| tar - The GNU version of the tar archiving utility |
| tar [ - ] A --catenate --concatenate | c --create | d --diff --compare | r --append | t --list | u --update | x -extract --get [ --atime-preserve ] [ -b, --block-size N ] [ -B, --read-full-blocks ] [ -C, --directory DIR ] [ --checkpoint ] [ -f, --file [HOSTNAME:]F ] [ --force-local ] [ -F, --info-script F --new-volume-script F ] [ -G, --incremental ] [ -g, --listed-incremental F ] [ -h, --dereference ] [ -i, --ignore-zeros ] [ -j, -I, --bzip ] [ --ignore-failed-read ] [ -k, --keep-old-files ] [ -K, --starting-file F ] [ -l, --one-file-system ] [ -L, --tape-length N ] [ -m, --modification-time ] [ -M, --multi-volume ] [ -N, --after-date DATE, --newer DATE ] [ -o, --old-archive, --portability ] [ -O, --to-stdout ] [ -p, --same-permissions, --preserve-permissions ] [ -P, --absolute-paths ] [ --preserve ] [ -R, --record-number ] [ --remove-files ] [ -s, --same-order, --preserve-order ] [ --same-owner ] [ -S, --sparse ] [ -T, --files-from=F ] [ --null ] [ --totals ] [ -v, --verbose ] [ -V, --label NAME ] [ --version ] [ -w, --interactive, --confirmation ] [ -W, --verify ] [ --exclude FILE ] [ -X, --exclude-from FILE ] [ -Z, --compress, --uncompress ] [ -z, --gzip, --ungzip ] [ --use-compress-program PROG ] [ --block-compress ] [ -[0-7][lmh] ] |
| filename1 [ filename2, ... filenameN ] |
| directory1 [ directory2, ...directoryN ] |
| This manual page documents the GNU version of tar , an archiving program designed to store and extract files from an archive file known as a tarfile. A tarfile may be made on a tape drive, however, it is also common to write a tarfile to a normal file. The first argument to tar must be one of the options: Acdrtux, followed by any optional functions. The final arguments to tar are the names of the files or directories which should be archived. The use of a directory name always implies that the subdirectories below should be included in the archive. |
| One of the following options must be used: |
| -A, --catenate, --concatenate |
| append tar files to an archive |
| -c, --create |
| create a new archive |
| -d, --diff, --compare |
| find differences between archive and file system |
| --delete |
| delete from the archive (not for use on mag tapes!) |
| -r, --append |
| append files to the end of an archive |
| -t, --list |
| list the contents of an archive |
| -u, --update |
| only append files that are newer than copy in archive |
| -x, --extract, --get |
| extract files from an archive |
| --atime-preserve |
| don't change access times on dumped files |
| -b, --block-size N |
| block size of Nx512 bytes (default N=20) |
| -B, --read-full-blocks |
| reblock as we read (for reading 4.2BSD pipes) |
| -C, --directory DIR |
| change to directory DIR |
| --checkpoint |
| print directory names while reading the archive |
| -f, --file [HOSTNAME:]F |
| use archive file or device F (default /dev/rmt0) |
| --force-local |
| archive file is local even if has a colon |
| -F, --info-script F --new-volume-script F |
| run script at end of each tape (implies -M) |
| -G, --incremental |
| create/list/extract old GNU-format incremental backup |
| -g, --listed-incremental F |
| create/list/extract new GNU-format incremental backup |
| -h, --dereference |
| don't dump symlinks; dump the files they point to |
| -i, --ignore-zeros |
| ignore blocks of zeros in archive (normally mean EOF) |
| -j, -I, --bzip |
| filter the archive through bzip2. Note: -I is deprecated and may get a different meaning in the near future. |
| --ignore-failed-read |
| don't exit with non-zero status on unreadable files |
| -k, --keep-old-files |
| keep existing files; don't overwrite them from archive |
| -K, --starting-file F |
| begin at file F in the archive |
| -l, --one-file-system |
| stay in local file system when creating an archive |
| -L, --tape-length N |
| change tapes after writing N*1024 bytes |
| -m, --modification-time |
| don't extract file modified time |
| -M, --multi-volume |
| create/list/extract multi-volume archive |
| -N, --after-date DATE, --newer DATE |
| only store files newer than DATE |
| -o, --old-archive, --portability |
| write a V7 format archive, rather than ANSI format |
| -O, --to-stdout |
| extract files to standard output |
| -p, --same-permissions, --preserve-permissions |
| extract all protection information |
| -P, --absolute-paths |
| don't strip leading `/'s from file names |
| --preserve |
| like -p -s |
| -R, --record-number |
| show record number within archive with each message |
| --remove-files |
| remove files after adding them to the archive |
| -s, --same-order, --preserve-order |
| list of names to extract is sorted to match archive |
| --same-owner |
| create extracted files with the same ownership |
| -S, --sparse |
| handle sparse files efficiently |
| -T, --files-from=F |
| get names to extract or create from file F |
| --null |
| -T reads null-terminated names, disable -C |
| --totals |
| print total bytes written with --create |
| -v, --verbose |
| verbosely list files processed |
| -V, --label NAME |
| create archive with volume name NAME |
| --version |
| print tar program version number |
| -w, --interactive, --confirmation |
| ask for confirmation for every action |
| -W, --verify |
| attempt to verify the archive after writing it |
| --exclude FILE |
| exclude file FILE |
| -X, --exclude-from FILE |
| exclude files listed in FILE |
| -Z, --compress, --uncompress |
| filter the archive through compress |
| -z, --gzip, --ungzip |
| filter the archive through gzip |
| --use-compress-program PROG |
| filter the archive through PROG (which must accept -d) |