How to Extract Compressed Files using tar Command

Files and Directories

How to Extract Compressed Files using the tar Command in Linux

Hey there, and welcome to this hands-on Linux tutorial from ProgramGuru.org! 👋

Today, we're going to walk through one of the most common tasks every Linux user faces — extracting compressed files using the tar command.

We’ll look at how to handle different archive formats like:

  • .tar – just an archive, no compression
  • .tar.gz or .tgz – archive + gzip compression
  • .tar.bz2 – archive + bzip2 compression

Let’s get started!

🛠️ 1. Extracting a .tar file

Imagine you’ve downloaded a file called project.tar. This file is just a collection of files bundled together without compression.

To extract it, run:

tar -xvf project.tar

Let’s break it down:

  • -x means extract
  • -v stands for verbose (shows progress)
  • -f specifies the file name to work with

Here's what the output might look like:

file1.txt
file2.txt
images/
images/logo.png

🛠️ 2. Extracting a .tar.gz or .tgz file

These files are archived and compressed using gzip. The command is just as simple:

tar -xvzf project.tar.gz

Or if the file is named project.tgz:

tar -xvzf project.tgz

Here’s the output:

project/
project/main.cpp
project/README.md

And again, here’s what the options mean:

  • -z tells tar to use gzip
  • -xvzf is the usual combo to extract and see progress

🛠️ 3. Extracting a .tar.bz2 file

If your file uses bzip2 compression, like project.tar.bz2, you’ll need to use the -j flag:

tar -xvjf project.tar.bz2

That tells tar to use bzip2 while extracting.

project/
project/index.html
project/style.css

📁 Optional: Extract to a Specific Directory

Want to extract files to a custom folder? Use the -C option:

tar -xvzf project.tar.gz -C /home/yourname/projects/

✅ Summary

Here’s a quick cheat sheet:

  • tar -xvf file.tar – extract .tar
  • tar -xvzf file.tar.gz – extract .tar.gz or .tgz
  • tar -xvjf file.tar.bz2 – extract .tar.bz2

And that’s it! You've now mastered the basics of extracting compressed files using tar in Linux.

Thanks for learning with us at ProgramGuru.org. If this was helpful, be sure to check out our other beginner-friendly Linux guides. 🚀