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Archive commands provide tools for creating, extracting, and managing compressed file archives.

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Archive Creation and Extraction

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tar

Create, extract, and list tar archives. Usage: tar [options] -f archive [files...] Options:
  • -c - Create archive
  • -x - Extract archive
  • -t - List archive contents
  • -z - Compress/decompress with gzip
  • -v - Verbose output
  • -f file - Archive filename
  • -C dir - Change to directory before operation
Examples: 
# Create archive
tar -cf archive.tar file1.txt file2.txt

# Create with verbose output
tar -cvf archive.tar documents/

# Create compressed archive
tar -czf archive.tar.gz directory/

# Extract archive
tar -xf archive.tar

# Extract compressed archive
tar -xzf archive.tar.gz

# Extract to specific directory
tar -xf archive.tar -C /tmp/

# List contents
tar -tf archive.tar

# List compressed archive
tar -tzf archive.tar.gz
Output examples: 
$ tar -czf backup.tar.gz documents/
$ ls -lh backup.tar.gz
-rw-r--r-- 1 user user 1.2M Mar 01 12:30 backup.tar.gz

$ tar -tzf backup.tar.gz
documents/
documents/file1.txt
documents/file2.txt
documents/subfolder/
documents/subfolder/file3.txt
Common tar patterns: 
# Backup with timestamp
tar -czf backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /home/user/

# Exclude files
tar -czf archive.tar.gz --exclude='*.log' project/

# Preserve permissions
tar -czpf archive.tar.gz directory/

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Gzip Compression

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gzip

Compress files using gzip algorithm. Usage: gzip [options] [file...] Options:
  • -d - Decompress (same as gunzip)
  • -c - Write to stdout, keep original
  • -k - Keep original file
  • -9 - Maximum compression
  • -1 - Fast compression
Examples: 
# Compress file
gzip file.txt
# Creates: file.txt.gz (removes original)

# Keep original
gzip -k file.txt

# Maximum compression
gzip -9 file.txt

# Compress to stdout
gzip -c file.txt > file.txt.gz

# Compress multiple files
gzip file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt
Output example: 
$ ls -lh
-rw-r--r-- 1 user user 10M Mar 01 12:00 largefile.txt

$ gzip largefile.txt

$ ls -lh
-rw-r--r-- 1 user user 2.1M Mar 01 12:00 largefile.txt.gz

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gunzip

Decompress gzip files. Usage: gunzip [options] [file...] Options:
  • -c - Write to stdout, keep original
  • -k - Keep original file
Examples: 
# Decompress file
gunzip file.txt.gz
# Creates: file.txt (removes .gz)

# Keep compressed file
gunzip -k file.txt.gz

# Decompress to stdout
gunzip -c file.txt.gz

# Decompress multiple files
gunzip file1.txt.gz file2.txt.gz
Output example: 
$ ls
archive.txt.gz

$ gunzip archive.txt.gz

$ ls
archive.txt

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Zip Archives

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zip

Package and compress files in zip format. Usage: zip [options] archive.zip [files...] Options:
  • -r - Recurse into directories
  • -q - Quiet mode
  • -9 - Maximum compression
  • -u - Update existing archive
  • -d - Delete entries from archive
Examples: 
# Create zip archive
zip archive.zip file1.txt file2.txt

# Zip directory recursively
zip -r archive.zip documents/

# Maximum compression
zip -9 -r archive.zip project/

# Add files to existing archive
zip archive.zip newfile.txt

# Update archive
zip -u archive.zip modified.txt

# Quiet mode
zip -q -r backup.zip /home/user/
Output example: 
$ zip -r project.zip myproject/
  adding: myproject/ (stored 0%)
  adding: myproject/index.js (deflated 45%)
  adding: myproject/package.json (deflated 32%)
  adding: myproject/README.md (deflated 51%)

$ ls -lh project.zip
-rw-r--r-- 1 user user 45K Mar 01 12:30 project.zip

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unzip

Extract compressed zip files. Usage: unzip [options] archive.zip [files...] Options:
  • -d dir - Extract to directory
  • -l - List archive contents
  • -o - Overwrite files without prompting
  • -q - Quiet mode
Examples: 
# Extract archive
unzip archive.zip

