.TH TAR 1 "Jul 2007" "GNU" "tar"
.SH NAME
tar \- The GNU version of the tar archiving utility
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B tar
.I <operation> [options]

.I Operations:
.nf
.B [-]A --catenate --concatenate
.B [-]c --create
.B [-]d --diff --compare
.B [-]r --append
.B [-]t --list
.B [-]u --update
.B [-]x --extract --get
.B --delete
.fi

.I Common Options:
.nf
.BR -C ", " --directory " DIR"
.BR -f ", " --file " F"
.BR -j ", " --bzip2
.BR -p ", " --preserve-permissions
.BR -v ", " --verbose
.BR -z ", " --gzip
.fi

.I All Options:
.br
[
.BR --atime-preserve
]
[
.BR -b ", " --blocking-factor " N"
]
[
.BR -B ", " --read-full-records
]
[
.BR --backup " BACKUP-TYPE"
]
[
.BR --block-compress
]
[
.BR -C ", " --directory " DIR"
]
[
.BR --checkpoint
]
[
.BR -f ", " --file " [HOSTNAME:]F"
]
[
.BR -F ", " --info-script " F, " --new-volume-script " F"
]
[
.BR --force-local
]
[
.BR --format " FORMAT"
]
[
.BR -g ", " --listed-incremental " F"
]
[
.BR -G ", " --incremental
]
[
.BR --group " GROUP"
]
[
.BR -h ", " --dereference
]
[
.BR --help
]
[
.BR -i ", " --ignore-zeros
]
[
.BR --ignore-case
]
[
.BR --ignore-failed-read
]
[
.BR --index-file " FILE"
]
[
.BR -j ", " --bzip2
]
[
.BR -k ", " --keep-old-files
]
[
.BR -K ", " --starting-file " FILE"
]
[
.BR --keep-newer-files
]
[
.BR -l ", " --check-links
]
[
.BR -L ", " --tape-length " N"
]
[
.BR -m ", " --touch ", " --modification-time
]
[
.BR -M ", " --multi-volume
]
[
.BR --mode " PERMISSIONS"
]
[
.BR -N ", " --after-date " DATE, " --newer " DATE"
]
[
.BR --newer-mtime " DATE"
]
[
.BR --no-anchored
]
[
.BR --no-ignore-case
]
[
.BR --no-recursion
]
[
.BR --no-same-permissions
]
[
.BR --no-wildcards
]
[
.BR --no-wildcards-match-slash
]
[
.BR --null
]
[
.BR --numeric-owner
]
[
.BR -o ", " --old-archive ", " --portability ", " --no-same-owner
]
[
.BR -O ", " --to-stdout
]
[
.BR --occurrence " NUM"
]
[
.BR --one-file-system
]
[
.BR --overwrite
]
[
.BR --overwrite-dir
]
[
.BR --owner " USER"
]
[
.BR -p ", " --same-permissions ", " --preserve-permissions
]
[
.BR -P ", " --absolute-names
]
[
.BR --pax-option " KEYWORD-LIST"
]
[
.BR --posix
]
[
.BR --preserve
]
[
.BR -R ", " --block-number
]
[
.BR --record-size " SIZE"
]
[
.BR --recursion
]
[
.BR --recursive-unlink
]
[
.BR --remove-files
]
[
.BR --rmt-command " CMD"
]
[
.BR --rsh-command " CMD"
]
[
.BR -s ", " --same-order ", " --preserve-order
]
[
.BR -S ", " --sparse
]
[
.BR --same-owner
]
[
.BR --show-defaults
]
[
.BR --show-omitted-dirs
]
[
.BR --strip-components " NUMBER, " --strip-path " NUMBER (1)"
]
[
.BR --suffix " SUFFIX"
]
[
.BR -T ", " --files-from " FILE"
]
[
.BR --totals	
]
[
.BR -U ", " --unlink-first
]
[
.BR --use-compress-program " PROG"
]
[
.BR --utc
]
[
.BR -v ", " --verbose
]
[
.BR -V ", " --label " NAME"
]
[
.BR --version	
]
[
.BR --volno-file " FILE"
]
[
.BR -w ", " --interactive ", " --confirmation
]
[
.BR -W ", " --verify
]
[
.BR --wildcards
]
[
.BR --wildcards-match-slash
]
[
.BR --exclude " PATTERN"
]
[
.BR -X ", " --exclude-from " FILE"
]
[
.BR -z ", " --gzip ", " --gunzip ", " --ungzip
]
[
.BR -Z ", " --compress ", " --uncompress
]
[
.BR -[0-7][lmh]
]

