How to Extract TAR File from Command Line on Windows

TAR (“.tar.gz,” “.tgz” or “.gz”) is a compressed file format similar to a “.zip” file. This file type is commonly used on Unix-based operating systems such as Linux and macOS. Because it is often used as a normal data storage and compression place, sometimes Windows users will come across and need to extract TAR files. Although you can decompress the TAR file using a third-party application like 7-Zip, it is much more efficient to use the Windows Command Prompt. This wikiHow teaches you how to extract a TAR file using Windows Command Prompt.

Steps

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Click the Windows logo to open the Windows Start menu

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. By default, the Windows logo will be in the lower left corner on Windows 10.

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Enter CMD . Command Prompt will appear in the Windows Start menu.

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Right click on Command Prompt

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then select Run as Administrator . Windows Command Prompt has a black screen icon with a white text cursor inside. When you right-click Command Prompt, a context menu will appear. Click the Run as Administrator option at the top to launch the Command Prompt as administrator.

You need to be logged in as an administrator to be able to launch the application under this super privilege.

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Type tar -xvzf . This is the beginning of the command to extract the “.tar” file. After typing, don’t rush to press “Enter” right away.

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Press the Space key and then enter the path to the TAR file. Add a space after the command “tar -xvzf”, then enter the path to the location of the “.tgz” file. For example, if the file is in the “Downloads” folder, you need to enter “C:UsersusernameDownloads”.

You can find the file path by going to that file on File Explorer. Proceed to right-click on the address bar at the top and select Copy Address . You should then be able to paste this path into the Command Prompt.

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Enter the file name. Just after the path, enter the filename. Example: “archive.tgz.”

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Press the Space key and then type -C . After entering the filename, add a space along with “-C”.

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Add a space and enter the path to the location where you want to extract the file. Immediately after “-C”, add another space and enter the path to where you want to extract the file to. For example, if you want to extract the file contents to the “Documents” folder, you need to enter “C:UsersusernameDocuments.”.

The entire command should look similar to this: tar -xvzf C:userusernameDownloadsarchive.tgz -CC:userusernameDocuments

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Press ↵ Enter . The contents of the TAR file will be extracted to the folder you specified. ^{[1] X Research Sources}^{[2] X Research Sources}

Steps

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