cli-tarHow do I create and extract a Unix tar file?

Creating and extracting a Unix tar file is a simple process. To create a tar file, use the command tar -cvf <name>.tar <files and/or directories>, where <name> is the desired name of the tar file and <files and/or directories> is a list of files and/or directories to be included in the tar.

For example, to create a tar file named my_tar.tar that includes the file my_file.txt and the directory my_dir, use the command:

tar -cvf my_tar.tar my_file.txt my_dir

To extract the contents of a tar file, use the command tar -xvf <name>.tar, where <name> is the name of the tar file.

For example, to extract the contents of my_tar.tar, use the command:

tar -xvf my_tar.tar

The parts of the command are as follows:

• tar: The command to create or extract a tar file.
• -c: The flag to create a tar file.
• -v: The flag to display the progress of the tar operation.
• -f: The flag to specify the name of the tar file.

Helpful links

• tar man page
• Creating a Tar File
• Extracting a Tar File

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