(1) tar-1.14 uses --strip-path, tar-1.14.90+ uses --strip-components
.SH DESCRIPTION
This manual page documents the GNU version of \fBtar\fR, an archiving 
program designed to store and extract files from an archive file known 
as a \fItarfile\fR.  A \fItarfile\fR may be made on a tape drive, 
however, it is also common to write a \fItarfile\fR to a normal file.  
The first argument to \fBtar\fR must be one of the options \fBAcdrtux\fR, 
followed by any optional functions.  The final arguments to \fBtar\fR 
are the names of the files or directories which should be archived.  The 
use of a directory name always implies that the subdirectories below 
should be included in the archive.
.SH EXAMPLES
.TP
.B tar -xvf foo.tar
verbosely extract foo.tar
.TP
.B tar -xzf foo.tar.gz
extract gzipped foo.tar.gz
.TP
.B tar -cjf foo.tar.bz2 bar/
create bzipped tar archive of the directory bar called foo.tar.bz2
.TP
.B tar -xjf foo.tar.bz2 -C bar/
extract bzipped foo.tar.bz2 after changing directory to bar
.TP
.B tar -xzf foo.tar.gz blah.txt
extract the file blah.txt from foo.tar.gz
.SH "FUNCTION LETTERS"
.TP
.B One of the following options must be used:
.TP
.BR -A ", " --catenate ", " --concatenate
append tar files to an archive
.TP
.BR -c ", " --create
create a new archive
.TP
.BR -d ", " --diff ", " --compare
find differences between archive and file system
.TP
.BR -r ", " --append
append files to the end of an archive
.TP
.BR -t ", " --list
list the contents of an archive
.TP
.BR -u ", " --update
only append files that are newer than the existing in archive
.TP
.BR -x ", " --extract ", " --get
extract files from an archive
.TP
.BR --delete
delete from the archive (not for use on mag tapes!)
.SH "COMMON OPTIONS"
.TP
.BR -C ", " --directory " DIR"
change to directory DIR
.TP
.BR -f ", " --file " [HOSTNAME:]F"
use archive file or device F (default "-", meaning stdin/stdout)
.TP
.BR -j ", " --bzip2
filter archive through bzip2, use to decompress .bz2 files
.TP
.BR -p ", " --preserve-permissions
extract all protection information
.TP
.BR -v ", " --verbose
verbosely list files processed
.TP
.BR -z ", " --gzip ", " --ungzip
filter the archive through gzip
.SH "ALL OPTIONS"
.TP
.BR --atime-preserve
don't change access times on dumped files
.TP
.BR -b ", " --blocking-factor " N"
block size of Nx512 bytes (default N=20)
.TP
.BR -B ", " --read-full-blocks
reblock as we read (for reading 4.2BSD pipes)
.TP
.BR --backup " BACKUP-TYPE"
backup files instead of deleting them using BACKUP-TYPE simple or 
numbered
.TP
.BR --block-compress
block the output of compression program for tapes
.TP
.BR -C ", " --directory " DIR"
change to directory DIR
.TP
.BR --checkpoint
print directory names while reading the archive
.TP
.BR -f ", " --file " [HOSTNAME:]F"
use archive file or device F (default "-", meaning stdin/stdout)
.TP
.BR -F ", " --info-script " FILE, " --new-volume-script " FILE"
run script at end of each tape (implies \fI--multi-volume\fR)
.TP
.BR --force-local
archive file is local even if has a colon
.TP
.BR --format " FORMAT"
selects output archive format
.nf
\fIv7\fR - Unix V7
\fIoldgnu\fR - GNU tar <=1.12
\fIgnu\fR - GNU tar 1.13
\fIustar\fR - POSIX.1-1988
\fIposix\fR - POSIX.1-2001
.fi
.TP
.BR -g ", " --listed-incremental " F"
create/list/extract new GNU-format incremental backup
.TP
.BR -G ", " --incremental
create/list/extract old GNU-format incremental backup
.TP
.BR -h ", " --dereference
don't dump symlinks; dump the files they point to
.TP
.BR --help
like this manpage, but not as cool
.TP
.BR -i ", " --ignore-zeros
ignore blocks of zeros in archive (normally mean EOF)
.TP
.BR --ignore-case
ignore case when excluding files
.TP
.BR --ignore-failed-read
don't exit with non-zero status on unreadable files
.TP
.BR --index-file " FILE"
send verbose output to FILE instead of stdout
.TP
.BR -j ", " --bzip2
filter archive through bzip2, use to decompress .bz2 files
.TP
.BR -k ", " --keep-old-files
keep existing files; don't overwrite them from archive
.TP
.BR -K ", " --starting-file " FILE"
begin at file F in the archive
.TP
.BR --keep-newer-files
do not overwrite files which are newer than the archive
.TP
.BR -l ", " --check-links
warn if number of hard links to the file on the filesystem mismatch the 
number of links recorded in the archive
.TP
.BR -L ", " --tape-length " N"
change tapes after writing N*1024 bytes
.TP
.BR -m ", " --touch ", " --modification-time
don't extract file modified time
.TP
.BR -M ", " --multi-volume
create/list/extract multi-volume archive
.TP
.BR --mode " PERMISSIONS"
apply PERMISSIONS while adding files (see \fBchmod\fR(1))
.TP
.BR -N ", " --after-date " DATE, " --newer " DATE"
only store files that were modified or had status updates (permissions,
ACLs, extended attributes,...) since DATE
.TP
.BR --newer-mtime " DATE"
like \fI--newer\fR, but only store files that were modified since DATE
.TP
.BR --no-anchored
match any subsequenceof the name's components with \fI--exclude\fR
.TP
.BR --no-ignore-case
use case-sensitive matching with \fI--exclude\fR
.TP
.BR --no-recursion
don't recurse into directories
.TP
.BR --no-same-permissions
apply user's umask when extracting files instead of recorded permissions
.TP
.BR --no-wildcards
don't use wildcards with \fI--exclude\fR
.TP
.BR --no-wildcards-match-slash
wildcards do not match slashes (/) with \fI--exclude\fR
.TP
.BR --null
\fI--files-from\fR reads null-terminated names, disable \fI--directory\fR
.TP
.BR --numeric-owner
always use numbers for user/group names
.TP
.BR -o ", " --old-archive ", " --portability
like \fI--format=v7\fR; \fI-o\fR exhibits this behavior when creating an 
archive (deprecated behavior)
.TP
.BR -o ", " --no-same-owner
do not attempt to restore ownership when extracting; \fI-o\fR exhibits 
this behavior when extracting an archive
.TP
.BR -O ", " --to-stdout
extract files to standard output
.TP
.BR --occurrence " NUM"
process only NUM occurrences of each named file; used with 
\fI--delete\fR, \fI--diff\fR, \fI--extract\fR, or \fI--list\fR
.TP
.BR --one-file-system
stay in local file system when creating an archive
.TP
.BR --overwrite
overwrite existing files and directory metadata when extracting
.TP
.BR --overwrite-dir
overwrite directory metadata when extracting
.TP
.BR --owner " USER"
change owner of extraced files to USER
.TP
.BR -p ", " --same-permissions ", " --preserve-permissions
extract all protection information
.TP
.BR -P ", " --absolute-names
don't strip leading `/'s from file names
.TP
.BR --pax-option " KEYWORD-LIST"
used only with POSIX.1-2001 archives to modify the way \fBtar\fR handles 
extended header keywords
.TP
.BR --posix
like \fI--format=posix\fR
.TP
.BR --preserve
like \fI--preserve-permissions\fR \fI--same-order\fR
.TP
.BR -R ", " --record-number
show record number within archive with each message
.TP
.BR --record-size " SIZE"
use SIZE bytes per record when accessing archives
.TP
.BR --recursion
recurse into directories
.TP
.BR --recursive-unlink
remove existing directories before extracting directories of the same name
.TP
.BR --remove-files
remove files after adding them to the archive
.TP
.BR --rmt-command " CMD"
use CMD instead of the default /usr/sbin/rmt
.TP
.BR --rsh-command " CMD"
use remote CMD instead of \fBrsh\fR(1)
.TP
.BR -s ", " --same-order ", " --preserve-order
list of names to extract is sorted to match archive
.TP
.BR -S ", " --sparse
handle sparse files efficiently
.TP
.BR --same-owner
create extracted files with the same ownership 
.TP
.BR --show-defaults
display the default options used by \fBtar\fR
.TP
.BR --show-omitted-dirs
print directories \fBtar\fR skips while operating on an archive
.TP
.BR --strip-components " NUMBER, " --strip-path " NUMBER"
strip NUMBER of leading components from file names before extraction

