Common usage of Linux file compression tar

1. Create .tar file (uncompressed)

If you want to create an uncompressed archive, you can use the following command:

tar -cvf Archive file name.tar File or directory1 File or directory2 ...

• -c: Create a new archive file.
• -v: Display file information during compression (optional).
• -f: Specify the name of the archive file.

Example:

tar -cvf  /path/to/folder1 /path/to/file1

2. Create . or .tgz file (gzip compression)

When compressing archives with gzip, you can use the following command:

tar -czvf Archive file name. File or directory1 File or directory2 ...

• -z: means using gzip for compression.

Example:

tar -czvf  /path/to/folder1 /path/to/file1

3. Create .tar.bz2 or .tbz2 file (bzip2 compression)

When compressing archives with bzip2, you can use the following command:

tar -cjvf Archive file name.tar.bz2 File or directory1 File or directory2 ...

• -j: means using bzip2 for compression.

Example:

tar -cjvf .bz2 /path/to/folder1 /path/to/file1

4. Create . file (xz compression)

When compressing archives with xz, you can use the following command:

tar -cJvf Archive file name. File or directory1 File or directory2 ...

• -J: means using xz for compression.

Example:

tar -cJvf  /path/to/folder1 /path/to/file1

5. Exclude certain files or directories during compression

If you need to exclude certain files or directories during compression, you can use--excludeParameters:

tar -czvf Archive file name. File or directory --exclude="File or directory to be excluded"

Example:

tar -czvf  /path/to/folder --exclude="/path/to/folder/exclude_dir"

6. Compress a single file

If you only need to compress a single file, you can directly specify the file path:

tar -czvf file name. File path

Example:

tar -czvf  /path/to/

7. Compress all files in the current directory

If you want to compress all files and subdirectories in the current directory, you can use the following command:

tar -czvf Archive file name. .

Things to note

1. File path:Make sure the specified file or directory path is correct.
2. Permissions issues:If a compressed file or directory requires administrator permission, please usesudo。
3. Compression format selection:
   • gzip: The compression speed is fast, but the compression rate is relatively low.
   • bzip2: High compression rate, but slower speed.
   • xz: The highest compression rate, but the slowest speed, suitable for scenarios with high compression rate requirements.
4. View the contents of the compressed file:If you want to view the contents of the compressed file without decompressing, you can use-tParameters:

tar -tzvf Archive file name.

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