# Extract to specific directory
unzip archive.zip -d /tmp/extract/

# List contents without extracting
unzip -l archive.zip

# Extract specific file
unzip archive.zip file.txt

# Overwrite existing files
unzip -o archive.zip

# Quiet mode
unzip -q archive.zip
Output examples: 
$ unzip archive.zip
Archive:  archive.zip
  inflating: file1.txt
  inflating: file2.txt
  inflating: documents/report.pdf

$ unzip -l archive.zip
Archive:  archive.zip
  Length      Date    Time    Name
---------  ---------- -----   ----
     1234  2026-03-01 12:00   file1.txt
     5678  2026-03-01 12:15   file2.txt
   123456  2026-03-01 12:30   documents/report.pdf
---------                     -------
   130368                     3 files

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Common Patterns

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Backup and restore

# Create backup
tar -czf backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /home/user/documents/

# Restore backup
tar -xzf backup-20260301.tar.gz -C /home/user/

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Compress log files

# Compress old logs
find /var/log -name "*.log" -mtime +7 -exec gzip {} \;

# Compress and keep original
gzip -k application.log

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Archive with exclusions

# Exclude node_modules and .git
tar -czf project.tar.gz \
  --exclude='node_modules' \
  --exclude='.git' \
  project/

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Split large archives

# Create archive and split
tar -czf - largedir/ | split -b 100M - archive.tar.gz.

# Combine and extract
cat archive.tar.gz.* | tar -xzf -

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Compare archives

# List contents
tar -tzf archive1.tar.gz > list1.txt
tar -tzf archive2.tar.gz > list2.txt
diff list1.txt list2.txt

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Encrypt archives

# Encrypt with gpg
tar -czf - documents/ | gpg -c > documents.tar.gz.gpg

# Decrypt and extract
gpg -d documents.tar.gz.gpg | tar -xzf -

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Verify archive integrity

# Test tar archive
tar -tzf archive.tar.gz > /dev/null && echo "OK" || echo "Corrupted"

# Test zip archive
unzip -t archive.zip

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Extract single file

# From tar
tar -xzf archive.tar.gz path/to/file.txt

# From zip
unzip archive.zip path/to/file.txt

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Archive Formats

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Tar (Tape Archive)

  • Extension: .tar
  • Compressed: .tar.gz, .tgz, .tar.bz2
  • Preserves: permissions, ownership, directory structure
  • Best for: Unix/Linux file backups

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Gzip

  • Extension: .gz
  • Single file compression
  • Fast and efficient
  • Best for: compressing individual files

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Zip

  • Extension: .zip
  • Cross-platform compatibility
  • Built-in directory support
  • Best for: sharing files across different OS

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Compression Levels

# Fast compression (level 1)
gzip -1 file.txt
zip -1 archive.zip files/

# Balanced (default level 6)
gzip file.txt
zip archive.zip files/

# Maximum compression (level 9)
gzip -9 file.txt
zip -9 archive.zip files/

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Performance Tips

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Parallel compression

# Use pigz for parallel gzip
tar -cf - directory/ | pigz > archive.tar.gz

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Exclude unnecessary files

tar -czf backup.tar.gz \
  --exclude='*.tmp' \
  --exclude='*.cache' \
  --exclude='.DS_Store' \
  project/

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Stream processing

# Compress and upload without storing locally
tar -czf - documents/ | curl -T - https://example.com/upload

# Download and extract directly
curl https://example.com/archive.tar.gz | tar -xzf -

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Troubleshooting

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Archive too large

# Use compression
tar -czf archive.tar.gz largedir/

# Split into parts
tar -czf - largedir/ | split -b 1G - archive.tar.gz.part-

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Corrupted archive

# Test integrity
gunzip -t archive.tar.gz
unzip -t archive.zip

# Attempt recovery
tar -xzf archive.tar.gz --ignore-failed-read

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Permission errors

# Preserve permissions
tar -czpf archive.tar.gz directory/

# Extract with sudo
sudo tar -xzf archive.tar.gz -C /protected/location/

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