Archive Explorer

← All software

GNU tar

By AT&T Unix / GNU Project · since 1979 · GPLv3 · official site →

Overview

GNU tar is the universal Unix archiver. Almost every Linux server task that involves bundling files — backups, log rotation, source releases, container build contexts — passes through tar at some point. Modern GNU tar transparently invokes gzip, bzip2, xz, or zstd based on the file extension or explicit flags.

Best for

Everything Unix. Server-side scripting. Backup pipelines. The default for source releases.

Limitations

Command-line only — no GUI. Sequential format means you cannot quickly extract a single file from a huge tarball.

Supported formats — create

GNU tar can create the following archive formats:

TARTAR.GZTAR.BZ2TAR.XZTAR.ZSTTAR.LZ

Supported formats — extract

GNU tar can extract:

TARTAR.GZTAR.BZ2TAR.XZTAR.ZSTTAR.LZTAR.LZMA

Installation

Where to download

The official download is at https://www.gnu.org/software/tar/. Avoid third-party download sites — they often bundle adware or worse with otherwise legitimate archivers.

Operating systems supported

LinuxmacOSBSDWindows (via Git Bash, Cygwin, WSL)

How to use GNU tar

Extracting an archive

  1. Locate the archive in your file manager (or terminal).
  2. Right-click and choose the GNU tar entry, or run the equivalent CLI command.
  3. Pick a destination folder.
  4. Wait for extraction to complete — speed depends on archive size and chosen algorithm.

Creating an archive

  1. Select the files or folders you want to bundle.
  2. Open GNU tar and choose Add (or drag the selection onto its window/dock icon).
  3. Pick a target format from the supported list above.
  4. Optionally set a password — prefer AES-256 over legacy algorithms.
  5. Click OK and wait for compression to complete.

Alternatives

If GNU tar is not the right fit, consider these alternatives covered in our software directory: