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How to Extract Unzip tar.gz Files: Step-by-Step Windows and Linux Guide

Some third-party tools also offer extended flexibility for converting between file types‌, saving more time if you want to change between compression formats. Note that this command will throw an error unless you specify the exact filename listed in the .tar file. As we’ll cover more in the next section, you can verify file names by listing contents with the tar -tf filename.tar.gz command. But with .zip being the easier of the two to use, why use .tar in the first place? As we’ll see in the next section, .tar comes with a few extra features that make it the better compression format for certain files and applications.

1. A TAR.GZ file is a combination of two different packaging algorithms.
2. It’s easy to get confused when navigating between .tar, .tar.gz, and .gz – not to mention zipping and unzipping them.
3. The size of the files is increasing day by day owing to high quality in everything related to video, audio, document, software, etc.
4. Since Windows doesn’t natively support .tar.gz files, extracting involves third-party tools or non-native commands.
5. Where commands have little (if any) room for typos or omissions, many common errors are the result of small mistakes, misspellings, or incorrect formats.

Note that this command also works with other common compression formats such as .tar.bz2. Though gzip is the most common compression utility, it’s ray dalios bridgewater is betting on gold to surge 30% not the only one. As you might imagine, using a different compression utility on a .tar file will result in a different double extension.

Professional Approach to view or open tar.gz file in Windows 10

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 and .tar.gz archive and compress files, they do so in different ways.

What is a TAR.GZ file?

The first is the -k option, and the other uses the -c option to output the compressed file to a different file, preserving the original. Thankfully, you don’t need to be a 1960s computer technician to use and extract .tar files – nor do modern .tar files even have anything to do with old computers. You can notice in the above image that the archive files are extracted in the same working directory. This compression is lossless – that means no data is lost during the compression process, and the original files can be fully restored upon extraction.

Method 2: Using WinRAR

Most Linux distributions and macOS include built-in tools for zipping and unzipping .tar and .tar.gz files. While the tar utility is enough for most purposes, you’ll need the gzip utility to create .tar.gz files. 7-Zip is a free and open-source what is bitcoin mining and how does it work tool with high compression ratios & supports a wide range of archive formats. It offers AES-256 encryption to protect sensitive data within archives. Users can utilize the 7-zip command-line interface for automated & scripted extraction tasks.

The following text outlines the process of extracting a .tar.gz file in a Windows environment. Like many archive and compression formats, .tar.gz is an effective way to save storage space and make it easier to send large amounts of data. If you plan to distribute and store .tar.gz files on your website, Kinsta’s managed hosting services can help make the most of your space. Where commands have little (if any) room for typos or omissions, many common errors are the result of small mistakes, misspellings, or incorrect formats.

But it does not compress the data, which results in a larger file size compared to compressed formats. Since Windows doesn’t natively support tar.gz files, you need a third-party tool to open them for you. Most should you invest in bitcoin file extraction applications like 7-Zip or WinZip will get the job done. The size of the files is increasing day by day owing to high quality in everything related to video, audio, document, software, etc.

Popular with Linux users, the TAR.GZ format (TGZ) is often used to package collections of files into a single downloadable. For a more GUI-friendly approach to extracting .tar.gz files, use 7-Zip. The command extracts files to a new directory called example1, which is located in the current directory.

For such scenarios, third-party software like Aryson Archive Recovery software is used. The FileInfo.com team has independently researched the Compressed Tarball file format and Mac, Windows, Linux, and Android apps listed on this page. Our goal is 100% accuracy and we only publish information about file types that we have verified.

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. 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. Alternatively, you can also specify a source and destination file path when using the tar utility. As a result, one isn’t necessarily better than the other — it’s all a matter of application.

Simply add a space-separated list of the files you want to extract. Again, the above commands will extract to the current working directory by default. You can use the -C option to extract to a different directory (in this case, /home/user/files). For sending and storing, both .zip and .tar.gz files will allow you to send relatively large packages as a single file. However, there are some pretty major differences when it comes to accessing data within the files and the compression efficiency. Of course, that’s not to say .tar files are some kind of “lesser” format than .zip.

A “.tar” file is a collection of files compressed into a single file or archive. Short for “Tape ARchive,” the name “TAR” is a throwback to when files were stored on magnetic tape drives. On the other hand, Windows users can rely on third-party file archiver tools like 7-zip or WinRAR to effortlessly extract files. Mac users can also use this command to extract their tar.gz files, though they also have access to a GUI-based method we will discuss in the next section. It’s easy to get confused when navigating between .tar, .tar.gz, and .gz – not to mention zipping and unzipping them.

To access the Windows command line, search for “command prompt” or “cmd” in the search bar. Right-click the first result and select the “Run as administrator” option. Otherwise, keep reading to learn how to unzip .tar.gz files in Linux, macOS, and Windows. It also integrates with the Windows Explorer context menu, which enables users to create and extract archives directly from the right-click menu. You can easily extract .tar.gz files using third-party tools like 7 zip and Winrar on the Windows system. Then we’ll jump into the step-by-step process of unzipping on both Linux and Windows platforms.

In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. After reading this article, you know how to extract or unzip .tar.gz file in Linux using different methods and tools. This error occurs when trying to extract specific files or directories from a .tar.gz file using tar.

Choose whether to unzip to one of the offered locations or define one with the Unzip to… option. Choose Extract Here to extract the file to your current location. A new window opens to manage where and how to extract files.

Some common examples include .tar.bz2 (bzip2), .tar.br (Brotli), and .tar.zst (zstd), among many others. 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. From videos to entire software packages, many files are compressed and stored using the .tar.gz format. While extracting a .tar.gz file isn’t quite as easy as unzipping a .zip, it’s still pretty straightforward. In Linux, users have multiple ways to extract .tar.gz files – through the terminal and graphical file archivers.