1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
2 @comment %**start of header
5 @settitle GNU tar @value{VERSION}
14 @c 1. Pay attention to @FIXME{}s and @UNREVISED{}s
15 @c 2. Before creating final variant:
16 @c 2.1. Run `make check-options' to make sure all options are properly
18 @c 2.2. Run `make master-menu' (see comment before the master menu).
20 @include rendition.texi
25 @c Put everything in one index (arbitrarily chosen to be the concept index).
33 This manual is for @acronym{GNU} @command{tar} (version
34 @value{VERSION}, @value{UPDATED}), which creates and extracts files
37 Copyright @copyright{} 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001,
38 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
41 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
42 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
43 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
44 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover Texts being ``A GNU Manual,''
45 and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license
46 is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".
48 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have the freedom to
49 copy and modify this GNU manual. Buying copies from the FSF
50 supports it in developing GNU and promoting software freedom.''
54 @dircategory Archiving
56 * Tar: (tar). Making tape (or disk) archives.
59 @dircategory Individual utilities
61 * tar: (tar)tar invocation. Invoking @GNUTAR{}.
64 @shorttitlepage @acronym{GNU} @command{tar}
67 @title @acronym{GNU} tar: an archiver tool
68 @subtitle @value{RENDITION} @value{VERSION}, @value{UPDATED}
69 @author John Gilmore, Jay Fenlason et al.
72 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
78 @top @acronym{GNU} tar: an archiver tool
83 @cindex archiving files
85 The first part of this master menu lists the major nodes in this Info
86 document. The rest of the menu lists all the lower level nodes.
89 @c The master menu goes here.
91 @c NOTE: To update it from within Emacs, make sure mastermenu.el is
92 @c loaded and run texinfo-master-menu.
93 @c To update it from the command line, run
104 * Date input formats::
111 * Configuring Help Summary::
112 * Fixing Snapshot Files::
115 * Free Software Needs Free Documentation::
116 * Copying This Manual::
117 * Index of Command Line Options::
121 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
125 * Book Contents:: What this Book Contains
126 * Definitions:: Some Definitions
127 * What tar Does:: What @command{tar} Does
128 * Naming tar Archives:: How @command{tar} Archives are Named
129 * Authors:: @GNUTAR{} Authors
130 * Reports:: Reporting bugs or suggestions
132 Tutorial Introduction to @command{tar}
135 * stylistic conventions::
136 * basic tar options:: Basic @command{tar} Operations and Options
137 * frequent operations::
138 * Two Frequent Options::
139 * create:: How to Create Archives
140 * list:: How to List Archives
141 * extract:: How to Extract Members from an Archive
144 Two Frequently Used Options
150 How to Create Archives
152 * prepare for examples::
153 * Creating the archive::
162 How to Extract Members from an Archive
164 * extracting archives::
167 * extracting untrusted archives::
173 * using tar options::
182 The Three Option Styles
184 * Long Options:: Long Option Style
185 * Short Options:: Short Option Style
186 * Old Options:: Old Option Style
187 * Mixing:: Mixing Option Styles
189 All @command{tar} Options
191 * Operation Summary::
193 * Short Option Summary::
205 Advanced @GNUTAR{} Operations
214 How to Add Files to Existing Archives: @option{--append}
216 * appending files:: Appending Files to an Archive
223 Options Used by @option{--create}
225 * override:: Overriding File Metadata.
226 * Ignore Failed Read::
228 Options Used by @option{--extract}
230 * Reading:: Options to Help Read Archives
231 * Writing:: Changing How @command{tar} Writes Files
232 * Scarce:: Coping with Scarce Resources
234 Options to Help Read Archives
236 * read full records::
239 Changing How @command{tar} Writes Files
241 * Dealing with Old Files::
242 * Overwrite Old Files::
247 * Data Modification Times::
248 * Setting Access Permissions::
249 * Directory Modification Times and Permissions::
250 * Writing to Standard Output::
251 * Writing to an External Program::
254 Coping with Scarce Resources
259 Performing Backups and Restoring Files
261 * Full Dumps:: Using @command{tar} to Perform Full Dumps
262 * Incremental Dumps:: Using @command{tar} to Perform Incremental Dumps
263 * Backup Levels:: Levels of Backups
264 * Backup Parameters:: Setting Parameters for Backups and Restoration
265 * Scripted Backups:: Using the Backup Scripts
266 * Scripted Restoration:: Using the Restore Script
268 Setting Parameters for Backups and Restoration
270 * General-Purpose Variables::
271 * Magnetic Tape Control::
273 * backup-specs example:: An Example Text of @file{Backup-specs}
275 Choosing Files and Names for @command{tar}
277 * file:: Choosing the Archive's Name
278 * Selecting Archive Members::
279 * files:: Reading Names from a File
280 * exclude:: Excluding Some Files
281 * wildcards:: Wildcards Patterns and Matching
282 * quoting styles:: Ways of Quoting Special Characters in Names
283 * transform:: Modifying File and Member Names
284 * after:: Operating Only on New Files
285 * recurse:: Descending into Directories
286 * one:: Crossing File System Boundaries
288 Reading Names from a File
294 * problems with exclude::
296 Wildcards Patterns and Matching
298 * controlling pattern-matching::
300 Crossing File System Boundaries
302 * directory:: Changing Directory
303 * absolute:: Absolute File Names
307 * General date syntax:: Common rules.
308 * Calendar date items:: 19 Dec 1994.
309 * Time of day items:: 9:20pm.
310 * Time zone items:: @sc{est}, @sc{pdt}, @sc{gmt}.
311 * Day of week items:: Monday and others.
312 * Relative items in date strings:: next tuesday, 2 years ago.
313 * Pure numbers in date strings:: 19931219, 1440.
314 * Seconds since the Epoch:: @@1078100502.
315 * Specifying time zone rules:: TZ="America/New_York", TZ="UTC0".
316 * Authors of get_date:: Bellovin, Eggert, Salz, Berets, et al.
318 Controlling the Archive Format
320 * Compression:: Using Less Space through Compression
321 * Attributes:: Handling File Attributes
322 * Portability:: Making @command{tar} Archives More Portable
323 * cpio:: Comparison of @command{tar} and @command{cpio}
325 Using Less Space through Compression
327 * gzip:: Creating and Reading Compressed Archives
328 * sparse:: Archiving Sparse Files
330 Making @command{tar} Archives More Portable
332 * Portable Names:: Portable Names
333 * dereference:: Symbolic Links
334 * hard links:: Hard Links
335 * old:: Old V7 Archives
336 * ustar:: Ustar Archives
337 * gnu:: GNU and old GNU format archives.
338 * posix:: @acronym{POSIX} archives
339 * Checksumming:: Checksumming Problems
340 * Large or Negative Values:: Large files, negative time stamps, etc.
341 * Other Tars:: How to Extract GNU-Specific Data Using
342 Other @command{tar} Implementations
344 @GNUTAR{} and @acronym{POSIX} @command{tar}
346 * PAX keywords:: Controlling Extended Header Keywords.
348 How to Extract GNU-Specific Data Using Other @command{tar} Implementations
350 * Split Recovery:: Members Split Between Volumes
351 * Sparse Recovery:: Sparse Members
353 Tapes and Other Archive Media
355 * Device:: Device selection and switching
356 * Remote Tape Server::
357 * Common Problems and Solutions::
358 * Blocking:: Blocking
359 * Many:: Many archives on one tape
360 * Using Multiple Tapes:: Using Multiple Tapes
361 * label:: Including a Label in the Archive
367 * Format Variations:: Format Variations
368 * Blocking Factor:: The Blocking Factor of an Archive
370 Many Archives on One Tape
372 * Tape Positioning:: Tape Positions and Tape Marks
373 * mt:: The @command{mt} Utility
377 * Multi-Volume Archives:: Archives Longer than One Tape or Disk
378 * Tape Files:: Tape Files
379 * Tarcat:: Concatenate Volumes into a Single Archive
384 * Standard:: Basic Tar Format
385 * Extensions:: @acronym{GNU} Extensions to the Archive Format
386 * Sparse Formats:: Storing Sparse Files
393 * PAX 0:: PAX Format, Versions 0.0 and 0.1
394 * PAX 1:: PAX Format, Version 1.0
398 * Generate Mode:: File Generation Mode.
399 * Status Mode:: File Status Mode.
400 * Exec Mode:: Synchronous Execution mode.
404 * GNU Free Documentation License:: License for copying this manual
410 @chapter Introduction
413 and manipulates @dfn{archives} which are actually collections of
414 many other files; the program provides users with an organized and
415 systematic method for controlling a large amount of data.
416 The name ``tar'' originally came from the phrase ``Tape ARchive'', but
417 archives need not (and these days, typically do not) reside on tapes.
420 * Book Contents:: What this Book Contains
421 * Definitions:: Some Definitions
422 * What tar Does:: What @command{tar} Does
423 * Naming tar Archives:: How @command{tar} Archives are Named
424 * Authors:: @GNUTAR{} Authors
425 * Reports:: Reporting bugs or suggestions
429 @section What this Book Contains
431 The first part of this chapter introduces you to various terms that will
432 recur throughout the book. It also tells you who has worked on @GNUTAR{}
433 and its documentation, and where you should send bug reports
436 The second chapter is a tutorial (@pxref{Tutorial}) which provides a
437 gentle introduction for people who are new to using @command{tar}. It is
438 meant to be self contained, not requiring any reading from subsequent
439 chapters to make sense. It moves from topic to topic in a logical,
440 progressive order, building on information already explained.
442 Although the tutorial is paced and structured to allow beginners to
443 learn how to use @command{tar}, it is not intended solely for beginners.
444 The tutorial explains how to use the three most frequently used
445 operations (@samp{create}, @samp{list}, and @samp{extract}) as well as
446 two frequently used options (@samp{file} and @samp{verbose}). The other
447 chapters do not refer to the tutorial frequently; however, if a section
448 discusses something which is a complex variant of a basic concept, there
449 may be a cross reference to that basic concept. (The entire book,
450 including the tutorial, assumes that the reader understands some basic
451 concepts of using a Unix-type operating system; @pxref{Tutorial}.)
453 The third chapter presents the remaining five operations, and
454 information about using @command{tar} options and option syntax.
456 The other chapters are meant to be used as a reference. Each chapter
457 presents everything that needs to be said about a specific topic.
459 One of the chapters (@pxref{Date input formats}) exists in its
460 entirety in other @acronym{GNU} manuals, and is mostly self-contained.
461 In addition, one section of this manual (@pxref{Standard}) contains a
462 big quote which is taken directly from @command{tar} sources.
464 In general, we give both long and short (abbreviated) option names
465 at least once in each section where the relevant option is covered, so
466 that novice readers will become familiar with both styles. (A few
467 options have no short versions, and the relevant sections will
471 @section Some Definitions
475 The @command{tar} program is used to create and manipulate @command{tar}
476 archives. An @dfn{archive} is a single file which contains the contents
477 of many files, while still identifying the names of the files, their
478 owner(s), and so forth. (In addition, archives record access
479 permissions, user and group, size in bytes, and data modification time.
480 Some archives also record the file names in each archived directory, as
481 well as other file and directory information.) You can use @command{tar}
482 to @dfn{create} a new archive in a specified directory.
