“In computing, tar (derived from tape archive) is both a file format (in the form of a type of archive bitstream) and the name of a program used to handle such files.”
$ tar [options]f archive-name.tar.gz /directory-to-archive-or-file-name
Key tar Options
c = create
x = extract
t = test (list)
v = verbose
f = file name
z = gzip
j = bzip2
Example:
gzip a directory.
$ tar cvzf filename.tar.gz /directory/path
bzip2 a directory.
$ tar cvjf filename.tar.bz2 /directory/path
gzip all mp3 and m4a files within the current directory.
$ tar cvzf filename.tar.gz *.mp3 *.m4a
To combine multiple files and/or directories into a single file, use the following command.
$ tar cvf filename.tar.gz file1 file2
Read/verify contents.
$ tar -tzf filename.tar.gz
Extract a file in current dirextory.
$ tar xvf filename.tar.gz
If you want to extract a file into specfied directory, cd into that directory and run the extract command from there or…
$ tar xvf filename.tar.gz -C /directory/path