -f: Specify the archive file name.

Extract Tar Archive

tar -xvf archive.tar
  • Options:
    • -x: Extract files from an archive.
    • -v: Verbose mode (show the progress).
    • -f: Specify the archive file name.

Create a Gzipped Tar Archive (tgz)

tar -cvzf archive.tar.gz file1 file2 directory/
  • Options:
    • -c: Create a new archive.
    • -v: Verbose mode (show the progress).
    • -z: Use gzip compression.
    • -f: Specify the archive file name.

Extract Gzipped Tar Archive (tgz)

tar -xzvf archive.tar.gz
  • Options:
    • -x: Extract files from an archive.
    • -z: Use gzip compression.
    • -v: Verbose mode (show the progress).
    • -f: Specify the archive file name.

List Contents of a Tar Archive

tar -tvf archive.tar
  • Options:
    • -t: List the contents of an archive.
    • -v: Verbose mode (show the progress).
    • -f: Specify the archive file name.

Create a Bzipped Tar Archive (tbz)

tar -cvjf archive.tar.bz2 file1 file2 directory/
  • Options:
    • -c: Create a new archive.
    • -v: Verbose mode (show the progress).
    • -j: Use bzip2 compression.
    • -f: Specify the archive file name.

Extract Bzipped Tar Archive (tbz)

tar -xjvf archive.tar.bz2
  • Options:
    • -x: Extract files from an archive.
    • -j: Use bzip2 compression.
    • -v: Verbose mode (show the progress).
    • -f: Specify the archive file name.

Additional Options

Extract to a Specific Directory

tar -xvf archive.tar -C /path/to/directory
  • Options:
    • -x: Extract files from an archive.
    • -v: Verbose mode (show the progress).
    • -f: Specify the archive file name.
    • -C: Change to the specified directory before extracting.

Create an Incremental Backup

tar --create --file=backup.tar --listed-incremental=snapshot.snar /path/to/files/
  • Options:
    • --create: Create a new archive.
    • --file: Specify the archive file name.
    • --listed-incremental: Create or update a snapshot file for incremental backups.

Extract Specific Files

tar -xvf archive.tar file1 file2
  • Options:
    • -x: Extract files from an archive.
    • -v: Verbose mode (show the progress).
    • -f: Specify the archive file name.

These examples cover some common tar commands. For more detailed information, refer to the tar manual or documentation by running man tar in your terminal.