Gzip (used by -z ) often achieves better compression than the standard .zip format.
Always put the -f flag last in the string (e.g., -czf ). tar expects the filename to immediately follow the f .
While zip is common on Windows, tar -z is the standard in Linux for a few key reasons:
: As the gzip utility (denoted by -z ) became more efficient and free of patent restrictions, it largely replaced compress , leading to the .tar.gz or .tgz formats we see today. Common Use Cases in Early Computing Gzip (used by -z ) often achieves better
The command tar -z (often used as tar zcvf or tar zxvf ) combines two distinct operations into one:
If you’ve spent any time in a Linux terminal, you’ve likely encountered files ending in .tar.gz or .tgz . These are "tarballs"—collections of files bundled together and compressed to save space. While the tar command has dozens of flags, the -z option is arguably the most important one for day-to-day file management.
: Automatically pipes that bundle through the gzip compression utility, significantly reducing file size. Historical Significance While zip is common on Windows, tar -z
tarz x backup.tar.gz
By default, the tar (Tape Archive) utility only bundles files together; it does not compress them. A 100MB folder turned into a standard .tar file will still be roughly 100MB.
Here is everything you need to know about using tar -z to create, extract, and manage compressed archives. What does the -z flag actually do? While the tar command has dozens of flags,
On many modern Linux systems (like Ubuntu or Fedora), tar is smart enough to recognize compression automatically. You can often run tar -xf archive.tar.gz (omitting the z ), and it will still work. However, using -z is best practice for script compatibility. Summary Table Compress tar -czf name.tar.gz folder/ Extract tar -xzf name.tar.gz List Files tar -tzf name.tar.gz Extract to Path tar -xzf name.tar.gz -C /path/
tarz() awk '\''print $1'\'')