How to extract tar.gz files in Linux

tar.gz, also known as tgz, is a file format used for archives compressed with gzip. It's popular in the Linux environment for distributing files because it offers a good balance between compression efficiency and speed.

You can unpack tar.gz files using the tar command-line utility, which comes pre-installed in most Linux distributions. While tar operates in the command-line, it also serves as the foundation for various graphical user interface (GUI) programs.

1. Open the terminal application.
2. Verify if the file is a valid gzip archive (optional).

   $ file archive.tar.gz
   archive.tar.gz: gzip compressed data, last modified: Wed Aug 21 08:36:18 2019, from Unix, original size 10240

3. Create a folder where you want to unpack the file (optional).

   $ mkdir target

4. Navigate to the desired directory where you want to unpack the file (optional).

   $ cd target

5. Extract the file using the tar command.

   $ tar --extract --gzip --verbose --file=/home/user/archive.tar.gz #Simplified version: tar -xzvf /home/user/archive.tar.gz
   folder/
   folder/sub-02/
   folder/sub-02/file-02
   folder/sub-02/file-01
   folder/sub-01/
   folder/sub-01/file-02
   folder/sub-01/file-01

   Options for tar.

   $ tar --help
   Usage: tar [OPTION...] [FILE]...
   GNU 'tar' saves many files together into a single tape or disk archive, and can
   restore individual files from the archive.
   
   Examples:
     tar -cf archive.tar foo bar  # Create archive.tar from files foo and bar.
     tar -tvf archive.tar         # List all files in archive.tar verbosely.
     tar -xf archive.tar          # Extract all files from archive.tar.
   
    Local file name selection:
   
         --add-file=FILE        add given FILE to the archive (useful if its name
                                starts with a dash)
     -C, --directory=DIR        change to directory DIR
         --exclude=PATTERN      exclude files, given as a PATTERN
         --exclude-backups      exclude backup and lock files
         --exclude-caches       exclude contents of directories containing
                                CACHEDIR.TAG, except for the tag file itself
         --exclude-caches-all   exclude directories containing CACHEDIR.TAG
         --exclude-caches-under exclude everything under directories containing
                                CACHEDIR.TAG
         --exclude-ignore=FILE  read exclude patterns for each directory from
                                FILE, if it exists
         --exclude-ignore-recursive=FILE
                                read exclude patterns for each directory and its
                                subdirectories from FILE, if it exists
         --exclude-tag=FILE     exclude contents of directories containing FILE,
                                except for FILE itself
         --exclude-tag-all=FILE exclude directories containing FILE
         --exclude-tag-under=FILE   exclude everything under directories
                                containing FILE
         --exclude-vcs          exclude version control system directories
         --exclude-vcs-ignores  read exclude patterns from the VCS ignore files
         --no-null              disable the effect of the previous --null option
         --no-recursion         avoid descending automatically in directories
         --no-unquote           do not unquote input file or member names
         --no-verbatim-files-from   -T treats file names starting with dash as
                                options (default)
         --null                 -T reads null-terminated names; implies
                                --verbatim-files-from
         --recursion            recurse into directories (default)
     -T, --files-from=FILE      get names to extract or create from FILE
         --unquote              unquote input file or member names (default)
         --verbatim-files-from  -T reads file names verbatim (no escape or option
                                handling)
     -X, --exclude-from=FILE    exclude patterns listed in FILE
   
    File name matching options (affect both exclude and include patterns):
   
         --anchored             patterns match file name start
         --ignore-case          ignore case
         --no-anchored          patterns match after any '/' (default for
                                exclusion)
         --no-ignore-case       case sensitive matching (default)
         --no-wildcards         verbatim string matching
         --no-wildcards-match-slash   wildcards do not match '/'
         --wildcards            use wildcards (default for exclusion)
         --wildcards-match-slash   wildcards match '/' (default for exclusion)
   
    Main operation mode:
   
     -A, --catenate, --concatenate   append tar files to an archive
     -c, --create               create a new archive
     -d, --diff, --compare      find differences between archive and file system
         --delete               delete from the archive (not on mag tapes!)
     -r, --append               append files to the end of an archive
     -t, --list                 list the contents of an archive
         --test-label           test the archive volume label and exit
     -u, --update               only append files newer than copy in archive
     -x, --extract, --get       extract files from an archive
   
    Operation modifiers:
   
         --check-device         check device numbers when creating incremental
                                archives (default)
     -g, --listed-incremental=FILE   handle new GNU-format incremental backup
     -G, --incremental          handle old GNU-format incremental backup
         --hole-detection=TYPE  technique to detect holes
         --ignore-failed-read   do not exit with nonzero on unreadable files
         --level=NUMBER         dump level for created listed-incremental archive
     -n, --seek                 archive is seekable
         --no-check-device      do not check device numbers when creating
                                incremental archives
         --no-seek              archive is not seekable
         --occurrence[=NUMBER]  process only the NUMBERth occurrence of each file
                                in the archive; this option is valid only in
                                conjunction with one of the subcommands --delete,
                                --diff, --extract or --list and when a list of
                                files is given either on the command line or via
                                the -T option; NUMBER defaults to 1
         --sparse-version=MAJOR[.MINOR]
                                set version of the sparse format to use (implies
                                --sparse)
     -S, --sparse               handle sparse files efficiently
   