485 @cindex archive member
488 The files inside an archive are called @dfn{members}. Within this
489 manual, we use the term @dfn{file} to refer only to files accessible in
490 the normal ways (by @command{ls}, @command{cat}, and so forth), and the term
491 @dfn{member} to refer only to the members of an archive. Similarly, a
492 @dfn{file name} is the name of a file, as it resides in the file system,
493 and a @dfn{member name} is the name of an archive member within the
498 The term @dfn{extraction} refers to the process of copying an archive
499 member (or multiple members) into a file in the file system. Extracting
500 all the members of an archive is often called @dfn{extracting the
501 archive}. The term @dfn{unpack} can also be used to refer to the
502 extraction of many or all the members of an archive. Extracting an
503 archive does not destroy the archive's structure, just as creating an
504 archive does not destroy the copies of the files that exist outside of
505 the archive. You may also @dfn{list} the members in a given archive
506 (this is often thought of as ``printing'' them to the standard output,
507 or the command line), or @dfn{append} members to a pre-existing archive.
508 All of these operations can be performed using @command{tar}.
511 @section What @command{tar} Does
514 The @command{tar} program provides the ability to create @command{tar}
515 archives, as well as various other kinds of manipulation. For example,
516 you can use @command{tar} on previously created archives to extract files,
517 to store additional files, or to update or list files which were already
520 Initially, @command{tar} archives were used to store files conveniently on
521 magnetic tape. The name @command{tar} comes from this use; it stands for
522 @code{t}ape @code{ar}chiver. Despite the utility's name, @command{tar} can
523 direct its output to available devices, files, or other programs (using
524 pipes). @command{tar} may even access remote devices or files (as archives).
526 You can use @command{tar} archives in many ways. We want to stress a few
527 of them: storage, backup, and transportation.
529 @FIXME{the following table entries need a bit of work.}
532 Often, @command{tar} archives are used to store related files for
533 convenient file transfer over a network. For example, the
534 @acronym{GNU} Project distributes its software bundled into
535 @command{tar} archives, so that all the files relating to a particular
536 program (or set of related programs) can be transferred as a single
539 A magnetic tape can store several files in sequence. However, the tape
540 has no names for these files; it only knows their relative position on
541 the tape. One way to store several files on one tape and retain their
542 names is by creating a @command{tar} archive. Even when the basic transfer
543 mechanism can keep track of names, as FTP can, the nuisance of handling
544 multiple files, directories, and multiple links makes @command{tar}
547 Archive files are also used for long-term storage. You can think of
548 this as transportation from the present into the future. (It is a
549 science-fiction idiom that you can move through time as well as in
550 space; the idea here is that @command{tar} can be used to move archives in
551 all dimensions, even time!)
554 Because the archive created by @command{tar} is capable of preserving
555 file information and directory structure, @command{tar} is commonly
556 used for performing full and incremental backups of disks. A backup
557 puts a collection of files (possibly pertaining to many users and
558 projects) together on a disk or a tape. This guards against
559 accidental destruction of the information in those files.
560 @GNUTAR{} has special features that allow it to be
561 used to make incremental and full dumps of all the files in a
565 You can create an archive on one system, transfer it to another system,
566 and extract the contents there. This allows you to transport a group of
567 files from one system to another.
570 @node Naming tar Archives
571 @section How @command{tar} Archives are Named
573 Conventionally, @command{tar} archives are given names ending with
574 @samp{.tar}. This is not necessary for @command{tar} to operate properly,
575 but this manual follows that convention in order to accustom readers to
576 it and to make examples more clear.
581 Often, people refer to @command{tar} archives as ``@command{tar} files,'' and
582 archive members as ``files'' or ``entries''. For people familiar with
583 the operation of @command{tar}, this causes no difficulty. However, in
584 this manual, we consistently refer to ``archives'' and ``archive
585 members'' to make learning to use @command{tar} easier for novice users.
588 @section @GNUTAR{} Authors
590 @GNUTAR{} was originally written by John Gilmore,
591 and modified by many people. The @acronym{GNU} enhancements were
592 written by Jay Fenlason, then Joy Kendall, and the whole package has
593 been further maintained by Thomas Bushnell, n/BSG, Fran@,{c}ois
594 Pinard, Paul Eggert, and finally Sergey Poznyakoff with the help of
595 numerous and kind users.
597 We wish to stress that @command{tar} is a collective work, and owes much to
598 all those people who reported problems, offered solutions and other
599 insights, or shared their thoughts and suggestions. An impressive, yet
600 partial list of those contributors can be found in the @file{THANKS}
601 file from the @GNUTAR{} distribution.
603 @FIXME{i want all of these names mentioned, Absolutely. BUT, i'm not
604 sure i want to spell out the history in this detail, at least not for
605 the printed book. i'm just not sure it needs to be said this way.
606 i'll think about it.}
608 @FIXME{History is more important, and surely more interesting, than
609 actual names. Quoting names without history would be meaningless. FP}
611 Jay Fenlason put together a draft of a @GNUTAR{}
612 manual, borrowing notes from the original man page from John Gilmore.
613 This was withdrawn in version 1.11. Thomas Bushnell, n/BSG and Amy
614 Gorin worked on a tutorial and manual for @GNUTAR{}.
615 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard put version 1.11.8 of the manual together by
616 taking information from all these sources and merging them. Melissa
617 Weisshaus finally edited and redesigned the book to create version
618 1.12. The book for versions from 1.14 up to @value{VERSION} were edited
619 by the current maintainer, Sergey Poznyakoff.
621 For version 1.12, Daniel Hagerty contributed a great deal of technical
622 consulting. In particular, he is the primary author of @ref{Backups}.
624 In July, 2003 @GNUTAR{} was put on CVS at savannah.gnu.org
625 (see @url{http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/tar}), and
626 active development and maintenance work has started
627 again. Currently @GNUTAR{} is being maintained by Paul Eggert, Sergey
628 Poznyakoff and Jeff Bailey.
630 Support for @acronym{POSIX} archives was added by Sergey Poznyakoff.
633 @section Reporting bugs or suggestions
636 @cindex reporting bugs
637 If you find problems or have suggestions about this program or manual,
638 please report them to @file{bug-tar@@gnu.org}.
640 When reporting a bug, please be sure to include as much detail as
641 possible, in order to reproduce it. @FIXME{Be more specific, I'd
642 like to make this node as detailed as 'Bug reporting' node in Emacs
646 @chapter Tutorial Introduction to @command{tar}
648 This chapter guides you through some basic examples of three @command{tar}
649 operations: @option{--create}, @option{--list}, and @option{--extract}. If
650 you already know how to use some other version of @command{tar}, then you
651 may not need to read this chapter. This chapter omits most complicated
652 details about how @command{tar} works.
656 * stylistic conventions::
657 * basic tar options:: Basic @command{tar} Operations and Options
658 * frequent operations::
659 * Two Frequent Options::
660 * create:: How to Create Archives
661 * list:: How to List Archives
662 * extract:: How to Extract Members from an Archive
667 @section Assumptions this Tutorial Makes
669 This chapter is paced to allow beginners to learn about @command{tar}
670 slowly. At the same time, we will try to cover all the basic aspects of
671 these three operations. In order to accomplish both of these tasks, we
672 have made certain assumptions about your knowledge before reading this
673 manual, and the hardware you will be using:
677 Before you start to work through this tutorial, you should understand
678 what the terms ``archive'' and ``archive member'' mean
679 (@pxref{Definitions}). In addition, you should understand something
680 about how Unix-type operating systems work, and you should know how to
681 use some basic utilities. For example, you should know how to create,
682 list, copy, rename, edit, and delete files and directories; how to
683 change between directories; and how to figure out where you are in the
684 file system. You should have some basic understanding of directory
685 structure and how files are named according to which directory they are
686 in. You should understand concepts such as standard output and standard
687 input, what various definitions of the term @samp{argument} mean, and the
688 differences between relative and absolute file names. @FIXME{and what
692 This manual assumes that you are working from your own home directory
693 (unless we state otherwise). In this tutorial, you will create a
694 directory to practice @command{tar} commands in. When we show file names,
695 we will assume that those names are relative to your home directory.
696 For example, my home directory is @file{/home/fsf/melissa}. All of
697 my examples are in a subdirectory of the directory named by that file
698 name; the subdirectory is called @file{practice}.
701 In general, we show examples of archives which exist on (or can be
702 written to, or worked with from) a directory on a hard disk. In most
703 cases, you could write those archives to, or work with them on any other
704 device, such as a tape drive. However, some of the later examples in
705 the tutorial and next chapter will not work on tape drives.
706 Additionally, working with tapes is much more complicated than working
707 with hard disks. For these reasons, the tutorial does not cover working
708 with tape drives. @xref{Media}, for complete information on using
709 @command{tar} archives with tape drives.
711 @FIXME{this is a cop out. need to add some simple tape drive info.}
714 @node stylistic conventions
715 @section Stylistic Conventions
717 In the examples, @samp{$} represents a typical shell prompt. It
718 precedes lines you should type; to make this more clear, those lines are
719 shown in @kbd{this font}, as opposed to lines which represent the
720 computer's response; those lines are shown in @code{this font}, or
721 sometimes @samp{like this}.
723 @c When we have lines which are too long to be
724 @c displayed in any other way, we will show them like this:
726 @node basic tar options
727 @section Basic @command{tar} Operations and Options
729 @command{tar} can take a wide variety of arguments which specify and define
730 the actions it will have on the particular set of files or the archive.
731 The main types of arguments to @command{tar} fall into one of two classes:
732 operations, and options.
734 Some arguments fall into a class called @dfn{operations}; exactly one of
735 these is both allowed and required for any instance of using @command{tar};
736 you may @emph{not} specify more than one. People sometimes speak of
737 @dfn{operating modes}. You are in a particular operating mode when you
738 have specified the operation which specifies it; there are eight
739 operations in total, and thus there are eight operating modes.
741 The other arguments fall into the class known as @dfn{options}. You are
742 not required to specify any options, and you are allowed to specify more
743 than one at a time (depending on the way you are using @command{tar} at
744 that time). Some options are used so frequently, and are so useful for
745 helping you type commands more carefully that they are effectively
746 ``required''. We will discuss them in this chapter.
748 You can write most of the @command{tar} operations and options in any
749 of three forms: long (mnemonic) form, short form, and old style. Some
750 of the operations and options have no short or ``old'' forms; however,
751 the operations and options which we will cover in this tutorial have
752 corresponding abbreviations. We will indicate those abbreviations
753 appropriately to get you used to seeing them. (Note that the ``old
754 style'' option forms exist in @GNUTAR{} for compatibility with Unix
755 @command{tar}. In this book we present a full discussion of this way
756 of writing options and operations (@pxref{Old Options}), and we discuss
757 the other two styles of writing options (@xref{Long Options}, and
758 @pxref{Short Options}).
760 In the examples and in the text of this tutorial, we usually use the
761 long forms of operations and options; but the ``short'' forms produce
762 the same result and can make typing long @command{tar} commands easier.
763 For example, instead of typing
766 @kbd{tar --create --verbose --file=afiles.tar apple angst aspic}
772 @kbd{tar -c -v -f afiles.tar apple angst aspic}
778 @kbd{tar -cvf afiles.tar apple angst aspic}
782 For more information on option syntax, see @ref{Advanced tar}. In
783 discussions in the text, when we name an option by its long form, we
784 also give the corresponding short option in parentheses.
786 The term, ``option'', can be confusing at times, since ``operations''
787 are often lumped in with the actual, @emph{optional} ``options'' in certain
788 general class statements. For example, we just talked about ``short and
789 long forms of options and operations''. However, experienced @command{tar}
790 users often refer to these by shorthand terms such as, ``short and long
791 options''. This term assumes that the ``operations'' are included, also.
792 Context will help you determine which definition of ``options'' to use.
794 Similarly, the term ``command'' can be confusing, as it is often used in
795 two different ways. People sometimes refer to @command{tar} ``commands''.
