TAR FORMAT
TAR Converters
Convert TAR archives to ZIP for universal compatibility or ISO for double-click mounting.
About TAR
TAR (Tape Archive) is the standard archive format on Unix and Linux systems, dating back to 1979. Unlike ZIP, TAR doesn't compress files-it bundles them into a single file while preserving directory structure, Unix permissions (chmod bits), ownership, and symbolic links. For compression, TAR is typically wrapped with gzip (.tar.gz) or bzip2 (.tar.bz2).
Learn more: TAR on Wikipedia
TAR remains essential for Linux software distribution, server backups, source code packages, and Docker image layers. The format's preservation of Unix permissions makes it ideal for deploying executable scripts and maintaining file hierarchies. Windows has no native TAR support, requiring tools like 7-Zip or WinRAR to extract TAR archives.
Quick Facts
- Extensions
- .tar
- Full Name
- Tape Archive
- Year Introduced
- 1979
- Compression
- None (wrapper only)
- Preserves Permissions
- Yes (Unix chmod)
- Symbolic Links
- Supported
- Windows Support
- Requires 7-Zip
- Common With
- gzip, bzip2
Convert from TAR (2 tools)
Convert to TAR (3 tools)
Answers at a Glance
Quick answers to common questions.
- Are my files secure?
- How long do you keep my files?
- What metadata do you keep?
- What happens after I drop a file?
- Why are conversions so fast?
- How do you measure performance?
- What are the exact limits for each plan?
- Can I process files in bulk?
- Why did my file fail to convert?
- Do you use my files to train AI?