How To Extract and Unzip tar.gz Files for Linux & Windows
How To Extract and Unzip tar.gz Files for Linux & Windows

how to open a tar.gz file

Users how to buy nfts can utilize the 7-zip command-line interface for automated & scripted extraction tasks. A TAR.GZ file is a combination of two different packaging algorithms. It’s an old utility, invented mainly for accurate data transfer to devices without their own file systems. A tar file (or tarball) contains files in a sequential format, along with metadata about the directory structure and other technical parameters. By compressing several files into one Tar GZ file, you’ll be able to send multiple files as one single archived folder. This format can be sent by email or social media platforms that support the Tar GZ file format.

Extract .tar.gz File in Windows Using WinZip

We'll show you the easiest ways to open TAR, TGZ, and TAR.GZ files on any PC or Mac. Where commands have little (if any) room for typos or omissions, many common errors are the result of small mistakes, misspellings, or incorrect formats. Thankfully, unless you’re somehow missing your tar or gzip utility, most common errors are very easy to fix. The tar command also provides support for extracting only specific files or directories from a .tar.gz file. Simply add a space-separated list of the files you want to extract.

Gzip (denoted by a .gz file extension) is a compressed file format used to archive data to take up smaller space. Gzip uses the same compression algorithm as the more commonly known zip but can only be used on a single file. In short, Gzip compresses all the individual files and tar packages them in a single archive. Though both .zip titantrade forex broker review and .tar.gz archive and compress files, they do so in different ways. In other words, .zip is a collection of compressed files, while .tar.gz is a compressed collection of files.

Unzip .tar.gz in Linux

You can use the -C option to extract to a different directory (in this case, /home/user/files). But with .zip being the easier of the two to use, why use .tar in the first place? The next section shows how .tar comes with a few extra features that make it the better compression format for certain files and applications.

  1. To access the Windows command line, search for “command prompt” or “cmd” in the search bar.
  2. The Unzip to…option opens up another window with extra settings.
  3. With the command prompt open, use the appropriate commands to change the current working directory (cd) to the location of the .tar.gz file you want to unzip.
  4. It’s easy to get confused when navigating between .tar, .tar.gz, and .gz – not to mention zipping and unzipping them.
  5. A TAR.GZ file is a TAR archive compressed with the standard GNU zip (gzip) compression algorithm.

Extract Files with gzip

Once you've selected the right file, you'll see "7-Zip File Manager" show up in the select app dialog. If you want 7-Zip to always handle tar.gz files in the future, you're going to want to select the "Always" button at the bottom of the dialog. The terminal command used in Linux works here just fine if you are comfortable with terminal commands.

how to open a tar.gz file

Since Windows doesn't natively support .tar.gz files, extracting involves third-party tools or non-native commands. The following text outlines the process of extracting a .tar.gz file in a Windows environment. If you have a file on your PC or Mac that ends with .TAR, it's an archive file that typically contains one or more files or folders that need to be unpacked. If the file's name ends with .TGZ or .TAR.GZ, the file is not only archived in the TAR format, but also compressed, which makes for faster and easier transfer between computers. Whether or not your TAR file is compressed, it's super easy to unpack and open the files and directories on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Popular with Linux users, the TAR.GZ format (TGZ) is often used to package collections of files into a single downloadable. Yes, Tar.GZ files are archive files that are considered very safe. However, if the contents inside the archive don’t come from a trusted source, it’s a good idea to extract and scan with an antivirus before executing. While Tar GZ can be opened and used on Windows and macOS with WinZip, you’re much more likely to spot the Tar GZ file format on Linux operating systems. Alternatively, select one of the offered locations or set one up by clicking the Extract files… option.

It’s generally a good idea to convert your TAR GZ file since it might not be compatible with the software you intend to use. ZIP is a more accessible compression format, and you can easily convert your TAR GZ file to ZIP using WinZip. Choose whether to unzip to one of the offered locations or define one with the Unzip to… option. A new window opens to manage where and how to extract files. This example uses example1.tar.gz in the Home directory. Similar to the previous error, this error occurs when an archive was saved as a .tar despite not being a .tar archive.

how to open a tar.gz file

To unzip the .tar.gz files, you’ll need to use specific commands and tools depending on your operating system. Let’s explore the extraction process for both Linux & Windows platforms. Gzip compression uses a checksum to make sure data integrity. When you extract files from a .tar.gz archive, the checksum is automatically verified to detect & handle any potential data corruption. You'll want to replace "tarfile" with the path to the tar.gz file that you're trying to extract.

Similarly, the TAR GZ file extension is created when compressing archived TAR files with the GNU zip utility. This error occurs if you try to decompress a file without specifying a decompression utility, specifically -z for gzip. If the command line isn’t your thing, there are plenty of user-friendly tools available to unzip tar.gz files.

Troubleshooting Common Errors

As we see later, different compression utilities may require different methods for extracting and unzipping files. Though we mostly focus on .tar.gz files, check out the end of the article for some quick tips on extracting .tar files in other formats. Where most operating systems make it easy to extract and create .zip files, the same can’t really be said for .tar files — at least not in ways that are easy to notice. This error usually occurs when a .tar has been saved as a .gz despite having never been compressed using the gzip utility. It may sound like a silly mistake, but it’s surprisingly common in situations where users directly rename files and their extensions (such as .tar and .gz) in the process. Unlike Windows’ convenient graphical user interface (GUI) for unzipping .zip files, you need to use the tar utility through the command line.

Technically these are TGZ files, but nearly everyone calls both .tar and .tar.gz files simple "tar files." WinRAR is a popular file compression & archive utility software. It allows users to create, view, and extract files in various archive formats, including its native .RAR format as well as other common formats like .ZIP, .7z, ISO, .TAR, and more. A TAR.GZ file is a TAR archive compressed with the standard GNU zip (gzip) compression algorithm. It contains one or more compressed files and is commonly used on Unix operating systems to package files, programs, and installers. Just dapps platforms and private blockchain frameworks like the more familiar .zip files, .tar files compress large files into a single package, making it easier to store and send them through email, servers, and so on.

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