How to Untar tgz Files on Linux

When you need to extract the contents of a tgz file on your Linux system, there are several ways to do it. In this article, we will explore the various methods for untaring tgz files and provide examples of how to use them.

A typical tgz file contains multiple files and directories that can be listed using the `tar` command with the `-xvf` options. The `-x` option tells `tar` to extract the contents of the archive, while the `-v` option specifies verbose mode and displays the progress of the extraction process. The `-f` option specifies the name of the file to extract.

For example, you can use the following command to list the contents of a tgz file:

```

$ tar -xvf /home/ismail/Downloads/Broadhapmap3r2Affy6celsexcluded.tgz

```

If you want to specify a different directory to untar the archive, you can use the `-C` option followed by the path of the directory. For example:

```

$ tar -xvf /home/ismail/Downloads/Broadhapmap3r2Affy6celsexcluded.tgz -C /path/to/directory

```

By default, `tar` extracts files to the current working directory. If you want to extract files to a different location, you can specify the path using the `-C` option.

The tgz file is just one of many compression formats that `tar` supports. You can also use `bz2`, `lzma`, and other algorithms to compress your tar archives.

For example, if you have a tar.bz2 file named `GIGAS.tgz`, you can extract it using the following command:

```

$ tar -jxvf GIGAS.tgz

```

In this case, the `-j` option specifies that the archive is compressed with bzip2.

If you want to extract multiple tgz files at once, you can use a loop and specify the path of each file in the loop. For example:

```

$ for file in /path/to/*.tgz; do tar -xvf $file; done

```

This command will extract all the tgz files in the specified directory.

In conclusion, `tar` is a powerful tool that can be used to create and extract tar archives on your Linux system. With the various options available, you can customize the extraction process to suit your needs.

Tgz untar linux