796 A @command{tar} @dfn{command} is the entire command line of user input
797 which tells @command{tar} what to do --- including the operation, options,
798 and any arguments (file names, pipes, other commands, etc.). However,
799 you will also sometimes hear the term ``the @command{tar} command''. When
800 the word ``command'' is used specifically like this, a person is usually
801 referring to the @command{tar} @emph{operation}, not the whole line.
802 Again, use context to figure out which of the meanings the speaker
805 @node frequent operations
806 @section The Three Most Frequently Used Operations
808 Here are the three most frequently used operations (both short and long
809 forms), as well as a brief description of their meanings. The rest of
810 this chapter will cover how to use these operations in detail. We will
811 present the rest of the operations in the next chapter.
816 Create a new @command{tar} archive.
819 List the contents of an archive.
822 Extract one or more members from an archive.
825 @node Two Frequent Options
826 @section Two Frequently Used Options
828 To understand how to run @command{tar} in the three operating modes listed
829 previously, you also need to understand how to use two of the options to
830 @command{tar}: @option{--file} (which takes an archive file as an argument)
831 and @option{--verbose}. (You are usually not @emph{required} to specify
832 either of these options when you run @command{tar}, but they can be very
833 useful in making things more clear and helping you avoid errors.)
842 @unnumberedsubsec The @option{--file} Option
845 @xopindex{file, tutorial}
846 @item --file=@var{archive-name}
847 @itemx -f @var{archive-name}
848 Specify the name of an archive file.
851 You can specify an argument for the @option{--file=@var{archive-name}} (@option{-f @var{archive-name}}) option whenever you
852 use @command{tar}; this option determines the name of the archive file
853 that @command{tar} will work on.
856 If you don't specify this argument, then @command{tar} will examine
857 the environment variable @env{TAPE}. If it is set, its value will be
858 used as the archive name. Otherwise, @command{tar} will use the
859 default archive, determined at the compile time. Usually it is
860 standard output or some physical tape drive attached to your machine
861 (you can verify what the default is by running @kbd{tar
862 --show-defaults}, @pxref{defaults}). If there is no tape drive
863 attached, or the default is not meaningful, then @command{tar} will
864 print an error message. The error message might look roughly like one
868 tar: can't open /dev/rmt8 : No such device or address
869 tar: can't open /dev/rsmt0 : I/O error
873 To avoid confusion, we recommend that you always specify an archive file
874 name by using @option{--file=@var{archive-name}} (@option{-f @var{archive-name}}) when writing your @command{tar} commands.
875 For more information on using the @option{--file=@var{archive-name}} (@option{-f @var{archive-name}}) option, see
878 @node verbose tutorial
879 @unnumberedsubsec The @option{--verbose} Option
882 @xopindex{verbose, introduced}
885 Show the files being worked on as @command{tar} is running.
888 @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) shows details about the results of running
889 @command{tar}. This can be especially useful when the results might not be
890 obvious. For example, if you want to see the progress of @command{tar} as
891 it writes files into the archive, you can use the @option{--verbose}
892 option. In the beginning, you may find it useful to use
893 @option{--verbose} at all times; when you are more accustomed to
894 @command{tar}, you will likely want to use it at certain times but not at
895 others. We will use @option{--verbose} at times to help make something
896 clear, and we will give many examples both using and not using
897 @option{--verbose} to show the differences.
899 Each instance of @option{--verbose} on the command line increases the
900 verbosity level by one, so if you need more details on the output,
903 When reading archives (@option{--list}, @option{--extract},
904 @option{--diff}), @command{tar} by default prints only the names of
905 the members being extracted. Using @option{--verbose} will show a full,
906 @command{ls} style member listing.
908 In contrast, when writing archives (@option{--create}, @option{--append},
909 @option{--update}), @command{tar} does not print file names by
910 default. So, a single @option{--verbose} option shows the file names
911 being added to the archive, while two @option{--verbose} options
912 enable the full listing.
914 For example, to create an archive in verbose mode:
917 $ @kbd{tar -cvf afiles.tar apple angst aspic}
924 Creating the same archive with the verbosity level 2 could give:
927 $ @kbd{tar -cvvf afiles.tar apple angst aspic}
928 -rw-r--r-- gray/staff 62373 2006-06-09 12:06 apple
929 -rw-r--r-- gray/staff 11481 2006-06-09 12:06 angst
930 -rw-r--r-- gray/staff 23152 2006-06-09 12:06 aspic
934 This works equally well using short or long forms of options. Using
935 long forms, you would simply write out the mnemonic form of the option
939 $ @kbd{tar --create --verbose --verbose @dots{}}
943 Note that you must double the hyphens properly each time.
945 Later in the tutorial, we will give examples using @w{@option{--verbose
948 @anchor{verbose member listing}
949 The full output consists of six fields:
952 @item File type and permissions in symbolic form.
953 These are displayed in the same format as the first column of
954 @command{ls -l} output (@pxref{What information is listed,
955 format=verbose, Verbose listing, fileutils, GNU file utilities}).
957 @item Owner name and group separated by a slash character.
958 If these data are not available (for example, when listing a @samp{v7} format
959 archive), numeric @acronym{ID} values are printed instead.
961 @item Size of the file, in bytes.
963 @item File modification date in ISO 8601 format.
965 @item File modification time.
968 If the name contains any special characters (white space, newlines,
969 etc.) these are displayed in an unambiguous form using so called
970 @dfn{quoting style}. For the detailed discussion of available styles
971 and on how to use them, see @ref{quoting styles}.
973 Depending on the file type, the name can be followed by some
974 additional information, described in the following table:
977 @item -> @var{link-name}
978 The file or archive member is a @dfn{symbolic link} and
979 @var{link-name} is the name of file it links to.
981 @item link to @var{link-name}
982 The file or archive member is a @dfn{hard link} and @var{link-name} is
983 the name of file it links to.
986 The archive member is an old GNU format long link. You will normally
990 The archive member is an old GNU format long name. You will normally
993 @item --Volume Header--
994 The archive member is a GNU @dfn{volume header} (@pxref{Tape Files}).
996 @item --Continued at byte @var{n}--
997 Encountered only at the beginning of a multi-volume archive
998 (@pxref{Using Multiple Tapes}). This archive member is a continuation
999 from the previous volume. The number @var{n} gives the offset where
1000 the original file was split.
1002 @item unknown file type @var{c}
1003 An archive member of unknown type. @var{c} is the type character from
1004 the archive header. If you encounter such a message, it means that
1005 either your archive contains proprietary member types @GNUTAR{} is not
1006 able to handle, or the archive is corrupted.
1011 For example, here is an archive listing containing most of the special
1012 suffixes explained above:
1016 V--------- 0/0 1536 2006-06-09 13:07 MyVolume--Volume Header--
1017 -rw-r--r-- gray/staff 456783 2006-06-09 12:06 aspic--Continued at
1019 -rw-r--r-- gray/staff 62373 2006-06-09 12:06 apple
1020 lrwxrwxrwx gray/staff 0 2006-06-09 13:01 angst -> apple
1021 -rw-r--r-- gray/staff 35793 2006-06-09 12:06 blues
1022 hrw-r--r-- gray/staff 0 2006-06-09 12:06 music link to blues
1030 @unnumberedsubsec Getting Help: Using the @option{--help} Option
1036 The @option{--help} option to @command{tar} prints out a very brief list of
1037 all operations and option available for the current version of
1038 @command{tar} available on your system.
1042 @section How to Create Archives
1045 @cindex Creation of the archive
1046 @cindex Archive, creation of
1047 One of the basic operations of @command{tar} is @option{--create} (@option{-c}), which
1048 you use to create a @command{tar} archive. We will explain
1049 @option{--create} first because, in order to learn about the other
1050 operations, you will find it useful to have an archive available to
1053 To make this easier, in this section you will first create a directory
1054 containing three files. Then, we will show you how to create an
1055 @emph{archive} (inside the new directory). Both the directory, and
1056 the archive are specifically for you to practice on. The rest of this
1057 chapter and the next chapter will show many examples using this
1058 directory and the files you will create: some of those files may be
1059 other directories and other archives.
1061 The three files you will archive in this example are called
1062 @file{blues}, @file{folk}, and @file{jazz}. The archive is called
1063 @file{collection.tar}.
1065 This section will proceed slowly, detailing how to use @option{--create}
1066 in @code{verbose} mode, and showing examples using both short and long
1067 forms. In the rest of the tutorial, and in the examples in the next
1068 chapter, we will proceed at a slightly quicker pace. This section
1069 moves more slowly to allow beginning users to understand how
1070 @command{tar} works.
1073 * prepare for examples::
1074 * Creating the archive::
1080 @node prepare for examples
1081 @subsection Preparing a Practice Directory for Examples
1083 To follow along with this and future examples, create a new directory
1084 called @file{practice} containing files called @file{blues}, @file{folk}
1085 and @file{jazz}. The files can contain any information you like:
1086 ideally, they should contain information which relates to their names,
1087 and be of different lengths. Our examples assume that @file{practice}
1088 is a subdirectory of your home directory.
1090 Now @command{cd} to the directory named @file{practice}; @file{practice}
1091 is now your @dfn{working directory}. (@emph{Please note}: Although
1092 the full file name of this directory is
1093 @file{/@var{homedir}/practice}, in our examples we will refer to
1094 this directory as @file{practice}; the @var{homedir} is presumed.
1096 In general, you should check that the files to be archived exist where
1097 you think they do (in the working directory) by running @command{ls}.
1098 Because you just created the directory and the files and have changed to
1099 that directory, you probably don't need to do that this time.
1101 It is very important to make sure there isn't already a file in the
1102 working directory with the archive name you intend to use (in this case,
1103 @samp{collection.tar}), or that you don't care about its contents.
1104 Whenever you use @samp{create}, @command{tar} will erase the current
1105 contents of the file named by @option{--file=@var{archive-name}} (@option{-f @var{archive-name}}) if it exists. @command{tar}
1106 will not tell you if you are about to overwrite an archive unless you
1107 specify an option which does this (@pxref{backup}, for the
1108 information on how to do so). To add files to an existing archive,
1109 you need to use a different option, such as @option{--append} (@option{-r}); see
1110 @ref{append} for information on how to do this.
1112 @node Creating the archive
1113 @subsection Creating the Archive
1115 @xopindex{create, introduced}
1116 To place the files @file{blues}, @file{folk}, and @file{jazz} into an
1117 archive named @file{collection.tar}, use the following command:
1120 $ @kbd{tar --create --file=collection.tar blues folk jazz}
1123 The order of the arguments is not very important, @emph{when using long
1124 option forms}. You could also say:
1127 $ @kbd{tar blues --create folk --file=collection.tar jazz}
1131 However, you can see that this order is harder to understand; this is
1132 why we will list the arguments in the order that makes the commands
1133 easiest to understand (and we encourage you to do the same when you use
1134 @command{tar}, to avoid errors).
1136 Note that the sequence
1137 @option{--file=@-collection.tar} is considered to be @emph{one} argument.
1138 If you substituted any other string of characters for
1139 @kbd{collection.tar}, then that string would become the name of the
1140 archive file you create.
1142 The order of the options becomes more important when you begin to use
1143 short forms. With short forms, if you type commands in the wrong order
1144 (even if you type them correctly in all other ways), you may end up with
1145 results you don't expect. For this reason, it is a good idea to get
1146 into the habit of typing options in the order that makes inherent sense.
1147 @xref{short create}, for more information on this.
