1TAR(1)                                tar                               TAR(1)
2
3
4

NAME

6       tar - The GNU version of the tar archiving utility
7

SYNOPSIS

9       tar <operation> [options]
10
11       Operations:
12       [-]A --catenate --concatenate
13       [-]c --create
14       [-]d --diff --compare
15       [-]r --append
16       [-]t --list
17       [-]u --update
18       [-]x --extract --get
19       --delete
20
21       Common Options:
22       -C, --directory DIR
23       -f, --file F
24       -j, --bzip2
25       -p, --preserve-permissions
26       -v, --verbose
27       -z, --gzip
28
29       All Options:
30       [  --atime-preserve  ]  [  -b, --blocking-factor N ] [ -B, --read-full-
31       records ] [ --backup BACKUP-TYPE ] [ --block-compress ] [ -C,  --direc‐
32       tory DIR ] [ --check-links ] [ --checkpoint ] [ -f, --file [HOSTNAME:]F
33       ] [ -F, --info-script F --new-volume-script F ] [ --force-local    ]  [
34       --format  FORMAT ] [ -g, --listed-incremental F ] [ -G, --incremental ]
35       [ --group GROUP ] [ -h, --dereference ] [ --help ] [ -i, --ignore-zeros
36       ]  [  --ignore-case  ] [ --ignore-failed-read ] [ --index-file FILE ] [
37       -j, --bzip2 ] [ -k, --keep-old-files ] [  -K,  --starting-file  F  ]  [
38       --keep-newer-files  ] [ -l, --one-file-system ] [ -L, --tape-length N ]
39       [ -m, --touch, --modification-time ] [ -M, --multi-volume  ]  [  --mode
40       PERMISSIONS  ]  [ -N, --after-date DATE, --newer DATE ] [ --newer-mtime
41       DATE ] [ --no-anchored ] [ --no-ignore-case  ]  [  --no-recursion  ]  [
42       --no-same-permissions ] [ --no-wildcards ] [ --no-wildcards-match-slash
43       ] [ --null     ] [ --numeric-owner ] [ -o,  --old-archive,  --portabil‐
44       ity,  --no-same-owner  ]  [  -O,  --to-stdout  ] [ --occurrence NUM ] [
45       --overwrite ] [ --overwrite-dir ] [ --owner USER ] [ -p, --same-permis‐
46       sions, --preserve-permissions ] [ -P, --absolute-names ] [ --pax-option
47       KEYWORD-LIST ] [ --posix ] [ --preserve ] [ --acls ] [  --selinux  ]  [
48       --xattrs  ]  [  --no-acls  ]  [  --no-selinux  ]  [ --no-xattrs ] [ -R,
49       --block-number ] [ --record-size SIZE ] [ --recursion ] [  --recursive-
50       unlink ] [ --remove-files ] [ --rmt-command CMD ] [ --rsh-command CMD ]
51       [ -s, --same-order, --preserve-order ] [ -S, --sparse ] [  --same-owner
52       ] [ --show-defaults ] [ --show-omitted-dirs ] [ --strip-components NUM‐
53       BER, --strip-path NUMBER (1) ] [ --suffix SUFFIX ] [ -T, --files-from F
54       ] [ --totals   ] [ -U, --unlink-first ] [ --use-compress-program PROG ]
55       [ --utc ] [ -v, --verbose ] [ -V, --label  NAME  ]  [  --version   ]  [
56       --volno-file F ] [ -w, --interactive, --confirmation ] [ -W, --verify ]
57       [ --wildcards ] [ --wildcards-match-slash ] [ --exclude PATTERN ] [ -X,
58       --exclude-from  FILE  ]  [ -Z, --compress, --uncompress ] [ -z, --gzip,
59       --gunzip, --ungzip ] [ -[0-7][lmh] ]
60
61       (1) tar-1.14 uses --strip-path, tar-1.14.90+ uses --strip-components
62

DESCRIPTION

64       This manual page documents the GNU version of tar, an archiving program
65       designed  to  store  and  extract files from an archive file known as a
66       tarfile.  A tarfile may be made on a tape drive, however,  it  is  also
67       common  to write a tarfile to a normal file.  The first argument to tar
68       must be one of the options Acdrtux, followed by any optional functions.
69       The  final  arguments  to tar are the names of the files or directories
70       which should be archived.  The use of a directory name  always  implies
71       that the subdirectories below should be included in the archive.
72

EXAMPLES

74       tar -xvf foo.tar
75              verbosely extract foo.tar
76
77       tar -xzf foo.tar.gz
78              extract gzipped foo.tar.gz
79
80       tar -cjf foo.tar.bz2 bar/
81              create   bzipped   tar  archive  of  the  directory  bar  called
82              foo.tar.bz2
83
84       tar -xjf foo.tar.bz2 -C bar/
85              extract bzipped foo.tar.bz2 after changing directory to bar
86
87       tar -xzf foo.tar.gz blah.txt
88              extract the file blah.txt from foo.tar.gz
89