    Overwrite control:
   
     -k, --keep-old-files       don't replace existing files when extracting,
                                treat them as errors
         --keep-directory-symlink   preserve existing symlinks to directories when
                                extracting
         --keep-newer-files     don't replace existing files that are newer than
                                their archive copies
         --no-overwrite-dir     preserve metadata of existing directories
         --one-top-level[=DIR]  create a subdirectory to avoid having loose files
                                extracted
         --overwrite            overwrite existing files when extracting
         --overwrite-dir        overwrite metadata of existing directories when
                                extracting (default)
         --recursive-unlink     empty hierarchies prior to extracting directory
         --remove-files         remove files after adding them to the archive
         --skip-old-files       don't replace existing files when extracting,
                                silently skip over them
     -U, --unlink-first         remove each file prior to extracting over it
     -W, --verify               attempt to verify the archive after writing it
   
    Select output stream:
   
         --ignore-command-error ignore exit codes of children
         --no-ignore-command-error   treat non-zero exit codes of children as
                                error
     -O, --to-stdout            extract files to standard output
         --to-command=COMMAND   pipe extracted files to another program
   
    Handling of file attributes:
   
         --atime-preserve[=METHOD]   preserve access times on dumped files, either
                                by restoring the times after reading
                                (METHOD='replace'; default) or by not setting the
                                times in the first place (METHOD='system')
         --clamp-mtime          only set time when the file is more recent than
                                what was given with --mtime
         --delay-directory-restore   delay setting modification times and
                                permissions of extracted directories until the end
                                of extraction
         --group=NAME           force NAME as group for added files
         --group-map=FILE       use FILE to map file owner GIDs and names
         --mode=CHANGES         force (symbolic) mode CHANGES for added files
         --mtime=DATE-OR-FILE   set mtime for added files from DATE-OR-FILE
     -m, --touch                don't extract file modified time
         --no-delay-directory-restore
                                cancel the effect of --delay-directory-restore
                                option
         --no-same-owner        extract files as yourself (default for ordinary
                                users)
         --no-same-permissions  apply the user's umask when extracting permissions
                                from the archive (default for ordinary users)
         --numeric-owner        always use numbers for user/group names
         --owner=NAME           force NAME as owner for added files
         --owner-map=FILE       use FILE to map file owner UIDs and names
     -p, --preserve-permissions, --same-permissions
                                extract information about file permissions
                                (default for superuser)
         --same-owner           try extracting files with the same ownership as
                                exists in the archive (default for superuser)
     -s, --preserve-order, --same-order
                                member arguments are listed in the same order as
                                the files in the archive
         --sort=ORDER           directory sorting order: none (default), name or
                                inode
   
    Handling of extended file attributes:
   
         --acls                 Enable the POSIX ACLs support
         --no-acls              Disable the POSIX ACLs support
         --no-selinux           Disable the SELinux context support
         --no-xattrs            Disable extended attributes support
         --selinux              Enable the SELinux context support
         --xattrs               Enable extended attributes support
         --xattrs-exclude=MASK  specify the exclude pattern for xattr keys
         --xattrs-include=MASK  specify the include pattern for xattr keys
   
    Device selection and switching:
   
     -f, --file=ARCHIVE         use archive file or device ARCHIVE
         --force-local          archive file is local even if it has a colon
     -F, --info-script=NAME, --new-volume-script=NAME
                                run script at end of each tape (implies -M)
     -L, --tape-length=NUMBER   change tape after writing NUMBER x 1024 bytes
     -M, --multi-volume         create/list/extract multi-volume archive
         --rmt-command=COMMAND  use given rmt COMMAND instead of rmt
         --rsh-command=COMMAND  use remote COMMAND instead of rsh
         --volno-file=FILE      use/update the volume number in FILE
   
    Device blocking:
   
     -b, --blocking-factor=BLOCKS   BLOCKS x 512 bytes per record
     -B, --read-full-records    reblock as we read (for 4.2BSD pipes)
     -i, --ignore-zeros         ignore zeroed blocks in archive (means EOF)
         --record-size=NUMBER   NUMBER of bytes per record, multiple of 512
   
    Archive format selection:
   
     -H, --format=FORMAT        create archive of the given format
   
    FORMAT is one of the following:
   
       gnu                      GNU tar 1.13.x format
       oldgnu                   GNU format as per tar <= 1.12
       pax                      POSIX 1003.1-2001 (pax) format
       posix                    same as pax
       ustar                    POSIX 1003.1-1988 (ustar) format
       v7                       old V7 tar format
   