1149 In this example, you type the command as shown above: @option{--create}
1150 is the operation which creates the new archive
1151 (@file{collection.tar}), and @option{--file} is the option which lets
1152 you give it the name you chose. The files, @file{blues}, @file{folk},
1153 and @file{jazz}, are now members of the archive, @file{collection.tar}
1154 (they are @dfn{file name arguments} to the @option{--create} operation.
1155 @xref{Choosing}, for the detailed discussion on these.) Now that they are
1156 in the archive, they are called @emph{archive members}, not files.
1157 (@pxref{Definitions,members}).
1159 When you create an archive, you @emph{must} specify which files you
1160 want placed in the archive. If you do not specify any archive
1161 members, @GNUTAR{} will complain.
1163 If you now list the contents of the working directory (@command{ls}), you will
1164 find the archive file listed as well as the files you saw previously:
1167 blues folk jazz collection.tar
1171 Creating the archive @samp{collection.tar} did not destroy the copies of
1172 the files in the directory.
1174 Keep in mind that if you don't indicate an operation, @command{tar} will not
1175 run and will prompt you for one. If you don't name any files, @command{tar}
1176 will complain. You must have write access to the working directory,
1177 or else you will not be able to create an archive in that directory.
1179 @emph{Caution}: Do not attempt to use @option{--create} (@option{-c}) to add files to
1180 an existing archive; it will delete the archive and write a new one.
1181 Use @option{--append} (@option{-r}) instead. @xref{append}.
1183 @node create verbose
1184 @subsection Running @option{--create} with @option{--verbose}
1186 @xopindex{create, using with @option{--verbose}}
1187 @xopindex{verbose, using with @option{--create}}
1188 If you include the @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) option on the command line,
1189 @command{tar} will list the files it is acting on as it is working. In
1190 verbose mode, the @code{create} example above would appear as:
1193 $ @kbd{tar --create --verbose --file=collection.tar blues folk jazz}
1199 This example is just like the example we showed which did not use
1200 @option{--verbose}, except that @command{tar} generated the remaining lines
1202 (note the different font styles).
1208 In the rest of the examples in this chapter, we will frequently use
1209 @code{verbose} mode so we can show actions or @command{tar} responses that
1210 you would otherwise not see, and which are important for you to
1214 @subsection Short Forms with @samp{create}
1216 As we said before, the @option{--create} (@option{-c}) operation is one of the most
1217 basic uses of @command{tar}, and you will use it countless times.
1218 Eventually, you will probably want to use abbreviated (or ``short'')
1219 forms of options. A full discussion of the three different forms that
1220 options can take appears in @ref{Styles}; for now, here is what the
1221 previous example (including the @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) option) looks like
1222 using short option forms:
1225 $ @kbd{tar -cvf collection.tar blues folk jazz}
1232 As you can see, the system responds the same no matter whether you use
1233 long or short option forms.
1235 @FIXME{i don't like how this is worded:} One difference between using
1236 short and long option forms is that, although the exact placement of
1237 arguments following options is no more specific when using short forms,
1238 it is easier to become confused and make a mistake when using short
1239 forms. For example, suppose you attempted the above example in the
1243 $ @kbd{tar -cfv collection.tar blues folk jazz}
1247 In this case, @command{tar} will make an archive file called @file{v},
1248 containing the files @file{blues}, @file{folk}, and @file{jazz}, because
1249 the @samp{v} is the closest ``file name'' to the @option{-f} option, and
1250 is thus taken to be the chosen archive file name. @command{tar} will try
1251 to add a file called @file{collection.tar} to the @file{v} archive file;
1252 if the file @file{collection.tar} did not already exist, @command{tar} will
1253 report an error indicating that this file does not exist. If the file
1254 @file{collection.tar} does already exist (e.g., from a previous command
1255 you may have run), then @command{tar} will add this file to the archive.
1256 Because the @option{-v} option did not get registered, @command{tar} will not
1257 run under @samp{verbose} mode, and will not report its progress.
1259 The end result is that you may be quite confused about what happened,
1260 and possibly overwrite a file. To illustrate this further, we will show
1261 you how an example we showed previously would look using short forms.
1266 $ @kbd{tar blues --create folk --file=collection.tar jazz}
1270 is confusing as it is. When shown using short forms, however, it
1271 becomes much more so:
1274 $ @kbd{tar blues -c folk -f collection.tar jazz}
1278 It would be very easy to put the wrong string of characters
1279 immediately following the @option{-f}, but doing that could sacrifice
1282 For this reason, we recommend that you pay very careful attention to
1283 the order of options and placement of file and archive names,
1284 especially when using short option forms. Not having the option name
1285 written out mnemonically can affect how well you remember which option
1286 does what, and therefore where different names have to be placed.
1289 @subsection Archiving Directories
1291 @cindex Archiving Directories
1292 @cindex Directories, Archiving
1293 You can archive a directory by specifying its directory name as a
1294 file name argument to @command{tar}. The files in the directory will be
1295 archived relative to the working directory, and the directory will be
1296 re-created along with its contents when the archive is extracted.
1298 To archive a directory, first move to its superior directory. If you
1299 have followed the previous instructions in this tutorial, you should
1308 This will put you into the directory which contains @file{practice},
1309 i.e., your home directory. Once in the superior directory, you can
1310 specify the subdirectory, @file{practice}, as a file name argument. To
1311 store @file{practice} in the new archive file @file{music.tar}, type:
1314 $ @kbd{tar --create --verbose --file=music.tar practice}
1318 @command{tar} should output:
1325 practice/collection.tar
1328 Note that the archive thus created is not in the subdirectory
1329 @file{practice}, but rather in the current working directory---the
1330 directory from which @command{tar} was invoked. Before trying to archive a
1331 directory from its superior directory, you should make sure you have
1332 write access to the superior directory itself, not only the directory
1333 you are trying archive with @command{tar}. For example, you will probably
1334 not be able to store your home directory in an archive by invoking
1335 @command{tar} from the root directory; @xref{absolute}. (Note
1336 also that @file{collection.tar}, the original archive file, has itself
1337 been archived. @command{tar} will accept any file as a file to be
1338 archived, regardless of its content. When @file{music.tar} is
1339 extracted, the archive file @file{collection.tar} will be re-written
1340 into the file system).
1342 If you give @command{tar} a command such as
1345 $ @kbd{tar --create --file=foo.tar .}
1349 @command{tar} will report @samp{tar: ./foo.tar is the archive; not
1350 dumped}. This happens because @command{tar} creates the archive
1351 @file{foo.tar} in the current directory before putting any files into
1352 it. Then, when @command{tar} attempts to add all the files in the
1353 directory @file{.} to the archive, it notices that the file
1354 @file{./foo.tar} is the same as the archive @file{foo.tar}, and skips
1355 it. (It makes no sense to put an archive into itself.) @GNUTAR{}
1356 will continue in this case, and create the archive
1357 normally, except for the exclusion of that one file. (@emph{Please
1358 note:} Other implementations of @command{tar} may not be so clever;
1359 they will enter an infinite loop when this happens, so you should not
1360 depend on this behavior unless you are certain you are running
1361 @GNUTAR{}. In general, it is wise to always place the archive outside
1362 of the directory being dumped.
1365 @section How to List Archives
1368 Frequently, you will find yourself wanting to determine exactly what a
1369 particular archive contains. You can use the @option{--list}
1370 (@option{-t}) operation to get the member names as they currently
1371 appear in the archive, as well as various attributes of the files at
1372 the time they were archived. For example, you can examine the archive
1373 @file{collection.tar} that you created in the last section with the
1377 $ @kbd{tar --list --file=collection.tar}
1381 The output of @command{tar} would then be:
1390 The archive @file{bfiles.tar} would list as follows:
1399 Be sure to use a @option{--file=@var{archive-name}} (@option{-f
1400 @var{archive-name}}) option just as with @option{--create}
1401 (@option{-c}) to specify the name of the archive.
1403 @xopindex{list, using with @option{--verbose}}
1404 @xopindex{verbose, using with @option{--list}}
1405 If you use the @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) option with
1406 @option{--list}, then @command{tar} will print out a listing
1407 reminiscent of @w{@samp{ls -l}}, showing owner, file size, and so
1408 forth. This output is described in detail in @ref{verbose member listing}.
1410 If you had used @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) mode, the example
1411 above would look like:
1414 $ @kbd{tar --list --verbose --file=collection.tar folk}
1415 -rw-r--r-- myself user 62 1990-05-23 10:55 folk
1418 @cindex listing member and file names
1419 @anchor{listing member and file names}
1420 It is important to notice that the output of @kbd{tar --list
1421 --verbose} does not necessarily match that produced by @kbd{tar
1422 --create --verbose} while creating the archive. It is because
1423 @GNUTAR{}, unless told explicitly not to do so, removes some directory
1424 prefixes from file names before storing them in the archive
1425 (@xref{absolute}, for more information). In other
1426 words, in verbose mode @GNUTAR{} shows @dfn{file names} when creating
1427 an archive and @dfn{member names} when listing it. Consider this
1432 $ @kbd{tar cfv archive /etc/mail}
1433 tar: Removing leading `/' from member names
1435 /etc/mail/sendmail.cf
1437 $ @kbd{tar tf archive}
1439 etc/mail/sendmail.cf
1444 @opindex show-stored-names
1445 This default behavior can sometimes be inconvenient. You can force
1446 @GNUTAR{} show member names when creating archive by supplying
1447 @option{--show-stored-names} option.
1450 @item --show-stored-names
1451 Print member (as opposed to @emph{file}) names when creating the archive.
1454 @cindex File name arguments, using @option{--list} with
1455 @xopindex{list, using with file name arguments}
1456 You can specify one or more individual member names as arguments when
1457 using @samp{list}. In this case, @command{tar} will only list the
1458 names of members you identify. For example, @w{@kbd{tar --list
1459 --file=afiles.tar apple}} would only print @file{apple}.
1461 Because @command{tar} preserves file names, these must be specified as
1462 they appear in the archive (i.e., relative to the directory from which
1463 the archive was created). Therefore, it is essential when specifying
1464 member names to @command{tar} that you give the exact member names.
1465 For example, @w{@kbd{tar --list --file=bfiles.tar birds}} would produce an
1466 error message something like @samp{tar: birds: Not found in archive},
1467 because there is no member named @file{birds}, only one named
1468 @file{./birds}. While the names @file{birds} and @file{./birds} name
1469 the same file, @emph{member} names by default are compared verbatim.
1471 However, @w{@kbd{tar --list --file=bfiles.tar baboon}} would respond
1472 with @file{baboon}, because this exact member name is in the archive file
1473 @file{bfiles.tar}. If you are not sure of the exact file name,
1474 use @dfn{globbing patterns}, for example:
1477 $ @kbd{tar --list --file=bfiles.tar --wildcards '*b*'}
1481 will list all members whose name contains @samp{b}. @xref{wildcards},
1482 for a detailed discussion of globbing patterns and related
1483 @command{tar} command line options.
1490 @unnumberedsubsec Listing the Contents of a Stored Directory
1492 To get information about the contents of an archived directory,
1493 use the directory name as a file name argument in conjunction with
1494 @option{--list} (@option{-t}). To find out file attributes, include the
1495 @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) option.
1497 For example, to find out about files in the directory @file{practice}, in
1498 the archive file @file{music.tar}, type:
1501 $ @kbd{tar --list --verbose --file=music.tar practice}
1504 @command{tar} responds:
1507 drwxrwxrwx myself user 0 1990-05-31 21:49 practice/
1508 -rw-r--r-- myself user 42 1990-05-21 13:29 practice/blues
1509 -rw-r--r-- myself user 62 1990-05-23 10:55 practice/folk
1510 -rw-r--r-- myself user 40 1990-05-21 13:30 practice/jazz
1511 -rw-r--r-- myself user 10240 1990-05-31 21:49 practice/collection.tar
1514 When you use a directory name as a file name argument, @command{tar} acts on
1515 all the files (including sub-directories) in that directory.
