Extract .tar.gz and .tar.bz2 Archives from the Linux Command Line

Extract a .tar.gz file

tar xvzf file.tar.gz

• x extracts.
• v shows the file names (verbose).
• z filters the archive through gzip.
• f names the archive file.

Extract to another folder

Use -C and the folder. It must exist:

tar xvzf file.tar.gz -C /path/to/somedirectory

Extract one file only

Add the name of the file as it is written in the archive:

tar -xvzf file.tar.gz test.doc

List the content first

tar -tvf file.tar.gz

Extract a .gz file

A plain .gz file is a single compressed file and not an archive:

gunzip file.gz

Extract a .tar.bz2 file

Use j in place of z:

tar xvjf file.tar.bz2

Extract .tar.xz files

Use J:

tar xvJf file.tar.xz

Modern tar can detect the compression by itself, so tar xvf file.tar.gz often works too.

Quick recap

• tar xvzf for .tar.gz, tar xvjf for .tar.bz2.
• -C folder picks the target.
• tar -tvf lists what is inside.