tar Command in Linux: Syntax, Options & Practical Examples

The everyday backup flow: pack files into a .tar, then confirm what was stored before you move or delete the originals.

Run the commands:

PREFIX=tcs_tar_
WORKDIR=/tmp/${PREFIX}lab
mkdir -p "$WORKDIR"/src && cd "$WORKDIR"
echo 'file one' > src/${PREFIX}one.txt
echo 'file two' > src/${PREFIX}two.txt
tar -cvf ${PREFIX}archive.tar -C src ${PREFIX}one.txt ${PREFIX}two.txt
tar -tf ${PREFIX}archive.tar

Sample output from tar -cvf:

tcs_tar_one.txt
tcs_tar_two.txt

Sample output from tar -tf:

tcs_tar_one.txt
tcs_tar_two.txt

-C src changes to the source directory so members are stored without the full /tmp/... path. -t lists names only; add -v for sizes and modes (tar -tvf).

Extract restores files relative to your current directory unless you pass -C.

Run the commands:

PREFIX=tcs_tar_
WORKDIR=/tmp/${PREFIX}lab
mkdir -p "$WORKDIR"/extract && cd "$WORKDIR"
tar -xf ${PREFIX}archive.tar -C extract/
ls extract/
tar -xf ${PREFIX}archive.tar -C extract/ ${PREFIX}two.txt
ls -l extract/

Sample output:

tcs_tar_one.txt
tcs_tar_two.txt
total 8
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 9 Jul  1 14:18 tcs_tar_one.txt
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 9 Jul  1 14:18 tcs_tar_two.txt

Listing members on the second extract overwrites ${PREFIX}two.txt again; omit member names to unpack the whole archive.

-z pipes the archive through gzip. Use the .tar.gz or .tgz suffix so future you knows which extractor to run.

Run the commands:

PREFIX=tcs_tar_
WORKDIR=/tmp/${PREFIX}lab && cd "$WORKDIR"
tar -czf ${PREFIX}archive.tar.gz -C src ${PREFIX}one.txt ${PREFIX}two.txt
tar -tzf ${PREFIX}archive.tar.gz

Sample output:

tcs_tar_one.txt
tcs_tar_two.txt

Extract later with tar -xzf ${PREFIX}archive.tar.gz. For bzip2 use -j (.tar.bz2); for xz use -J (.tar.xz).

--exclude accepts glob patterns. Order matters — later rules do not undo earlier inclusions.

Run the commands:

PREFIX=tcs_tar_
WORKDIR=/tmp/${PREFIX}lab && cd "$WORKDIR"
echo 'file three' > src/${PREFIX}three.txt
tar -cf ${PREFIX}excl.tar -C src --exclude='*two*' ${PREFIX}one.txt ${PREFIX}two.txt ${PREFIX}three.txt
tar -tf ${PREFIX}excl.tar

Sample output:

tcs_tar_one.txt
tcs_tar_three.txt

${PREFIX}two.txt was skipped because its name matches *two*. For many rules, put patterns in a file and pass -X patterns.txt.

-C changes directory before extract, so you do not clutter the current working tree.

Run the commands:

PREFIX=tcs_tar_
WORKDIR=/tmp/${PREFIX}lab
mkdir -p "$WORKDIR"/dest && cd "$WORKDIR"
tar -xf ${PREFIX}archive.tar -C dest/
find dest -type f

Sample output:

dest/tcs_tar_one.txt
dest/tcs_tar_two.txt

Combine with --strip-components=N when the archive stores deep paths you want to trim — see tar --strip-components and zip --junk-paths.

-r always appends new bytes at the end. -u only adds files that are newer than copies already stored.

Run the commands:

PREFIX=tcs_tar_
WORKDIR=/tmp/${PREFIX}lab && cd "$WORKDIR"
echo 'new file' > src/${PREFIX}new.txt
tar -rf ${PREFIX}archive.tar -C src ${PREFIX}new.txt
tar -tf ${PREFIX}archive.tar
echo 'updated' > src/${PREFIX}new.txt
tar -uf ${PREFIX}archive.tar -C src ${PREFIX}new.txt
tar -tvf ${PREFIX}archive.tar | grep new

Sample output:

tcs_tar_one.txt
tcs_tar_two.txt
tcs_tar_new.txt
-rw-r--r-- root/root         8 2026-07-01 14:18 tcs_tar_new.txt

GNU tar keeps older member copies inside the archive when you update — the listing may show duplicates until you repack. For clean trees, create a fresh archive instead of repeated -u.

-d reports size or metadata differences without extracting — useful before overwriting production configs.

Run the commands:

PREFIX=tcs_tar_
WORKDIR=/tmp/${PREFIX}lab && cd "$WORKDIR"
echo 'changed' > src/${PREFIX}two.txt
tar -df ${PREFIX}archive.tar -C src ${PREFIX}two.txt

Sample output:

tcs_tar_two.txt: Size differs

When files match, tar prints nothing and exits 0.

-A appends another tar file's contents. --delete removes members from an archive file (not tape devices).

Run the commands:

PREFIX=tcs_tar_
WORKDIR=/tmp/${PREFIX}lab && cd "$WORKDIR"
tar -cf ${PREFIX}arch2.tar -C src ${PREFIX}three.txt
tar -Af ${PREFIX}archive.tar ${PREFIX}arch2.tar
tar --delete -f ${PREFIX}archive.tar ${PREFIX}one.txt
tar -tf ${PREFIX}archive.tar

Sample output:

tcs_tar_two.txt
tcs_tar_new.txt
tcs_tar_three.txt

--delete rewrites the archive in place — keep a backup copy when the archive is irreplaceable.

-a picks gzip, bzip2, xz, or zstd from the extension — handy in scripts when the suffix is the contract.

Run the commands:

PREFIX=tcs_tar_
WORKDIR=/tmp/${PREFIX}lab && cd "$WORKDIR"
tar -caf ${PREFIX}auto.tar.zst -C src ${PREFIX}one.txt
tar -tf ${PREFIX}auto.tar.zst

Sample output:

tcs_tar_one.txt

Install zstd if -caf fails with "Cannot exec". The same -a flag works with .tar.gz, .tar.bz2, and .tar.xz suffixes.

Transform applies a sed expression to member names. --strip-components trims leading directories on extract.

Run the commands:

PREFIX=tcs_tar_
WORKDIR=/tmp/${PREFIX}lab
mkdir -p "$WORKDIR"/xdest && cd "$WORKDIR"
tar --transform='s/tcs_tar_/renamed_/' -cf ${PREFIX}xform.tar -C src ${PREFIX}two.txt
tar -tf ${PREFIX}xform.tar
tar --strip-components=0 -xf ${PREFIX}xform.tar -C xdest/
ls xdest/

Sample output:

renamed_two.txt
renamed_two.txt

Use --show-transformed-names while creating to preview stored paths before you extract on a production host.