1518 @section How to Extract Members from an Archive
1521 @cindex Retrieving files from an archive
1522 @cindex Resurrecting files from an archive
1525 Creating an archive is only half the job---there is no point in storing
1526 files in an archive if you can't retrieve them. The act of retrieving
1527 members from an archive so they can be used and manipulated as
1528 unarchived files again is called @dfn{extraction}. To extract files
1529 from an archive, use the @option{--extract} (@option{--get} or
1530 @option{-x}) operation. As with @option{--create}, specify the name
1531 of the archive with @option{--file} (@option{-f}) option. Extracting
1532 an archive does not modify the archive in any way; you can extract it
1533 multiple times if you want or need to.
1535 Using @option{--extract}, you can extract an entire archive, or specific
1536 files. The files can be directories containing other files, or not. As
1537 with @option{--create} (@option{-c}) and @option{--list} (@option{-t}), you may use the short or the
1538 long form of the operation without affecting the performance.
1541 * extracting archives::
1542 * extracting files::
1544 * extracting untrusted archives::
1545 * failing commands::
1548 @node extracting archives
1549 @subsection Extracting an Entire Archive
1551 To extract an entire archive, specify the archive file name only, with
1552 no individual file names as arguments. For example,
1555 $ @kbd{tar -xvf collection.tar}
1562 -rw-r--r-- me user 28 1996-10-18 16:31 jazz
1563 -rw-r--r-- me user 21 1996-09-23 16:44 blues
1564 -rw-r--r-- me user 20 1996-09-23 16:44 folk
1567 @node extracting files
1568 @subsection Extracting Specific Files
1570 To extract specific archive members, give their exact member names as
1571 arguments, as printed by @option{--list} (@option{-t}). If you had
1572 mistakenly deleted one of the files you had placed in the archive
1573 @file{collection.tar} earlier (say, @file{blues}), you can extract it
1574 from the archive without changing the archive's structure. Its
1575 contents will be identical to the original file @file{blues} that you
1578 First, make sure you are in the @file{practice} directory, and list the
1579 files in the directory. Now, delete the file, @samp{blues}, and list
1580 the files in the directory again.
1582 You can now extract the member @file{blues} from the archive file
1583 @file{collection.tar} like this:
1586 $ @kbd{tar --extract --file=collection.tar blues}
1590 If you list the files in the directory again, you will see that the file
1591 @file{blues} has been restored, with its original permissions, data
1592 modification times, and owner.@footnote{This is only accidentally
1593 true, but not in general. Whereas modification times are always
1594 restored, in most cases, one has to be root for restoring the owner,
1595 and use a special option for restoring permissions. Here, it just
1596 happens that the restoring user is also the owner of the archived
1597 members, and that the current @code{umask} is compatible with original
1598 permissions.} (These parameters will be identical to those which
1599 the file had when you originally placed it in the archive; any changes
1600 you may have made before deleting the file from the file system,
1601 however, will @emph{not} have been made to the archive member.) The
1602 archive file, @samp{collection.tar}, is the same as it was before you
1603 extracted @samp{blues}. You can confirm this by running @command{tar} with
1604 @option{--list} (@option{-t}).
1606 Remember that as with other operations, specifying the exact member
1607 name is important. @w{@kbd{tar --extract --file=bfiles.tar birds}}
1608 will fail, because there is no member named @file{birds}. To extract
1609 the member named @file{./birds}, you must specify @w{@kbd{tar
1610 --extract --file=bfiles.tar ./birds}}. If you don't remember the
1611 exact member names, use @option{--list} (@option{-t}) option
1612 (@pxref{list}). You can also extract those members that match a
1613 specific @dfn{globbing pattern}. For example, to extract from
1614 @file{bfiles.tar} all files that begin with @samp{b}, no matter their
1615 directory prefix, you could type:
1618 $ @kbd{tar -x -f bfiles.tar --wildcards --no-anchored 'b*'}
1622 Here, @option{--wildcards} instructs @command{tar} to treat
1623 command line arguments as globbing patterns and @option{--no-anchored}
1624 informs it that the patterns apply to member names after any @samp{/}
1625 delimiter. The use of globbing patterns is discussed in detail in
1628 You can extract a file to standard output by combining the above options
1629 with the @option{--to-stdout} (@option{-O}) option (@pxref{Writing to Standard
1632 If you give the @option{--verbose} option, then @option{--extract}
1633 will print the names of the archive members as it extracts them.
1636 @subsection Extracting Files that are Directories
1638 Extracting directories which are members of an archive is similar to
1639 extracting other files. The main difference to be aware of is that if
1640 the extracted directory has the same name as any directory already in
1641 the working directory, then files in the extracted directory will be
1642 placed into the directory of the same name. Likewise, if there are
1643 files in the pre-existing directory with the same names as the members
1644 which you extract, the files from the extracted archive will replace
1645 the files already in the working directory (and possible
1646 subdirectories). This will happen regardless of whether or not the
1647 files in the working directory were more recent than those extracted
1648 (there exist, however, special options that alter this behavior
1651 However, if a file was stored with a directory name as part of its file
1652 name, and that directory does not exist under the working directory when
1653 the file is extracted, @command{tar} will create the directory.
1655 We can demonstrate how to use @option{--extract} to extract a directory
1656 file with an example. Change to the @file{practice} directory if you
1657 weren't there, and remove the files @file{folk} and @file{jazz}. Then,
1658 go back to the parent directory and extract the archive
1659 @file{music.tar}. You may either extract the entire archive, or you may
1660 extract only the files you just deleted. To extract the entire archive,
1661 don't give any file names as arguments after the archive name
1662 @file{music.tar}. To extract only the files you deleted, use the
1666 $ @kbd{tar -xvf music.tar practice/folk practice/jazz}
1672 If you were to specify two @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) options, @command{tar}
1673 would have displayed more detail about the extracted files, as shown
1674 in the example below:
1677 $ @kbd{tar -xvvf music.tar practice/folk practice/jazz}
1678 -rw-r--r-- me user 28 1996-10-18 16:31 practice/jazz
1679 -rw-r--r-- me user 20 1996-09-23 16:44 practice/folk
1683 Because you created the directory with @file{practice} as part of the
1684 file names of each of the files by archiving the @file{practice}
1685 directory as @file{practice}, you must give @file{practice} as part
1686 of the file names when you extract those files from the archive.
1688 @node extracting untrusted archives
1689 @subsection Extracting Archives from Untrusted Sources
1691 Extracting files from archives can overwrite files that already exist.
1692 If you receive an archive from an untrusted source, you should make a
1693 new directory and extract into that directory, so that you don't have
1694 to worry about the extraction overwriting one of your existing files.
1695 For example, if @file{untrusted.tar} came from somewhere else on the
1696 Internet, and you don't necessarily trust its contents, you can
1697 extract it as follows:
1700 $ @kbd{mkdir newdir}
1702 $ @kbd{tar -xvf ../untrusted.tar}
1705 It is also a good practice to examine contents of the archive
1706 before extracting it, using @option{--list} (@option{-t}) option, possibly combined
1707 with @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}).
1709 @node failing commands
1710 @subsection Commands That Will Fail
1712 Here are some sample commands you might try which will not work, and why
1715 If you try to use this command,
1718 $ @kbd{tar -xvf music.tar folk jazz}
1722 you will get the following response:
1725 tar: folk: Not found in archive
1726 tar: jazz: Not found in archive
1731 This is because these files were not originally @emph{in} the parent
1732 directory @file{..}, where the archive is located; they were in the
1733 @file{practice} directory, and their file names reflect this:
1736 $ @kbd{tar -tvf music.tar}
1742 @FIXME{make sure the above works when going through the examples in
1746 Likewise, if you try to use this command,
1749 $ @kbd{tar -tvf music.tar folk jazz}
1753 you would get a similar response. Members with those names are not in the
1754 archive. You must use the correct member names, or wildcards, in order
1755 to extract the files from the archive.
1757 If you have forgotten the correct names of the files in the archive,
1758 use @w{@kbd{tar --list --verbose}} to list them correctly.
1760 @FIXME{more examples, here? hag thinks it's a good idea.}
1763 @section Going Further Ahead in this Manual
1766 @FIXME{need to write up a node here about the things that are going to
1767 be in the rest of the manual.}
1769 @node tar invocation
1770 @chapter Invoking @GNUTAR{}
1773 This chapter is about how one invokes the @GNUTAR{}
1774 command, from the command synopsis (@pxref{Synopsis}). There are
1775 numerous options, and many styles for writing them. One mandatory
1776 option specifies the operation @command{tar} should perform
1777 (@pxref{Operation Summary}), other options are meant to detail how
1778 this operation should be performed (@pxref{Option Summary}).
1779 Non-option arguments are not always interpreted the same way,
1780 depending on what the operation is.
1782 You will find in this chapter everything about option styles and rules for
1783 writing them (@pxref{Styles}). On the other hand, operations and options
1784 are fully described elsewhere, in other chapters. Here, you will find
1785 only synthetic descriptions for operations and options, together with
1786 pointers to other parts of the @command{tar} manual.
1788 Some options are so special they are fully described right in this
1789 chapter. They have the effect of inhibiting the normal operation of
1790 @command{tar} or else, they globally alter the amount of feedback the user
1791 receives about what is going on. These are the @option{--help} and
1792 @option{--version} (@pxref{help}), @option{--verbose} (@pxref{verbose})
1793 and @option{--interactive} options (@pxref{interactive}).
1797 * using tar options::
1808 @section General Synopsis of @command{tar}
1810 The @GNUTAR{} program is invoked as either one of:
1813 @kbd{tar @var{option}@dots{} [@var{name}]@dots{}}
1814 @kbd{tar @var{letter}@dots{} [@var{argument}]@dots{} [@var{option}]@dots{} [@var{name}]@dots{}}
1817 The second form is for when old options are being used.
1819 You can use @command{tar} to store files in an archive, to extract them from
1820 an archive, and to do other types of archive manipulation. The primary
1821 argument to @command{tar}, which is called the @dfn{operation}, specifies
1822 which action to take. The other arguments to @command{tar} are either
1823 @dfn{options}, which change the way @command{tar} performs an operation,
1824 or file names or archive members, which specify the files or members
1825 @command{tar} is to act on.
1827 You can actually type in arguments in any order, even if in this manual
1828 the options always precede the other arguments, to make examples easier
1829 to understand. Further, the option stating the main operation mode
1830 (the @command{tar} main command) is usually given first.
1832 Each @var{name} in the synopsis above is interpreted as an archive member
1833 name when the main command is one of @option{--compare}
1834 (@option{--diff}, @option{-d}), @option{--delete}, @option{--extract}
1835 (@option{--get}, @option{-x}), @option{--list} (@option{-t}) or
1836 @option{--update} (@option{-u}). When naming archive members, you
1837 must give the exact name of the member in the archive, as it is
1838 printed by @option{--list}. For @option{--append} (@option{-r}) and
1839 @option{--create} (@option{-c}), these @var{name} arguments specify
1840 the names of either files or directory hierarchies to place in the archive.
1841 These files or hierarchies should already exist in the file system,
1842 prior to the execution of the @command{tar} command.
1844 @command{tar} interprets relative file names as being relative to the
1845 working directory. @command{tar} will make all file names relative
1846 (by removing leading slashes when archiving or restoring files),
1847 unless you specify otherwise (using the @option{--absolute-names}
1848 option). @xref{absolute}, for more information about
1849 @option{--absolute-names}.
