Short for “Tape ARchive,” the name “TAR” is a throwback to when files were stored on magnetic tape drives. On the other hand, Windows users can rely on third-party file archiver cryptocurrency payment gateway tools like 7-zip or WinRAR to effortlessly extract files. In most platforms, the chances are that you already possess the right application to extract and open TGZ files. Linux, of course, can open these files natively, while most Mac and Windows computers have software like the Unarchiver or 7-Zip installed on them.
Tar GZ and Linux
Once you’ve done this successfully, you’ll notice that the icon for tar.gz files will change to a 7-Zip icon. While WinZip does not create Tar GZ files, it does create Zip files. Zip files are similar to Tar GZ files and have many of the same benefits and more accessibility. Once you choose the directory, click the Select button in the top right corner.
Manual approach to open tar.gz file in Windows 10
While Tar GZ can be opened and used on Windows and macOS with WinZip, you’re much more likely to spot the Tar GZ file format on Linux operating systems. The command extracts files to a new directory called example1, which is located in the current directory. In this guide, you will learn how to extract or unzip .tar.gz files in Linux. You can also use The Unarchiver, which is a free tool for managing archives, functions just like the Archive Utility, and supports .rar files as well.
- While there are many tools to choose from, the most popular include 7-Zip and WinZip.
- Unlike Windows’ convenient graphical user interface (GUI) for unzipping .zip files, you need to use the tar utility through the command line.
- In most platforms, the chances are that you already possess the right application to extract and open TGZ files.
- In other words, .zip files are a collection of compressed files, while .tar files are a compressed collection of files.
How to Open Tar.gz File in Windows 10
Since .tar.gz compresses multiple files all at once, it can take advantage of similarities between individual files to save on space. Generally speaking, a collection of files archived and compressed as a .tar.gz are more space-efficient (i.e., smaller) than the same collection compressed as a .zip. Though gzip is the most common compression utility, it’s not the only one.
It is android app development course with java germany useful to note that tar doesn’t compress the files in question, only packages them. Indeed, sometimes the resulting tarball can be of greater size due to padding. If the command line isn’t your thing, there are plenty of user-friendly tools available to unzip tar.gz files. Thankfully, you don’t need to be a 1960s computer technician to use and extract .tar files – nor do modern .tar files even have anything to do with old computers. Compressing and extracting these files, however, isn’t always intuitive.
Though we mostly focus on .tar.gz files, check out the end of the article for some quick tips on extracting .tar files in other formats. Where most operating systems make it easy to extract and create .zip files, the same can’t really be said for .tar files — at least not in ways that are easy to notice. Unlike Windows’ convenient graphical user interface (GUI) for unzipping .zip files, you need to use the tar utility through the command line. However, there are also many third-party tools you can install for a more user-friendly experience.
Gzip (denoted by a .gz file extension) is a compressed file format used to archive data to take up smaller space. Gzip uses the same compression algorithm as the more commonly known zip but can only be used on a single file. In short, Gzip compresses all the individual files and tar packages them in a single archive. WinRAR is a popular file compression & archive utility software.
An advantage of this method is that it can be used on any operating system, whether Windows or Mac, without worrying about native support. If you plan to distribute and store .tar.gz files on your website, Kinsta’s managed hosting services can help make the most of your space. That means users can download and use it for free during a trial period. Also, its trial version does not have time limitations, and users can still use it even after the trial period has expired, with occasional reminders to purchase the license. Tar.gz has become the standard format used for distributing Linux and open source software since it’s easy to extract on basically any platform that isn’t Windows.
It allows users to create, view, and extract files in various archive formats, including its native .RAR format as well as other common formats like .ZIP, .7z, ISO, .TAR, and more. Mac’s native archive utility supports the file format as well, which means you can just double-click on the tar.gz file in how to buy bitcoin for the first time question to extract it. Of course, if that doesn’t work (or you just prefer a GUI tool), you can always download Unarchiver and use it to extract any type of archive files, including gzipped tarballs. A tar file, often called a tarball, is a collection of files wrapped up in one single file for easy storage. Rather than keep track of a whole folder of files, you only need to keep track of one.
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