FUNCTION LETTERS

91       One of the following options must be used:
92
93       -A, --catenate, --concatenate
94              append tar files to an archive
95
96       -c, --create
97              create a new archive
98
99       -d, --diff, --compare
100              find differences between archive and file system
101
102       -r, --append
103              append files to the end of an archive
104
105       -t, --list
106              list the contents of an archive
107
108       -u, --update
109              only append files that are newer than the existing in archive
110
111       -x, --extract, --get
112              extract files from an archive
113
114       --delete
115              delete from the archive (not for use on mag tapes!)
116

COMMON OPTIONS

118       -C, --directory DIR
119              change to directory DIR
120
121       -f, --file [HOSTNAME:]F
122              use archive file or device F (default "-", meaning stdin/stdout)
123
124       -j, --bzip2
125              filter archive through bzip2, use to decompress .bz2 files
126
127       -p, --preserve-permissions
128              extract all protection information
129
130       -v, --verbose
131              verbosely list files processed
132
133       -z, --gzip, --ungzip
134              filter the archive through gzip
135

ALL OPTIONS

137       --atime-preserve
138              don't change access times on dumped files
139
140       -b, --blocking-factor N
141              block size of Nx512 bytes (default N=20)
142
143       -B, --read-full-blocks
144              reblock as we read (for reading 4.2BSD pipes)
145
146       --backup BACKUP-TYPE
147              backup files instead of deleting them using  BACKUP-TYPE  simple
148              or numbered
149
150       --block-compress
151              block the output of compression program for tapes
152
153       -C, --directory DIR
154              change to directory DIR
155
156       --check-links
157              warn  if number of hard links to the file on the filesystem mis‐
158              match the number of links recorded in the archive
159
160       --checkpoint
161              print directory names while reading the archive
162
163       -f, --file [HOSTNAME:]F
164              use archive file or device F (default "-", meaning stdin/stdout)
165
166       -F, --info-script F --new-volume-script F
167              run script at end of each tape (implies --multi-volume)
168
169       --force-local
170              archive file is local even if has a colon
171
172       --format FORMAT
173              selects output archive format
174              v7 - Unix V7
175              oldgnu - GNU tar <=1.12
176              gnu - GNU tar 1.13
177              ustar - POSIX.1-1988
178              posix - POSIX.1-2001
179
180       -g, --listed-incremental F
181              create/list/extract new GNU-format incremental backup
182
183       -G, --incremental
184              create/list/extract old GNU-format incremental backup
185
186       -h, --dereference
187              don't dump symlinks; dump the files they point to
188
189       --help like this manpage, but not as cool
190
191       -i, --ignore-zeros
192              ignore blocks of zeros in archive (normally mean EOF)
193
194       --ignore-case
195              ignore case when excluding files
196
197       --ignore-failed-read
198              don't exit with non-zero status on unreadable files
199
200       --index-file FILE
201              send verbose output to FILE instead of stdout
202
203       -j, --bzip2
204              filter archive through bzip2, use to decompress .bz2 files
205
206       -k, --keep-old-files
207              keep existing files; don't overwrite them from archive
208
209       -K, --starting-file F
210              begin at file F in the archive
211
212       --keep-newer-files
213              do not overwrite files which are newer than the archive
214
215       -l, --one-file-system
216              stay in local file system when creating an archive
217
218       -L, --tape-length N
219              change tapes after writing N*1024 bytes
220
221       -m, --touch, --modification-time
222              don't extract file modified time
223
224       -M, --multi-volume
225              create/list/extract multi-volume archive
226
227       --mode PERMISSIONS
228              apply PERMISSIONS while adding files (see chmod(1))
229
230       -N, --after-date DATE, --newer DATE
231              only store files newer than DATE
232
233       --newer-mtime DATE
234              like --newer, but with a DATE
235
236       --no-anchored
237              match any subsequenceof the name's components with --exclude
238
239       --no-ignore-case
240              use case-sensitive matching with --exclude
241
242       --no-recursion
243              don't recurse into directories
244
245       --no-same-permissions
246              apply user's umask when extracting  files  instead  of  recorded
247              permissions
248
249       --no-wildcards
250              don't use wildcards with --exclude
251
252       --no-wildcards-match-slash
253              wildcards do not match slashes (/) with --exclude
254
255       --null --files-from reads null-terminated names, disable --directory
256
257       --numeric-owner
258              always use numbers for user/group names
259
260       -o, --old-archive, --portability
261              like --format=v7; -o exhibits this behavior when creating an ar‐
262              chive (deprecated behavior)
263
264       -o, --no-same-owner
265              do not attempt to restore ownership when extracting; -o exhibits
266              this behavior when extracting an archive
267
268       -O, --to-stdout
269              extract files to standard output
270
271       --occurrence NUM
272              process  only  NUM  occurrences  of  each  named file; used with
273              --delete, --diff, --extract, or --list
274
275       --overwrite
276              overwrite existing files and directory metadata when extracting
277
278       --overwrite-dir
279              overwrite directory metadata when extracting
280
281       --owner USER
