{"id":24637,"date":"2024-01-05T18:18:03","date_gmt":"2024-01-05T12:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/?p=24637"},"modified":"2024-01-05T18:18:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-05T12:48:05","slug":"unzip-tar-gz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/unzip-tar-gz\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Extract\/Unzip .tar.gz Files? [Linux & Windows]"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What are tar.gz files?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A .tar.gz file, also known as a tarball, is a special file format comprising a collection of files compressed into a single archive. This particular file format is commonly used in Unix and Linux operating systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is simply created by combining multiple files or directories into a single file and then compressing it using gzip compression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might be wondering, where the word tar came from, well the word “tar” was used from Tape Archiver, which was originally used for magnetic tape storage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just like the .zip files you may have heard about and even used, .tar files are also used to compress large files into a single package, making it convenient to store and send them through various channels such as emails, servers, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this moment, a question must have come to your mind, why don’t we simply use the .zip file format then? Why there is a need for a separate file format i.e. “.tar” to compress files?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Difference between .Zip file and .Tar file<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To better understand the main difference between these two, the best way is to know by their simple definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a .tar file?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the .tar file<\/strong>, you will find there is a collection of directories or files uncompressed. Compressing the files in the collection requires a separate compression utility i.e either gzip or bz2 to compress files that’s main purpose is to compress a .tar into a .tar.gz or .tar.bz2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a .tar.gz file?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From the format name itself, you can easily understand that it combines two files, the TAR file and the GZ file. This combination happens when a TAR archive file has been undergoing compression with the Gzip compression utility and becomes a TAR.GZ file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a GZ File?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When talking about a GZ file, it is created by the Gzip compression utility. When a single file is compressed using the Gzip compression utility, it will be turned into a single GZ file. However, when you compress multiple files with the same utility, it will create multiple individual GZ files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a .zip file?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In a .zip file, you will find a collection of compressed files instead. Unlike the .tar file, the .zip doesn’t require any compression initially and compresses each file within the collection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

.ZIP vs .TAR<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Feature<\/th>.zip Files<\/th>.tar Files<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Compression Algorithm<\/strong><\/td>ZIP compression<\/td>Primarily used for archiving (not compression by itself)<\/td><\/tr>
Cross-Platform Compatibility<\/strong><\/td>Widely supported on Windows, macOS, Linux<\/td>Native support on Unix-like systems (Linux, macOS); requires additional tools on some platforms<\/td><\/tr>
Compression Level<\/strong><\/td>Good balance between compression ratio and speed<\/td>Typically a single-step process for both compression and archiving<\/td><\/tr>
File and Directory Structure<\/strong><\/td>Preserves both file and directory structures<\/td>Primarily focuses on preserving the directory structure; compression is a separate step when using .tar<\/code> alone<\/td><\/tr>
Naming Convention<\/strong><\/td>Uses the .zip<\/code> file extension<\/td>Uses the .tar<\/code> file extension when uncompressed; additional extensions like .tar.gz<\/code> or .tar.bz2<\/code> when compressed<\/td><\/tr>
Single\/Double Step Process<\/strong><\/td>Typically a single step process for both compression and archiving<\/td>Archiving and compression are separate steps when using .tar<\/code> alone<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
.Zip Vs .Tar<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Both file formats have their applications and depend upon your specific needs, compatibility requirements, and your target platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are looking for a format that is widely supported and used, .zip can be the best option. However, if you are specifically working on Unix-like platforms, .tar is commonly used.<\/p>\n\n\n

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How Do I Unzip a .tar.gz File in Linux?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For your information, many Linux distributions such as Ubuntu and MacOS come up with inbuilt tools for Compressing and Extracting .tar and .tar.gz files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although for most of the tasks, the tar utility is sufficient you will be also required to have a gzip utility for creating .tar.gz files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Unzip .tar.gz in Linux using the tar utility<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the Linux operating system, the first thing you need to do is to open the Terminal by pressing the CTRL+ALT+T keywords simultaneously and enter the given command below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.<\/strong> Extracting .tar.gz to the current working directory<\/strong> and printing out the output<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

tar -xf Yourfile.tar.gz<\/code><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the above command, <\/p>\n\n\n\n