15+ tar command usages with examples – Unix/Linux--referenc

reference :http://crybit.com/tar-command-usages-with-examples/

The ‘tar’ saves many files together into a single tape or disk archive,and can restore individual files from the archive. It is very useful in such conditions like when we want to send a lot of files via email,transfer files from one machine to another etc. Here I am explaining some common and useful switches and it usages with examples.

Syntax:

# tar [options] file.tar file1 file2 .. .. ..

Where?file.tar?is the tar file and?file1?and?file2 .. ..?are the files to make a tar.

I have created two files?file1.txt?and?file2.txt?for making examples.

[root@localhost TAR]# ll
total 8
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 2770 Feb  7 22:37 file1.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root  887 Feb  7 22:38 file2.txt

Common usages of tar command:

How to create a tar file ?Syntax:

# tar -cf archive.tar files .. ..

Example:

[root@localhost TAR]# tar -cf file.tar file1.txt file2.txt
[root@localhost TAR]# ll file.tar 
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 10240 Feb  7 22:42 file.tar

How to list all files in an archive.tar ?

# tar -tf archive.tar

Example:

[root@localhost TAR]# tar -tf file.tar 
file1.txt
file2.txt

How to extract all files from archive.tar ?

tar -xf archive.tar

Example:

[root@localhost TAR]# tar -xf file.tar 
[root@localhost TAR]# ll
total 20
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root  2770 Feb  7 22:37 file1.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root   887 Feb  7 22:38 file2.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 10240 Feb  7 22:42 file.tar

Switches with example:

1,-v,–verboseverbosely list files processed:Syntax:List all files in an archive.tar verbosely:

tar -tvf archive.tar

Example:

[root@localhost TAR]# tar -tvf file.tar 
-rw-r--r-- root/root      2770 2014-02-07 22:37 file1.txt
-rw-r--r-- root/root       887 2014-02-07 22:38 file2.txt

2,-c,–createcreate a new archive.

3,-t,–listlist the contents of an archive.

4,-x,–extract,–getextract files from an archive.

5,-d,–diff,–comparefind differences between archive and file system.Example:

[root@localhost TAR]# tar -tf file.tar 
file2.txt
file3.txt
file1.txt
[root@localhost TAR]# tar -df file.tar file1.txt file2.txt file4.txt
tar: file4.txt: Not found in archive
tar: Exiting with failure status due to previous errors
----Verbosely----
[root@localhost TAR]# tar -dvf file.tar file1.txt file2.txt 
file2.txt
file1.txt
[root@localhost TAR]# tar -dvf file.tar file1.txt file2.txt file6.txt
file2.txt
file1.txt
tar: file6.txt: Not found in archive
tar: Exiting with failure status due to previous errors

6,–deletedelete from the archive (not on mag tapes!)Example:Delete?file1.txt?from the archive file.tar

[root@localhost TAR]# tar --delete -f  file.tar  file1.txt 
[root@localhost TAR]# tar -tf file.tar
file2.txt

7,-r,–appendAppend files to the end of an archive.Example:Append?file3.txt?to?file.tar

[root@localhost TAR]# tar -rf file.tar file3.txt
[root@localhost TAR]# tar -tf file.tar
file1.txt
file2.txt
file3.txt

8,-A,–catenate,–concatenateAppend tar files to an archive.Create another tar file

[root@localhost TAR]# tar -cf archive.tar file1.txt file3.txt 

Append tar file to an archive.

[root@localhost TAR]# tar -Af file.tar archive.tar
[root@localhost TAR]# tar -tf file.tar 
file2.txt
file3.txt
file1.txt
file1.txt
file3.txt

9,–test-labeltest the archive volume label and exit.

10,-u,–updateOnly append files newer than copy in archive.Example:

[root@localhost TAR]# tar -tf file.tar 
file1.txt
file2.txt
[root@localhost TAR]# tar -uf file.tar file1.txt file3.txt file2.txt
[root@localhost TAR]# tar -tf file.tar 
file1.txt
file2.txt
file3.txt

11,-C,–directory=DIRChange to directory DIR.

Example:Extract files to another directory:

[root@localhost TAR]# tar -xvf file.tar -C /root/TAR2
file1.txt
file2.txt
[root@localhost TAR]# cd -
/root/TAR2
[root@localhost TAR2]# ll
total 28
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 23250 Feb  7 23:11 file1.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root   887 Feb  7 22:38 file2.txt

12,-p,–preserve-permissionsExtract information about file permissions (default for superuser)

Create archive with?compression:It is very helpful to make an archive of files which has comparatively large size. Commonly using compression methods are?“BZIP”?and?“GZIP”.

Switches with examples,?compression?related.

13,-j,–bzip2filter the archive through bzip2

Example:

[root@localhost TAR]# tar -jcf file.tar.bz file2.txt file1.txt
[root@localhost TAR]# ll
total 128
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 23250 Feb  7 23:11 file1.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root   887 Feb  7 22:38 file2.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 30720 Feb  7 23:30 file.tar
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root  1797 Feb  7 23:42 file.tar.bz

See,the tar file size is decreased to 1797 with BZIP

14,-z,–gzipfilter the archive through gzip

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