Linux: Compression How-to: tar gzip bzip2 xz 7zip rar zip
This page shows you how to decompress or compress file or directory in Linux.
tar archive (.tar)
“tar” is unix standard for archiving a folder. Tar makes a directory into a single file. Tar does not compress.
- To archive a folder, do:
tar cvf new name.tar dirname - To unarchive, do:
tar xvf filename
Here's what the option means:
- x → eXtract
- v → verbose, meaning print out status.
- f → file.
- c → create.
“tar” can untar and decompress in one step:
- To tar and compress with gzip:
tar xvfz filename - To tar and compress with bz2:
tar xvfj filename - To tar and compress with xz:
tar xvfJ filename
gzip compression (.gz)
gzip is unix standard for compressing a single file. gzip is often used together with tar.
- To compress:
gzip filename - Decompress:
gzip -d filenameorgunzip filename
bzip2 compression (.bz2)
Alternative to gzip, for compressing a single file. File size smaller than gzip.
- To compress:
bzip2 filename - Decompress:
bzip2 -d filename
xz compression (.xz)
Alternative to gzip, for compressing a single file. File size smaller than bzip2. xz is derived from 7-zip.
- To compress:
xz filename - Decompress:
unxz filenameorxz -d filename
zip archive (.zip)
ZIP (file format) is for archiving and compressing a folder or single file. Originally from Microsoft Windows world.
- To create archive:
zip -r new name.zip dirname - To extract:
unzip filename
7-zip archive (.7z)
7-zip is for archiving and compressing a folder (similar to zip). Originally from Microsoft Windows world. Compresses the best.
The 7z util can decompress many formats.
- To create archive:
7z a -t7z new name.7z dirname - To extract:
7z e filename
rar archive (.rar .rev .r00 .r01 .r02 …)
RAR (file format) is proprietary, from Windows world. Often used for pirated videos. File extension: {.rar .rev .r00 .r01 .r02 …}.
- To extract rar files, use
7z e filename.
Compression File Size Comparison
- emacs-24.2.tar.gz 49M
- emacs-24.2.tar.bz2 40M
- emacs-24.2.tar.xz 33M