1851 If you give the name of a directory as either a file name or a member
1852 name, then @command{tar} acts recursively on all the files and directories
1853 beneath that directory. For example, the name @file{/} identifies all
1854 the files in the file system to @command{tar}.
1856 The distinction between file names and archive member names is especially
1857 important when shell globbing is used, and sometimes a source of confusion
1858 for newcomers. @xref{wildcards}, for more information about globbing.
1859 The problem is that shells may only glob using existing files in the
1860 file system. Only @command{tar} itself may glob on archive members, so when
1861 needed, you must ensure that wildcard characters reach @command{tar} without
1862 being interpreted by the shell first. Using a backslash before @samp{*}
1863 or @samp{?}, or putting the whole argument between quotes, is usually
1864 sufficient for this.
1866 Even if @var{name}s are often specified on the command line, they
1867 can also be read from a text file in the file system, using the
1868 @option{--files-from=@var{file-of-names}} (@option{-T @var{file-of-names}}) option.
1870 If you don't use any file name arguments, @option{--append} (@option{-r}),
1871 @option{--delete} and @option{--concatenate} (@option{--catenate},
1872 @option{-A}) will do nothing, while @option{--create} (@option{-c})
1873 will usually yield a diagnostic and inhibit @command{tar} execution.
1874 The other operations of @command{tar} (@option{--list},
1875 @option{--extract}, @option{--compare}, and @option{--update})
1876 will act on the entire contents of the archive.
1879 @cindex return status
1880 Besides successful exits, @GNUTAR{} may fail for
1881 many reasons. Some reasons correspond to bad usage, that is, when the
1882 @command{tar} command is improperly written. Errors may be
1883 encountered later, while encountering an error processing the archive
1884 or the files. Some errors are recoverable, in which case the failure
1885 is delayed until @command{tar} has completed all its work. Some
1886 errors are such that it would not meaningful, or at least risky, to
1887 continue processing: @command{tar} then aborts processing immediately.
1888 All abnormal exits, whether immediate or delayed, should always be
1889 clearly diagnosed on @code{stderr}, after a line stating the nature of
1892 Possible exit codes of @GNUTAR{} are summarized in the following
1897 @samp{Successful termination}.
1900 @samp{Some files differ}. If tar was invoked with @option{--compare}
1901 (@option{--diff}, @option{-d}) command line option, this means that
1902 some files in the archive differ from their disk counterparts
1903 (@pxref{compare}). If tar was given @option{--create},
1904 @option{--append} or @option{--update} option, this exit code means
1905 that some files were changed while being archived and so the resulting
1906 archive does not contain the exact copy of the file set.
1909 @samp{Fatal error}. This means that some fatal, unrecoverable error
1913 If @command{tar} has invoked a subprocess and that subprocess exited with a
1914 nonzero exit code, @command{tar} exits with that code as well.
1915 This can happen, for example, if @command{tar} was given some
1916 compression option (@pxref{gzip}) and the external compressor program
1917 failed. Another example is @command{rmt} failure during backup to the
1918 remote device (@pxref{Remote Tape Server}).
1920 @node using tar options
1921 @section Using @command{tar} Options
1923 @GNUTAR{} has a total of eight operating modes which
1924 allow you to perform a variety of tasks. You are required to choose
1925 one operating mode each time you employ the @command{tar} program by
1926 specifying one, and only one operation as an argument to the
1927 @command{tar} command (two lists of four operations each may be found
1928 at @ref{frequent operations} and @ref{Operations}). Depending on
1929 circumstances, you may also wish to customize how the chosen operating
1930 mode behaves. For example, you may wish to change the way the output
1931 looks, or the format of the files that you wish to archive may require
1932 you to do something special in order to make the archive look right.
1934 You can customize and control @command{tar}'s performance by running
1935 @command{tar} with one or more options (such as @option{--verbose}
1936 (@option{-v}), which we used in the tutorial). As we said in the
1937 tutorial, @dfn{options} are arguments to @command{tar} which are (as
1938 their name suggests) optional. Depending on the operating mode, you
1939 may specify one or more options. Different options will have different
1940 effects, but in general they all change details of the operation, such
1941 as archive format, archive name, or level of user interaction. Some
1942 options make sense with all operating modes, while others are
1943 meaningful only with particular modes. You will likely use some
1944 options frequently, while you will only use others infrequently, or
1945 not at all. (A full list of options is available in @pxref{All Options}.)
1947 @vrindex TAR_OPTIONS, environment variable
1948 @anchor{TAR_OPTIONS}
1949 The @env{TAR_OPTIONS} environment variable specifies default options to
1950 be placed in front of any explicit options. For example, if
1951 @code{TAR_OPTIONS} is @samp{-v --unlink-first}, @command{tar} behaves as
1952 if the two options @option{-v} and @option{--unlink-first} had been
1953 specified before any explicit options. Option specifications are
1954 separated by whitespace. A backslash escapes the next character, so it
1955 can be used to specify an option containing whitespace or a backslash.
1957 Note that @command{tar} options are case sensitive. For example, the
1958 options @option{-T} and @option{-t} are different; the first requires an
1959 argument for stating the name of a file providing a list of @var{name}s,
1960 while the second does not require an argument and is another way to
1961 write @option{--list} (@option{-t}).
1963 In addition to the eight operations, there are many options to
1964 @command{tar}, and three different styles for writing both: long (mnemonic)
1965 form, short form, and old style. These styles are discussed below.
1966 Both the options and the operations can be written in any of these three
1969 @FIXME{menu at end of this node. need to think of an actual outline
1970 for this chapter; probably do that after stuff from chapter 4 is
1974 @section The Three Option Styles
1976 There are three styles for writing operations and options to the command
1977 line invoking @command{tar}. The different styles were developed at
1978 different times during the history of @command{tar}. These styles will be
1979 presented below, from the most recent to the oldest.
1981 Some options must take an argument. (For example, @option{--file}
1982 (@option{-f})) takes the name of an archive file as an argument. If
1983 you do not supply an archive file name, @command{tar} will use a
1984 default, but this can be confusing; thus, we recommend that you always
1985 supply a specific archive file name.) Where you @emph{place} the
1986 arguments generally depends on which style of options you choose. We
1987 will detail specific information relevant to each option style in the
1988 sections on the different option styles, below. The differences are
1989 subtle, yet can often be very important; incorrect option placement
1990 can cause you to overwrite a number of important files. We urge you
1991 to note these differences, and only use the option style(s) which
1992 makes the most sense to you until you feel comfortable with the others.
1994 Some options @emph{may} take an argument. Such options may have at
1995 most long and short forms, they do not have old style equivalent. The
1996 rules for specifying an argument for such options are stricter than
1997 those for specifying mandatory arguments. Please, pay special
2001 * Long Options:: Long Option Style
2002 * Short Options:: Short Option Style
2003 * Old Options:: Old Option Style
2004 * Mixing:: Mixing Option Styles
2008 @subsection Long Option Style
2010 Each option has at least one @dfn{long} (or @dfn{mnemonic}) name starting with two
2011 dashes in a row, e.g., @option{--list}. The long names are more clear than
2012 their corresponding short or old names. It sometimes happens that a
2013 single long option has many different names which are
2014 synonymous, such as @option{--compare} and @option{--diff}. In addition,
2015 long option names can be given unique abbreviations. For example,
2016 @option{--cre} can be used in place of @option{--create} because there is no
2017 other long option which begins with @samp{cre}. (One way to find
2018 this out is by trying it and seeing what happens; if a particular
2019 abbreviation could represent more than one option, @command{tar} will tell
2020 you that that abbreviation is ambiguous and you'll know that that
2021 abbreviation won't work. You may also choose to run @samp{tar --help}
2022 to see a list of options. Be aware that if you run @command{tar} with a
2023 unique abbreviation for the long name of an option you didn't want to
2024 use, you are stuck; @command{tar} will perform the command as ordered.)
2026 Long options are meant to be obvious and easy to remember, and their
2027 meanings are generally easier to discern than those of their
2028 corresponding short options (see below). For example:
2031 $ @kbd{tar --create --verbose --blocking-factor=20 --file=/dev/rmt0}
2035 gives a fairly good set of hints about what the command does, even
2036 for those not fully acquainted with @command{tar}.
2038 Long options which require arguments take those arguments
2039 immediately following the option name. There are two ways of
2040 specifying a mandatory argument. It can be separated from the
2041 option name either by an equal sign, or by any amount of
2042 white space characters. For example, the @option{--file} option (which
2043 tells the name of the @command{tar} archive) is given a file such as
2044 @file{archive.tar} as argument by using any of the following notations:
2045 @option{--file=archive.tar} or @option{--file archive.tar}.
2047 In contrast, optional arguments must always be introduced using
2048 an equal sign. For example, the @option{--backup} option takes
2049 an optional argument specifying backup type. It must be used
2050 as @option{--backup=@var{backup-type}}.
2053 @subsection Short Option Style
2055 Most options also have a @dfn{short option} name. Short options start with
2056 a single dash, and are followed by a single character, e.g., @option{-t}
2057 (which is equivalent to @option{--list}). The forms are absolutely
2058 identical in function; they are interchangeable.
2060 The short option names are faster to type than long option names.
2062 Short options which require arguments take their arguments immediately
2063 following the option, usually separated by white space. It is also
2064 possible to stick the argument right after the short option name, using
2065 no intervening space. For example, you might write @w{@option{-f
2066 archive.tar}} or @option{-farchive.tar} instead of using
2067 @option{--file=archive.tar}. Both @option{--file=@var{archive-name}} and
2068 @w{@option{-f @var{archive-name}}} denote the option which indicates a
2069 specific archive, here named @file{archive.tar}.
2071 Short options which take optional arguments take their arguments
2072 immediately following the option letter, @emph{without any intervening
2073 white space characters}.
2075 Short options' letters may be clumped together, but you are not
2076 required to do this (as compared to old options; see below). When
2077 short options are clumped as a set, use one (single) dash for them
2078 all, e.g., @w{@samp{@command{tar} -cvf}}. Only the last option in
2079 such a set is allowed to have an argument@footnote{Clustering many
2080 options, the last of which has an argument, is a rather opaque way to
2081 write options. Some wonder if @acronym{GNU} @code{getopt} should not
2082 even be made helpful enough for considering such usages as invalid.}.
2084 When the options are separated, the argument for each option which requires
2085 an argument directly follows that option, as is usual for Unix programs.
2089 $ @kbd{tar -c -v -b 20 -f /dev/rmt0}
2092 If you reorder short options' locations, be sure to move any arguments
2093 that belong to them. If you do not move the arguments properly, you may
2094 end up overwriting files.
2097 @subsection Old Option Style
2100 Like short options, @dfn{old options} are single letters. However, old options
2101 must be written together as a single clumped set, without spaces separating
2102 them or dashes preceding them@footnote{Beware that if you precede options
2103 with a dash, you are announcing the short option style instead of the
2104 old option style; short options are decoded differently.}. This set
2105 of letters must be the first to appear on the command line, after the
2106 @command{tar} program name and some white space; old options cannot appear
2107 anywhere else. The letter of an old option is exactly the same letter as
2108 the corresponding short option. For example, the old option @samp{t} is
2109 the same as the short option @option{-t}, and consequently, the same as the
2110 long option @option{--list}. So for example, the command @w{@samp{tar
2111 cv}} specifies the option @option{-v} in addition to the operation @option{-c}.
2113 When options that need arguments are given together with the command,
2114 all the associated arguments follow, in the same order as the options.