(1) tar-1.14 uses --strip-path, tar-1.14.90+ uses --strip-components
.TP
.BR --suffix " SUFFIX"
use SUFFIX instead of default '~' when backing up files
.TP
.BR -T ", " --files-from " FILE"
get names to extract or create from file FILE
.TP
.BR --totals
print total bytes written with --create
.TP
.BR -U ", " --unlink-first
remove existing files before extracting files of the same name
.TP
.BR --use-compress-program " PROG"
access the archive through PROG which is generally a compression program
.TP
.BR --utc
display file modification dates in UTC
.TP
.BR -v ", " --verbose
verbosely list files processed
.TP
.BR -V ", " --label " NAME"
create archive with volume name NAME
.TP
.BR --version
print \fBtar\fR program version number
.TP
.BR --volno-file " FILE"
keep track of which volume of a multi-volume archive its working in 
FILE; used with \fI--multi-volume\fR
.TP
.BR -w ", " --interactive ", " --confirmation
ask for confirmation for every action
.TP
.BR -W ", " --verify
attempt to verify the archive after writing it
.TP
.BR --wildcards
use wildcards with \fI--exclude\fR
.TP
.BR --wildcards-match-slash
wildcards match slashes (/) with \fI--exclude\fR
.TP
.BR --exclude " PATTERN"
exclude files based upon PATTERN
.TP
.BR -X ", " --exclude-from " FILE"
exclude files listed in FILE
.TP
.BR -z ", " --gzip ", " --gunzip ", " --ungzip
filter the archive through gzip
.TP
.BR -Z ", " --compress ", " --uncompress
filter the archive through compress
.TP
.BR --use-compress-program " PROG"
filter the archive through PROG (which must accept -d)
.TP
.BR -[0-7][lmh]
specify drive and density
.SH BUGS
The GNU folks, in general, abhor man pages and create info documents instead.
The maintainer of \fBtar\fR falls into this category.  Thus, this man page may 
not be complete nor current.  This man page was first taken from Debian 
GNU/Linux and has since been lovingly updated by Gentoo developers.