# Tar ## Create archive Basic syntax: ``` tar -cvf archive.tar file1 file2 dir/ ``` Common variants: * Create compressed (gzip): ``` tar -czvf archive.tar.gz file1 dir/ ``` * Create compressed (xz, smaller but slower): ``` tar -cJvf archive.tar.xz file1 dir/ ``` * Create from entire directory: ``` tar -czvf archive.tar.gz myfolder/ ``` * Exclude something: ``` tar -czvf archive.tar.gz myfolder/ --exclude="*.log" ``` Flags: * `-c` create * `-v` verbose (optional) * `-f` filename * `-z` gzip * `-J` xz If you want the reverse (extract), say it.