2115 Thus, the example given previously could also be written in the old
2119 $ @kbd{tar cvbf 20 /dev/rmt0}
2123 Here, @samp{20} is the argument of @option{-b} and @samp{/dev/rmt0} is
2124 the argument of @option{-f}.
2126 On the other hand, this old style syntax makes it difficult to match
2127 option letters with their corresponding arguments, and is often
2128 confusing. In the command @w{@samp{tar cvbf 20 /dev/rmt0}}, for example,
2129 @samp{20} is the argument for @option{-b}, @samp{/dev/rmt0} is the
2130 argument for @option{-f}, and @option{-v} does not have a corresponding
2131 argument. Even using short options like in @w{@samp{tar -c -v -b 20 -f
2132 /dev/rmt0}} is clearer, putting all arguments next to the option they
2135 If you want to reorder the letters in the old option argument, be
2136 sure to reorder any corresponding argument appropriately.
2138 This old way of writing @command{tar} options can surprise even experienced
2139 users. For example, the two commands:
2142 @kbd{tar cfz archive.tar.gz file}
2143 @kbd{tar -cfz archive.tar.gz file}
2147 are quite different. The first example uses @file{archive.tar.gz} as
2148 the value for option @samp{f} and recognizes the option @samp{z}. The
2149 second example, however, uses @file{z} as the value for option
2150 @samp{f} --- probably not what was intended.
2152 Old options are kept for compatibility with old versions of @command{tar}.
2154 This second example could be corrected in many ways, among which the
2155 following are equivalent:
2158 @kbd{tar -czf archive.tar.gz file}
2159 @kbd{tar -cf archive.tar.gz -z file}
2160 @kbd{tar cf archive.tar.gz -z file}
2163 @cindex option syntax, traditional
2164 As far as we know, all @command{tar} programs, @acronym{GNU} and
2165 non-@acronym{GNU}, support old options. @GNUTAR{}
2166 supports them not only for historical reasons, but also because many
2167 people are used to them. For compatibility with Unix @command{tar},
2168 the first argument is always treated as containing command and option
2169 letters even if it doesn't start with @samp{-}. Thus, @samp{tar c} is
2170 equivalent to @w{@samp{tar -c}:} both of them specify the
2171 @option{--create} (@option{-c}) command to create an archive.
2174 @subsection Mixing Option Styles
2176 All three styles may be intermixed in a single @command{tar} command,
2177 so long as the rules for each style are fully
2178 respected@footnote{Before @GNUTAR{} version 1.11.6,
2179 a bug prevented intermixing old style options with long options in
2180 some cases.}. Old style options and either of the modern styles of
2181 options may be mixed within a single @command{tar} command. However,
2182 old style options must be introduced as the first arguments only,
2183 following the rule for old options (old options must appear directly
2184 after the @command{tar} command and some white space). Modern options
2185 may be given only after all arguments to the old options have been
2186 collected. If this rule is not respected, a modern option might be
2187 falsely interpreted as the value of the argument to one of the old
2190 For example, all the following commands are wholly equivalent, and
2191 illustrate the many combinations and orderings of option styles.
2194 @kbd{tar --create --file=archive.tar}
2195 @kbd{tar --create -f archive.tar}
2196 @kbd{tar --create -farchive.tar}
2197 @kbd{tar --file=archive.tar --create}
2198 @kbd{tar --file=archive.tar -c}
2199 @kbd{tar -c --file=archive.tar}
2200 @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar}
2201 @kbd{tar -c -farchive.tar}
2202 @kbd{tar -cf archive.tar}
2203 @kbd{tar -cfarchive.tar}
2204 @kbd{tar -f archive.tar --create}
2205 @kbd{tar -f archive.tar -c}
2206 @kbd{tar -farchive.tar --create}
2207 @kbd{tar -farchive.tar -c}
2208 @kbd{tar c --file=archive.tar}
2209 @kbd{tar c -f archive.tar}
2210 @kbd{tar c -farchive.tar}
2211 @kbd{tar cf archive.tar}
2212 @kbd{tar f archive.tar --create}
2213 @kbd{tar f archive.tar -c}
2214 @kbd{tar fc archive.tar}
2217 On the other hand, the following commands are @emph{not} equivalent to
2221 @kbd{tar -f -c archive.tar}
2222 @kbd{tar -fc archive.tar}
2223 @kbd{tar -fcarchive.tar}
2224 @kbd{tar -farchive.tarc}
2225 @kbd{tar cfarchive.tar}
2229 These last examples mean something completely different from what the
2230 user intended (judging based on the example in the previous set which
2231 uses long options, whose intent is therefore very clear). The first
2232 four specify that the @command{tar} archive would be a file named
2233 @option{-c}, @samp{c}, @samp{carchive.tar} or @samp{archive.tarc},
2234 respectively. The first two examples also specify a single non-option,
2235 @var{name} argument having the value @samp{archive.tar}. The last
2236 example contains only old style option letters (repeating option
2237 @samp{c} twice), not all of which are meaningful (eg., @samp{.},
2238 @samp{h}, or @samp{i}), with no argument value. @FIXME{not sure i liked
2239 the first sentence of this paragraph..}
2242 @section All @command{tar} Options
2244 The coming manual sections contain an alphabetical listing of all
2245 @command{tar} operations and options, with brief descriptions and cross
2246 references to more in-depth explanations in the body of the manual.
2247 They also contain an alphabetically arranged table of the short option
2248 forms with their corresponding long option. You can use this table as
2249 a reference for deciphering @command{tar} commands in scripts.
2252 * Operation Summary::
2254 * Short Option Summary::
2257 @node Operation Summary
2258 @subsection Operations
2266 Appends files to the end of the archive. @xref{append}.
2268 @opsummary{catenate}
2272 Same as @option{--concatenate}. @xref{concatenate}.
2278 Compares archive members with their counterparts in the file
2279 system, and reports differences in file size, mode, owner,
2280 modification date and contents. @xref{compare}.
2282 @opsummary{concatenate}
2286 Appends other @command{tar} archives to the end of the archive.
2293 Creates a new @command{tar} archive. @xref{create}.
2298 Deletes members from the archive. Don't try this on a archive on a
2299 tape! @xref{delete}.
2305 Same @option{--compare}. @xref{compare}.
2311 Extracts members from the archive into the file system. @xref{extract}.
2317 Same as @option{--extract}. @xref{extract}.
2323 Lists the members in an archive. @xref{list}.
2329 Adds files to the end of the archive, but only if they are newer than
2330 their counterparts already in the archive, or if they do not already
2331 exist in the archive. @xref{update}.
2335 @node Option Summary
2336 @subsection @command{tar} Options
2340 @opsummary{absolute-names}
2341 @item --absolute-names
2344 Normally when creating an archive, @command{tar} strips an initial
2345 @samp{/} from member names. This option disables that behavior.
2348 @opsummary{after-date}
2351 (See @option{--newer}, @pxref{after})
2353 @opsummary{anchored}
2355 A pattern must match an initial subsequence of the name's components.
2356 @xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
2358 @opsummary{atime-preserve}
2359 @item --atime-preserve
2360 @itemx --atime-preserve=replace
2361 @itemx --atime-preserve=system
2363 Attempt to preserve the access time of files when reading them. This
2364 option currently is effective only on files that you own, unless you
2365 have superuser privileges.
2367 @option{--atime-preserve=replace} remembers the access time of a file
2368 before reading it, and then restores the access time afterwards. This
2369 may cause problems if other programs are reading the file at the same
2370 time, as the times of their accesses will be lost. On most platforms
2371 restoring the access time also requires @command{tar} to restore the
2372 data modification time too, so this option may also cause problems if
2373 other programs are writing the file at the same time. (Tar attempts
2374 to detect this situation, but cannot do so reliably due to race
2375 conditions.) Worse, on most platforms restoring the access time also
2376 updates the status change time, which means that this option is
2377 incompatible with incremental backups.
2379 @option{--atime-preserve=system} avoids changing time stamps on files,
2380 without interfering with time stamp updates
2381 caused by other programs, so it works better with incremental backups.
2382 However, it requires a special @code{O_NOATIME} option from the
2383 underlying operating and file system implementation, and it also requires
2384 that searching directories does not update their access times. As of
2385 this writing (November 2005) this works only with Linux, and only with
2386 Linux kernels 2.6.8 and later. Worse, there is currently no reliable
2387 way to know whether this feature actually works. Sometimes
2388 @command{tar} knows that it does not work, and if you use
2389 @option{--atime-preserve=system} then @command{tar} complains and
2390 exits right away. But other times @command{tar} might think that the
2391 option works when it actually does not.
2393 Currently @option{--atime-preserve} with no operand defaults to
2394 @option{--atime-preserve=replace}, but this may change in the future
2395 as support for @option{--atime-preserve=system} improves.
2397 If your operating system does not support
2398 @option{--atime-preserve=@-system}, you might be able to preserve access
2399 times reliably by by using the @command{mount} command. For example,
2400 you can mount the file system read-only, or access the file system via
2401 a read-only loopback mount, or use the @samp{noatime} mount option
2402 available on some systems. However, mounting typically requires
2403 superuser privileges and can be a pain to manage.
2405 @opsummary{auto-compress}
2406 @item --auto-compress
2409 During a @option{--create} operation, enables automatic compressed
2410 format recognition based on the archive suffix. The effect of this
2411 option is cancelled by @option{--no-auto-compress}. @xref{gzip}.
2414 @item --backup=@var{backup-type}
2416 Rather than deleting files from the file system, @command{tar} will
2417 back them up using simple or numbered backups, depending upon
2418 @var{backup-type}. @xref{backup}.
2420 @opsummary{block-number}
2421 @item --block-number
2424 With this option present, @command{tar} prints error messages for read errors
2425 with the block number in the archive file. @xref{block-number}.
2427 @opsummary{blocking-factor}
2428 @item --blocking-factor=@var{blocking}
2429 @itemx -b @var{blocking}
2431 Sets the blocking factor @command{tar} uses to @var{blocking} x 512 bytes per
2432 record. @xref{Blocking Factor}.
2438 This option tells @command{tar} to read or write archives through
2439 @code{bzip2}. @xref{gzip}.
2441 @opsummary{check-device}
2442 @item --check-device
2443 Check device numbers when creating a list of modified files for
2444 incremental archiving. This is the default. @xref{device numbers},
2445 for a detailed description.
2447 @opsummary{checkpoint}
2448 @item --checkpoint[=@var{number}]
2450 This option directs @command{tar} to print periodic checkpoint
2451 messages as it reads through the archive. It is intended for when you
2452 want a visual indication that @command{tar} is still running, but
2453 don't want to see @option{--verbose} output. You can also instruct
2454 @command{tar} to execute a list of actions on each checkpoint, see
2455 @option{--checklist-action} below. For a detailed description, see
2458 @opsummary{checkpoint-action}
2459 @item --checkpoint-action=@var{action}
2460 Instruct @command{tar} to execute an action upon hitting a
2461 breakpoint. Here we give only a brief outline. @xref{checkpoints},
2462 for a complete description.
2464 The @var{action} argument can be one of the following:
2468 Produce an audible bell on the console.
2472 Print a single dot on the standard listing stream.
2475 Display a textual message on the standard error, with the status and
2476 number of the checkpoint. This is the default.
2478 @item echo=@var{string}
2479 Display @var{string} on the standard error. Before output, the string
2480 is subject to meta-character expansion.
