TAR
T
TAR
Definition
Tape Archive: a Unix utility and file format for collecting multiple files into one archive without compression. Often combined with gzip (.tar.gz) or bzip2 (.tar.bz2) for compression.
TAR: The Unix Archive Standard
TAR dates back to 1979 and is the standard archiving utility on Unix and Linux systems. Unlike ZIP, TAR itself does not compress files -- it only concatenates them into a single archive while preserving file permissions, ownership, and directory structure. Compression is applied separately using gzip (.tar.gz or .tgz), bzip2 (.tar.bz2), xz (.tar.xz), or zstd (.tar.zst). This separation of archiving and compression allows users to choose the best compression algorithm for their needs. TAR is the standard format for source code distribution and Linux package building.