Format guide
What is TAR?
Tape Archive is a Unix tape archive that bundles files while usually leaving compression to gzip/bzip2/xz (.tar.gz), created by Unix heritage (1970s+). TAR packs directories for Unix/Linux workflows. Pair with GZ for compression (.tar.gz). Use ZIP when sharing with Windows users who expect Explorer-friendly archives.
TAR format specifications
- Full name
- Tape Archive
- Kind
- archive (often uncompressed bundle)
- File extension
- .tar, .tar.gz, .tgz
- MIME type
- application/x-tar
- Developer / standard
- Unix heritage · 1970s+
- Compression
- None by itself; often combined with gzip/xz
- Quality model
- Lossless / not lossy
- Container
- No / single bitstream typical
- Common codecs
- —
- Technical sources
- —
- Transparency
- Not supported
- Animation
- No (still / non-animated typical use)
- Typical size
- ≈ sum of files unless also gzipped
- Browser support
- Download only
- Compatibility
- Native on Unix; Windows via 7-Zip/WinRAR
TAR compression & quality
TAR preserves Unix permissions and structure. Compression comes from wrapping GZ/BZ2/XZ. ZIP combines packaging and compression in one step for casual users.
Quality: Lossless file bundling
Typical size: ≈ sum of files unless also gzipped
Transparency & animation
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
TAR metadata
POSIX headers with permissions, owners, timestamps.
Best use cases for TAR
- Linux/source distribution
- Backup pipelines
- Permission-preserving bundles
When to avoid TAR
- Casual Windows email shares without tooling
- Single already-compressed media files
- Users who only know ZIP
Advantages
- Unix-native
- Preserves permissions
- Streams well in pipelines
Disadvantages
- Less friendly to Windows novices
- Needs separate compression for size
- Easy to confuse .tar vs .tar.gz
Compatibility
Native on Unix; Windows via 7-Zip/WinRAR
Browsers: Download only
Software support
- tar
- 7-Zip
- GNU tools
Device support
- Servers and developer machines
How to open TAR
On macOS/Linux use tar -xf. On Windows use 7-Zip.
How to convert TAR
Convert TAR to ZIP for broad sharing — Format Convertly supports tar-to-zip where available.
Popular TAR conversions
TAR comparison guides
Compare TAR with related formats to pick the right container for quality, size, and compatibility.
Best format guides featuring TAR
Decision pages that cite TAR — the next hop after a vs comparison.
Related formats
TAR tools
Tools extend the format graph beyond one-off conversion — compression, metadata, and utilities for real workflows.
TAR FAQ
Is TAR compressed?
Not by itself. .tar.gz means TAR bundled then gzip-compressed.
Are my TAR files uploaded on Format Convertly?
No. TAR conversion runs in your browser. Files are not sent to Format Convertly servers for processing.