Archive

How to Create TAR File from Directory Including Subdirectories

To create new tar(Tape ARchive) file:

tar -cvf file.tar /exampleDIR/

To extract this file: 

tar -xvf file.tar

FUNCTION LETTERS

       One of the following options must be used:



       -A, --catenate, --concatenate

              append tar files to an archive



       -c, --create

              create a new archive



       -d, --diff, --compare

              find differences between archive and file system



       --delete

              delete from the archive (not for use on mag tapes!)



       -r, --append

              append files to the end of an archive



       -t, --list

              list the contents of an archive



       -u, --update

              only append files that are newer than copy in archive



       -x, --extract, --get

              extract files from an archive



OTHER OPTIONS

       --atime-preserve

              don’t change access times on dumped files



       -b, --block-size N

              block size of Nx512 bytes (default N=20)



       -B, --read-full-blocks

              reblock as we read (for reading 4.2BSD pipes)



       -C, --directory DIR

              change to directory DIR



       --checkpoint

              print directory names while reading the archive



       -f, --file [HOSTNAME:]F

              use archive file or device F (default /dev/rmt0)



       --force-local

              archive file is local even if has a colon



       -F, --info-script F --new-volume-script F

              run script at end of each tape (implies -M)

        -G, --incremental

              create/list/extract old GNU-format incremental backup



       -g, --listed-incremental F

              create/list/extract new GNU-format incremental backup



       -h, --dereference

              don’t dump symlinks; dump the files they point to



       -i, --ignore-zeros

              ignore blocks of zeros in archive (normally mean EOF)



       -j, -I, --bzip

              filter the archive through bzip2. Note: -I is deprecated and may

              get a different meaning in the near future.



       --ignore-failed-read

              don’t exit with non-zero status on unreadable files



       -k, --keep-old-files

              keep existing files; don’t overwrite them from archive



       -K, --starting-file F

              begin at file F in the archive



       -l, --one-file-system

              stay in local file system when creating an archive



       -L, --tape-length N

              change tapes after writing N*1024 bytes



       -m, --modification-time

              don’t extract file modified time



       -M, --multi-volume

              create/list/extract multi-volume archive



       -N, --after-date DATE, --newer DATE

              only store files newer than DATE



       -o, --old-archive, --portability

              write a V7 format archive, rather than ANSI format



       -O, --to-stdout

              extract files to standard output



       -p, --same-permissions, --preserve-permissions

              extract all protection information



       -P, --absolute-paths

              don’t strip leading ‘/’s from file names



       --preserve

              like -p -s



       -R, --record-number

              show record number within archive with each message



       --remove-files

              remove files after adding them to the archive



       -s, --same-order, --preserve-order

              list of names to extract is sorted to match archive



       --same-owner

              create extracted files with the same ownership



       -S, --sparse

              handle sparse files efficiently



       -T, --files-from=F

              get names to extract or create from file F



       --null

              -T reads null-terminated names, disable -C



       --totals

              print total bytes written with --create



       -v, --verbose

              verbosely list files processed



       -V, --label NAME

              create archive with volume name NAME



       --version

              print tar program version number



       -w, --interactive, --confirmation

              ask for confirmation for every action



       -W, --verify

              attempt to verify the archive after writing it



       --exclude FILE

              exclude file FILE



       -X, --exclude-from FILE

              exclude files listed in FILE



       -Z, --compress, --uncompress

              filter the archive through compress



       -z, --gzip, --ungzip

              filter the archive through gzip



       --use-compress-program PROG

              filter the archive through PROG (which must accept -d)