         --old-archive, --portability
                                same as --format=v7
         --pax-option=keyword[[:]=value][,keyword[[:]=value]]...
                                control pax keywords
         --posix                same as --format=posix
     -V, --label=TEXT           create archive with volume name TEXT; at
                                list/extract time, use TEXT as a globbing pattern
                                for volume name
   
    Compression options:
   
     -a, --auto-compress        use archive suffix to determine the compression
                                program
     -I, --use-compress-program=PROG
                                filter through PROG (must accept -d)
     -j, --bzip2                filter the archive through bzip2
     -J, --xz                   filter the archive through xz
         --lzip                 filter the archive through lzip
         --lzma                 filter the archive through xz
         --lzop                 filter the archive through lzop
         --no-auto-compress     do not use archive suffix to determine the
                                compression program
     -z, --gzip, --gunzip, --ungzip   filter the archive through gzip
         --zstd                 filter the archive through zstd
     -Z, --compress, --uncompress   filter the archive through compress
   
    Local file selection:
   
         --backup[=CONTROL]     backup before removal, choose version CONTROL
     -h, --dereference          follow symlinks; archive and dump the files they
                                point to
         --hard-dereference     follow hard links; archive and dump the files they
                                refer to
     -K, --starting-file=MEMBER-NAME
                                begin at member MEMBER-NAME when reading the
                                archive
         --newer-mtime=DATE     compare date and time when data changed only
     -N, --newer=DATE-OR-FILE, --after-date=DATE-OR-FILE
                                only store files newer than DATE-OR-FILE
         --one-file-system      stay in local file system when creating archive
     -P, --absolute-names       don't strip leading '/'s from file names
         --suffix=STRING        backup before removal, override usual suffix ('~'
                                unless overridden by environment variable
                                SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX)
   
    File name transformations:
   
         --strip-components=NUMBER   strip NUMBER leading components from file
                                names on extraction
         --transform=EXPRESSION, --xform=EXPRESSION
                                use sed replace EXPRESSION to transform file
                                names
   
    Informative output:
   
         --checkpoint[=NUMBER]  display progress messages every NUMBERth record
                                (default 10)
         --checkpoint-action=ACTION   execute ACTION on each checkpoint
         --full-time            print file time to its full resolution
         --index-file=FILE      send verbose output to FILE
     -l, --check-links          print a message if not all links are dumped
         --no-quote-chars=STRING   disable quoting for characters from STRING
         --quote-chars=STRING   additionally quote characters from STRING
         --quoting-style=STYLE  set name quoting style; see below for valid STYLE
                                values
     -R, --block-number         show block number within archive with each message
   
         --show-defaults        show tar defaults
         --show-omitted-dirs    when listing or extracting, list each directory
                                that does not match search criteria
         --show-snapshot-field-ranges
                                show valid ranges for snapshot-file fields
         --show-transformed-names, --show-stored-names
                                show file or archive names after transformation
         --totals[=SIGNAL]      print total bytes after processing the archive;
                                with an argument - print total bytes when this
                                SIGNAL is delivered; Allowed signals are: SIGHUP,
                                SIGQUIT, SIGINT, SIGUSR1 and SIGUSR2; the names
                                without SIG prefix are also accepted
         --utc                  print file modification times in UTC
     -v, --verbose              verbosely list files processed
         --warning=KEYWORD      warning control
     -w, --interactive, --confirmation
                                ask for confirmation for every action
   
    Compatibility options:
   
     -o                         when creating, same as --old-archive; when
                                extracting, same as --no-same-owner
   
    Other options:
   
     -?, --help                 give this help list
         --restrict             disable use of some potentially harmful options
         --usage                give a short usage message
         --version              print program version
   
   Mandatory or optional arguments to long options are also mandatory or optional
   for any corresponding short options.
   
   The backup suffix is '~', unless set with --suffix or SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX.
   The version control may be set with --backup or VERSION_CONTROL, values are:
   
     none, off       never make backups
     t, numbered     make numbered backups
     nil, existing   numbered if numbered backups exist, simple otherwise
     never, simple   always make simple backups
   
   Valid arguments for the --quoting-style option are:
   
     literal
     shell
     shell-always
     shell-escape
     shell-escape-always
     c
     c-maybe
     escape
     locale
     clocale
   
   *This* tar defaults to:
   --format=gnu -f- -b20 --quoting-style=escape --rmt-command=/usr/sbin/rmt
   --rsh-command=/usr/bin/rsh

6. View the contents of the unpacked file.

   $ ls -R
   .:
   folder
   
   ./folder:
   sub-01  sub-02
   
   ./folder/sub-01:
   file-01  file-02
   
   ./folder/sub-02:
   file-01  file-02