Contents
What is a .tgz file?
A .tgz file, also known as a tarball, is a specific type of archived file format commonly used in Unix-based systems. It combines multiple files and directories into a single file for easier storage, transportation, and backup purposes. The .tgz file format is a combination of two separate file formats, tar (tape archive) and gzip (GNU zip).
Understanding the basics of the archive format:
Tar: Tar is an archiving utility that collects multiple files and directories into a single file. It does not compress the data on its own, but acts as a container to hold the files together. Tar archives maintain file permissions, ownership, and file hierarchy information, making them ideal for preserving the integrity of the files during storage or transfer.
Gzip: Gzip, on the other hand, is a file compression utility that reduces the size of individual files using the GNU zip algorithm. It compresses the data without any loss of information, making it easier to transfer or store files. Gzip-compressed files commonly have the .gz extension.
When tar and gzip are combined, they create the .tgz file format. The tar command is used to create or extract the archive, while the gzip command compresses or decompresses the data within the archive.
Using .tgz files:
The process of using .tgz files is relatively straightforward. Here are the basic steps:
1. Creating a .tgz file: To create a .tgz file, you can use the tar command with the -czf flags. For example, to create a .tgz file named “archive.tgz” from a directory named “files”, you would run the command:
tar -czf archive.tgz files/
This command will recursively compress all the files and directories within the “files” directory and create a new .tgz file named “archive.tgz”.
2. Extracting a .tgz file: To extract the contents of a .tgz file, you can use the tar command with the -xzf flags. For example, to extract the files from the “archive.tgz” file, you would run the command:
tar -xzf archive.tgz
This command will extract all the files and directories from the “archive.tgz” file and recreate the directory structure as it existed before the compression.
3. Viewing the contents of a .tgz file: To view the contents of a .tgz file without extracting it, you can use the tar command with the -tf flags. For example, to list the contents of the “archive.tgz” file, you would run the command:
tar -tf archive.tgz
This command will display the list of files and directories contained within the “archive.tgz” file.
In conclusion, .tgz files are a popular archive format used in Unix-based systems. They combine the functionality of tar for archiving files and directories and gzip for compressing the data. Understanding how to create, extract, and view the contents of .tgz files can be immensely useful for managing and organizing files in Unix-based systems.
Reference Articles
Read also
[Google Chrome] The definitive solution for right-click translations that no longer come up.