Archive

This guide covers common file archiving and compression techniques in Linux systems.

📦 tar (Tape Archive)

Basic tar Operations

# Create tar archive
tar -cf archive.tar files/          # Create archive
tar -czf archive.tar.gz files/      # Create compressed archive (gzip)
tar -cjf archive.tar.bz2 files/     # Create compressed archive (bzip2)
tar -cJf archive.tar.xz files/      # Create compressed archive (xz)

# Extract tar archive
tar -xf archive.tar                 # Extract archive
tar -xzf archive.tar.gz             # Extract gzip archive
tar -xjf archive.tar.bz2            # Extract bzip2 archive
tar -xJf archive.tar.xz             # Extract xz archive

# List contents
tar -tf archive.tar                 # List contents without extracting
tar -tvf archive.tar                # Verbose listing

Common tar Options

• -c: Create archive

• -x: Extract archive

• -f: Specify filename

• -v: Verbose output

• -z: Use gzip compression

• -j: Use bzip2 compression

• -J: Use xz compression

• -t: List contents

• -p: Preserve permissions

🗜️ Compression Tools

gzip

# Compress file
gzip file.txt                       # Creates file.txt.gz
gzip -k file.txt                    # Keep original file

# Decompress file
gunzip file.txt.gz
gzip -d file.txt.gz

bzip2

# Compress file
bzip2 file.txt                      # Creates file.txt.bz2
bzip2 -k file.txt                   # Keep original file

# Decompress file
bunzip2 file.txt.bz2
bzip2 -d file.txt.bz2

xz

# Compress file
xz file.txt                         # Creates file.txt.xz
xz -k file.txt                      # Keep original file

# Decompress file
unxz file.txt.xz
xz -d file.txt.xz

📊 Compression Comparison

Tool	Speed	Compression Ratio	File Extension
gzip	Fast	Good	.gz
bzip2	Slower	Better	.bz2
xz	Slowest	Best	.xz

🔄 Working with zip Files

# Create zip archive
zip archive.zip files/              # Create archive
zip -r archive.zip directory/       # Include subdirectories

# Extract zip archive
unzip archive.zip                   # Extract archive
unzip -l archive.zip               # List contents

💡 Best Practices

1. Choose the Right Tool

   • Use tar for preserving permissions and directory structure

   • Use gzip for quick compression

   • Use xz for best compression ratio

   • Use zip for cross-platform compatibility

2. Backup Before Extraction

   • Always verify archive contents before extracting

   • Use -t option with tar to test archive integrity

   • Extract to temporary directory first

3. Preserve Metadata

   • Use -p with tar to preserve permissions

   • Use -a to preserve access times

   • Consider using --xattrs for extended attributes

🚀 Advanced Usage

Creating Encrypted Archives

# Using zip with encryption
zip -e secure.zip files/

# Using tar with gpg
tar -czf - files/ | gpg -c > secure.tar.gz.gpg

Excluding Files

# Exclude specific files/patterns
tar -czf archive.tar.gz --exclude='*.log' --exclude='temp/' directory/

Incremental Backup

# Create snapshot file
tar -czf backup.tar.gz -g snapshot.file directory/

# Create incremental backup
tar -czf backup-inc.tar.gz -g snapshot.file directory/