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Compression (Tar, Bzip2, Gzip, Zip)

Varribles in Code are marked as CAPITAL LETTERS.

tar​

tip

Command parameter structure: 'tar (usually -Action+Format+f)'

Query​

# List File(s) in the Archive
tar -tf ARCHIVE
# List File(s) in the Archive & Permissions/Owner/Date
tar -tvf ARCHIVE

tar​

tar -cf FILE.tar FILE
tar -xf FILE.tar ASSIGNED_FILE (-C OUTPUT_DIRECTORY)

tar.GZ [-z]​

tar -czf FILE.tar.gz FILE
tar -xzf FILE.tar.gz ASSIGNED_FILE (-C OUTPUT_DIRECTORY)

tar.BZ2 [-j]​

tar -cjf FILE.tar.bz2 FILE
tar -xjf FILE.tar.bz2 ASSIGNED_FILE (-C OUTPUT_DIRECTORY)

tar.XZ [-J]​

tar -cJf FILE.tar.xz FILE
tar -xJf FILE.tar.xz ASSIGNED_FILE (-C OUTPUT_DIRECTORY)
Explanation of Parameters
  • -c: Create
  • -x: Decompress
  • -f: Followed by the files to be processed
  • -t: Show contents in the archive
  • -r: Add file(s) to a tarball
  • -u: Update files in the archive
  • -v: Show all progress
  • -f: Assign an archive
  • -C: Change to a specific directory
  • -P: Preserve properties and permissions
  • -N: Save only files newer than DATE-OR-FILE
  • --exclude=FILE: Exclude FILE
  • --remove-files: Add then remove source files

Bzip2​

warning

If need to RETAIN the original file(s), add parameter "-k" or "--keep"

bzip2 -c FILE
bzip2 FILE.bz2

Gzip​

warning

Single file only. Will NOT retain the original file(s)!

gzip FILE.gz
gunzip FILE.gz

Zip​

zip FILE.zip FILE
unzip FILE.zip