GNU tar: Archiving Utility - Name, Synopsis, and Description

TAR(1) GNU TAR Manual TAR(1) NAME tar - an archiving utility SYNOPSIS Traditional usage tar {A|c|d|r|t|u|x}[GnSkUWOmpsMBiajJzZhPlRvwo] [ARG...] UNIX‐style usage tar -A [OPTIONS] ARCHIVE ARCHIVE tar -c [-f ARCHIVE] [OPTIONS] [FILE...] tar -d [-f ARCHIVE] [OPTIONS] [FILE...] tar -t [-f ARCHIVE] [OPTIONS] [MEMBER...] tar -r [-f ARCHIVE] [OPTIONS] [FILE...] tar -u [-f ARCHIVE] [OPTIONS] [FILE...] tar -x [-f ARCHIVE] [OPTIONS] [MEMBER...] GNU‐style usage tar {--catenate|--concatenate} [OPTIONS] ARCHIVE ARCHIVE tar --create [--file ARCHIVE] [OPTIONS] [FILE...] tar {--diff|--compare} [--file ARCHIVE] [OPTIONS] [FILE...] tar --delete [--file ARCHIVE] [OPTIONS] [MEMBER...] tar --append [-f ARCHIVE] [OPTIONS] [FILE...] tar --list [-f ARCHIVE] [OPTIONS] [MEMBER...] tar --test-label [--file ARCHIVE] [OPTIONS] [LABEL...] tar --update [--file ARCHIVE] [OPTIONS] [FILE...] tar --update [-f ARCHIVE] [OPTIONS] [FILE...] tar {--extract|--get} [-f ARCHIVE] [OPTIONS] [MEMBER...] NOTE This manpage is a short description of GNU tar. For a detailed discussion, including examples and usage recommendations, refer to the GNU Tar Manual available in texinfo format. If the info reader and the tar docu‐ mentation are properly installed on your system, the command info tar should give you access to the complete manual. You can also view the manual using the info mode in emacs(1), or find it in various formats online at http://www.gnu.org/software/tar/manual If any discrepancies occur between this manpage and the GNU Tar Manual, the later shall be considered the authoritative source. DESCRIPTION GNU tar is an archiving program designed to store multiple files in a single file (an archive), and to manipulate such archives. The archive can be either a regular file or a device (e.g. a tape drive, hence the name of the program, which stands for tape archiver), which can be located either on the local or on a remote machine. Option styles Options to GNU tar can be given in three different styles. In traditional style, the first argument is a cluster of option letters and all subsequent arguments supply arguments to those options that require them. The arguments are read in the same order as the option letters. Any command line words that remain after all options has been processed are treated as non‐optional arguments: file or archive member names. For example, the c option requires creating the archive, the v option requests the verbose operation, and the f option takes an argument that sets the name of the archive to operate upon. The following command, writ‐ ten in the traditional style, instructs tar to store all files from the directory /etc into the archive file etc.tar verbosely listing the files being archived: tar cfv etc.tar /etc In UNIX or short‐option style, each option letter is prefixed with a single dash, as in other command line utilities. If an option takes argument, the argument follows it, either as a separate command line word, or immediately following the option. However, if the option takes an optional argument, the argument must follow the option letter without any intervening whitespace, as in -g/tmp/snar.db. Any number of options not taking arguments can be clustered together after a single dash, e.g. -vkp. Options that take arguments (whether mandatory or optional), can appear at the end of such a cluster, e.g. -vkpf a.tar. The example command above written in the short‐option style could look like: tar ‐cvf

This document is a man page for the GNU tar archiving utility. It provides the name of the utility, a synopsis of its usage in traditional, UNIX-style, and GNU-style formats, and a description of its basic functionality. GNU tar is used to store multiple files into a single archive, which can be a regular file or a device. The document also explains the different option styles that can be used with GNU tar: traditional, UNIX-style (short options), and GNU-style (long options).