282              change owner of extraced files to USER
283
284       -p, --same-permissions, --preserve-permissions
285              extract all protection information
286
287       -P, --absolute-names
288              don't strip leading `/'s from file names
289
290       --pax-option KEYWORD-LIST
291              used only with POSIX.1-2001 archives to modify the way tar  han‐
292              dles extended header keywords
293
294       --posix
295              like --format=posix
296
297       --preserve
298              like --preserve-permissions --same-order
299
300       --acls this option causes tar to store each file's ACLs in the archive.
301
302       --selinux
303              this  option  causes  tar  to store each file's SELinux security
304              context information in the archive.
305
306       --xattrs
307              this option causes tar to store each file's extended  attributes
308              in  the archive. This option also enables --acls and--selinux if
309              they haven't been set already, due to the fact that the data for
310              those are stored in special xattrs.
311
312       --no-acls
313              This  option causes tar not to store each file's ACLs in the ar‐
314              chive and not to extract any ACL information in an archive.
315
316       --no-selinux
317              this option causes tar not to store each file's SELinux security
318              context  information  in  the  archive  and  not  to extract any
319              SELinux information in an archive.
320
321       --no-xattrs
322              this option  causes  tar  not  to  store  each  file's  extended
323              attributes  in  the  archive  and  not  to  extract any extended
324              attributes in an archive. This option also enables --no-acls and
325              --no-selinux if they haven't been set already.
326
327       -R, --record-number
328              show record number within archive with each message
329
330       --record-size SIZE
331              use SIZE bytes per record when accessing archives
332
333       --recursion
334              recurse into directories
335
336       --recursive-unlink
337              remove existing directories before extracting directories of the
338              same name
339
340       --remove-files
341              remove files after adding them to the archive
342
343       --rmt-command CMD
344              use CMD instead of the default /usr/sbin/rmt
345
346       --rsh-command CMD
347              use remote CMD instead of rsh(1)
348
349       -s, --same-order, --preserve-order
350              list of names to extract is sorted to match archive
351
352       -S, --sparse
353              handle sparse files efficiently
354
355       --same-owner
356              create extracted files with the same ownership
357
358       --show-defaults
359              display the default options used by tar
360
361       --show-omitted-dirs
362              print directories tar skips while operating on an archive
363
364       --strip-components NUMBER, --strip-path NUMBER
365              strip NUMBER  of  leading  components  from  file  names  before
366              extraction
367
368              (1) tar-1.14 uses --strip-path, tar-1.14.90+ uses --strip-compo‐
369              nents
370
371       --suffix SUFFIX
372              use SUFFIX instead of default '~' when backing up files
373
374       -T, --files-from F
375              get names to extract or create from file F
376
377       --totals
378              print total bytes written with --create
379
380       -U, --unlink-first
381              remove existing files before extracting files of the same name
382
383       --use-compress-program PROG
384              access the archive through PROG which is generally a compression
385              program
386
387       --utc  display file modification dates in UTC
388
389       -v, --verbose
390              verbosely list files processed
391
392       -V, --label NAME
393              create archive with volume name NAME
394
395       --version
396              print tar program version number
397
398       --volno-file F
399              keep track of which volume of a multi-volume archive its working
400              in FILE; used with --multi-volume
401
402       -w, --interactive, --confirmation
403              ask for confirmation for every action
404
405       -W, --verify
406              attempt to verify the archive after writing it
407
408       --wildcards
409              use wildcards with --exclude
410
411       --wildcards-match-slash
412              wildcards match slashes (/) with --exclude
413
414       --exclude PATTERN
415              exclude files based upon PATTERN
416
417       -X, --exclude-from FILE
418              exclude files listed in FILE
419
420       -Z, --compress, --uncompress
421              filter the archive through compress
422
423       -z, --gzip, --gunzip, --ungzip
424              filter the archive through gzip
425
426       --use-compress-program PROG
427              filter the archive through PROG (which must accept -d)
428
429       -[0-7][lmh]
430              specify drive and density
431

BUGS

433       The GNU folks, in general, abhor man pages, and create  info  documents
434       instead.   The  maintainer  of tar falls into this category.  Thus this
435       man page may not be complete, nor current, and was included in the  Red
436       Hat  CVS  tree because man is a great tool :).  This man page was first
437       taken from Debian Linux and has since been loving updated here.
438

REPORTING BUGS

440       Please report bugs via https://bugzilla.redhat.com
441

SEE ALSO

443       The full documentation for tar is maintained as a Texinfo  manual.   If
444       the info and tar programs are properly installed at your site, the com‐
445       mand
446
447              info tar
448
449       should give you access to the complete manual.
450

AUTHORS

452       Debian Linux http://www.debian.org/
453       Mike Frysinger <vapier@gentoo.org>
454
455
456
457GNU                                Oct 2004                             TAR(1)
Impressum