2482 @item exec=@var{command}
2483 Execute the given @var{command}.
2485 @item sleep=@var{time}
2486 Wait for @var{time} seconds.
2488 @item ttyout=@var{string}
2489 Output @var{string} on the current console (@file{/dev/tty}).
2492 Several @option{--checkpoint-action} options can be specified. The
2493 supplied actions will be executed in order of their appearance in the
2496 Using @option{--checkpoint-action} without @option{--checkpoint}
2497 assumes default checkpoint frequency of one checkpoint per 10 records.
2499 @opsummary{check-links}
2502 If this option was given, @command{tar} will check the number of links
2503 dumped for each processed file. If this number does not match the
2504 total number of hard links for the file, a warning message will be
2505 output @footnote{Earlier versions of @GNUTAR{} understood @option{-l} as a
2506 synonym for @option{--one-file-system}. The current semantics, which
2507 complies to UNIX98, was introduced with version
2508 1.15.91. @xref{Changes}, for more information.}.
2512 @opsummary{compress}
2513 @opsummary{uncompress}
2518 @command{tar} will use the @command{compress} program when reading or
2519 writing the archive. This allows you to directly act on archives
2520 while saving space. @xref{gzip}.
2522 @opsummary{confirmation}
2523 @item --confirmation
2525 (See @option{--interactive}.) @xref{interactive}.
2527 @opsummary{delay-directory-restore}
2528 @item --delay-directory-restore
2530 Delay setting modification times and permissions of extracted
2531 directories until the end of extraction. @xref{Directory Modification Times and Permissions}.
2533 @opsummary{dereference}
2537 When creating a @command{tar} archive, @command{tar} will archive the
2538 file that a symbolic link points to, rather than archiving the
2539 symlink. @xref{dereference}.
2541 @opsummary{directory}
2542 @item --directory=@var{dir}
2545 When this option is specified, @command{tar} will change its current directory
2546 to @var{dir} before performing any operations. When this option is used
2547 during archive creation, it is order sensitive. @xref{directory}.
2550 @item --exclude=@var{pattern}
2552 When performing operations, @command{tar} will skip files that match
2553 @var{pattern}. @xref{exclude}.
2555 @opsummary{exclude-from}
2556 @item --exclude-from=@var{file}
2557 @itemx -X @var{file}
2559 Similar to @option{--exclude}, except @command{tar} will use the list of
2560 patterns in the file @var{file}. @xref{exclude}.
2562 @opsummary{exclude-caches}
2563 @item --exclude-caches
2565 Exclude from dump any directory containing a valid cache directory
2566 tag file, but still dump the directory node and the tag file itself.
2570 @opsummary{exclude-caches-under}
2571 @item --exclude-caches-under
2573 Exclude from dump any directory containing a valid cache directory
2574 tag file, but still dump the directory node itself.
2578 @opsummary{exclude-caches-all}
2579 @item --exclude-caches-all
2581 Exclude from dump any directory containing a valid cache directory
2582 tag file. @xref{exclude}.
2584 @opsummary{exclude-tag}
2585 @item --exclude-tag=@var{file}
2587 Exclude from dump any directory containing file named @var{file}, but
2588 dump the directory node and @var{file} itself. @xref{exclude}.
2590 @opsummary{exclude-tag-under}
2591 @item --exclude-tag-under=@var{file}
2593 Exclude from dump the contents of any directory containing file
2594 named @var{file}, but dump the directory node itself. @xref{exclude}.
2596 @opsummary{exclude-tag-all}
2597 @item --exclude-tag-all=@var{file}
2599 Exclude from dump any directory containing file named @var{file}.
2602 @opsummary{exclude-vcs}
2605 Exclude from dump directories and files, that are internal for some
2606 widely used version control systems.
2611 @item --file=@var{archive}
2612 @itemx -f @var{archive}
2614 @command{tar} will use the file @var{archive} as the @command{tar} archive it
2615 performs operations on, rather than @command{tar}'s compilation dependent
2616 default. @xref{file tutorial}.
2618 @opsummary{files-from}
2619 @item --files-from=@var{file}
2620 @itemx -T @var{file}
2622 @command{tar} will use the contents of @var{file} as a list of archive members
2623 or files to operate on, in addition to those specified on the
2624 command-line. @xref{files}.
2626 @opsummary{force-local}
2629 Forces @command{tar} to interpret the file name given to @option{--file}
2630 as a local file, even if it looks like a remote tape drive name.
2631 @xref{local and remote archives}.
2634 @item --format=@var{format}
2635 @itemx -H @var{format}
2637 Selects output archive format. @var{Format} may be one of the
2642 Creates an archive that is compatible with Unix V7 @command{tar}.
2645 Creates an archive that is compatible with GNU @command{tar} version
2649 Creates archive in GNU tar 1.13 format. Basically it is the same as
2650 @samp{oldgnu} with the only difference in the way it handles long
2654 Creates a @acronym{POSIX.1-1988} compatible archive.
2657 Creates a @acronym{POSIX.1-2001 archive}.
2661 @xref{Formats}, for a detailed discussion of these formats.
2664 @item --group=@var{group}
2666 Files added to the @command{tar} archive will have a group @acronym{ID} of @var{group},
2667 rather than the group from the source file. @var{group} is first decoded
2668 as a group symbolic name, but if this interpretation fails, it has to be
2669 a decimal numeric group @acronym{ID}. @xref{override}.
2671 Also see the comments for the @option{--owner=@var{user}} option.
2681 This option tells @command{tar} to read or write archives through
2682 @command{gzip}, allowing @command{tar} to directly operate on several
2683 kinds of compressed archives transparently. @xref{gzip}.
2685 @opsummary{hard-dereference}
2686 @item --hard-dereference
2687 When creating an archive, dereference hard links and store the files
2688 they refer to, instead of creating usual hard link members.
2696 @command{tar} will print out a short message summarizing the operations and
2697 options to @command{tar} and exit. @xref{help}.
2699 @opsummary{ignore-case}
2701 Ignore case when matching member or file names with
2702 patterns. @xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
2704 @opsummary{ignore-command-error}
2705 @item --ignore-command-error
2706 Ignore exit codes of subprocesses. @xref{Writing to an External Program}.
2708 @opsummary{ignore-failed-read}
2709 @item --ignore-failed-read
2711 Do not exit unsuccessfully merely because an unreadable file was encountered.
2714 @opsummary{ignore-zeros}
2715 @item --ignore-zeros
2718 With this option, @command{tar} will ignore zeroed blocks in the
2719 archive, which normally signals EOF. @xref{Reading}.
2721 @opsummary{incremental}
2725 Informs @command{tar} that it is working with an old
2726 @acronym{GNU}-format incremental backup archive. It is intended
2727 primarily for backwards compatibility only. @xref{Incremental Dumps},
2728 for a detailed discussion of incremental archives.
2730 @opsummary{index-file}
2731 @item --index-file=@var{file}
2733 Send verbose output to @var{file} instead of to standard output.
2735 @opsummary{info-script}
2736 @opsummary{new-volume-script}
2737 @item --info-script=@var{script-file}
2738 @itemx --new-volume-script=@var{script-file}
2739 @itemx -F @var{script-file}
2741 When @command{tar} is performing multi-tape backups, @var{script-file} is run
2742 at the end of each tape. If @var{script-file} exits with nonzero status,
2743 @command{tar} fails immediately. @xref{info-script}, for a detailed
2744 discussion of @var{script-file}.
2746 @opsummary{interactive}
2748 @itemx --confirmation
2751 Specifies that @command{tar} should ask the user for confirmation before
2752 performing potentially destructive options, such as overwriting files.
2755 @opsummary{keep-newer-files}
2756 @item --keep-newer-files
2758 Do not replace existing files that are newer than their archive copies
2759 when extracting files from an archive.
2761 @opsummary{keep-old-files}
2762 @item --keep-old-files
2765 Do not overwrite existing files when extracting files from an archive.
2766 @xref{Keep Old Files}.
2769 @item --label=@var{name}
2770 @itemx -V @var{name}
2772 When creating an archive, instructs @command{tar} to write @var{name}
2773 as a name record in the archive. When extracting or listing archives,
2774 @command{tar} will only operate on archives that have a label matching
2775 the pattern specified in @var{name}. @xref{Tape Files}.
2777 @opsummary{listed-incremental}
2778 @item --listed-incremental=@var{snapshot-file}
2779 @itemx -g @var{snapshot-file}
2781 During a @option{--create} operation, specifies that the archive that
2782 @command{tar} creates is a new @acronym{GNU}-format incremental
2783 backup, using @var{snapshot-file} to determine which files to backup.
2784 With other operations, informs @command{tar} that the archive is in
2785 incremental format. @xref{Incremental Dumps}.
2790 This option tells @command{tar} to read or write archives through
2791 @command{lzma}. @xref{gzip}.
2795 This option tells @command{tar} to read or write archives through
2796 @command{lzop}. @xref{gzip}.
2799 @item --mode=@var{permissions}
2801 When adding files to an archive, @command{tar} will use
2802 @var{permissions} for the archive members, rather than the permissions
2803 from the files. @var{permissions} can be specified either as an octal
2804 number or as symbolic permissions, like with
2805 @command{chmod}. @xref{override}.
2808 @item --mtime=@var{date}
2810 When adding files to an archive, @command{tar} will use @var{date} as
2811 the modification time of members when creating archives, instead of
2812 their actual modification times. The value of @var{date} can be
2813 either a textual date representation (@pxref{Date input formats}) or a
2814 name of the existing file, starting with @samp{/} or @samp{.}. In the
2815 latter case, the modification time of that file is used. @xref{override}.
2817 @opsummary{multi-volume}
2818 @item --multi-volume
2821 Informs @command{tar} that it should create or otherwise operate on a
2822 multi-volume @command{tar} archive. @xref{Using Multiple Tapes}.
2824 @opsummary{new-volume-script}
2825 @item --new-volume-script
2830 @item --newer=@var{date}
2831 @itemx --after-date=@var{date}
2834 When creating an archive, @command{tar} will only add files that have changed
2835 since @var{date}. If @var{date} begins with @samp{/} or @samp{.}, it
2836 is taken to be the name of a file whose data modification time specifies
2837 the date. @xref{after}.
2839 @opsummary{newer-mtime}
2840 @item --newer-mtime=@var{date}
2842 Like @option{--newer}, but add only files whose
2843 contents have changed (as opposed to just @option{--newer}, which will
2844 also back up files for which any status information has
2845 changed). @xref{after}.
2847 @opsummary{no-anchored}
2849 An exclude pattern can match any subsequence of the name's components.
2850 @xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
2852 @opsummary{no-auto-compress}
2853 @item --no-auto-compress
2855 Disables automatic compressed format recognition based on the archive
2856 suffix. @xref{--auto-compress}. @xref{gzip}.
2858 @opsummary{no-check-device}
2859 @item --no-check-device
2860 Do not check device numbers when creating a list of modified files
2861 for incremental archiving. @xref{device numbers}, for
2862 a detailed description.
2864 @opsummary{no-delay-directory-restore}
2865 @item --no-delay-directory-restore
2867 Modification times and permissions of extracted
2868 directories are set when all files from this directory have been
2869 extracted. This is the default.
2870 @xref{Directory Modification Times and Permissions}.
2872 @opsummary{no-ignore-case}
2873 @item --no-ignore-case
2874 Use case-sensitive matching.
2875 @xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
2877 @opsummary{no-ignore-command-error}
2878 @item --no-ignore-command-error
2879 Print warnings about subprocesses that terminated with a nonzero exit
2880 code. @xref{Writing to an External Program}.
2885 If the @option{--null} option was given previously, this option
2886 cancels its effect, so that any following @option{--files-from}
2887 options will expect their file lists to be newline-terminated.
2889 @opsummary{no-overwrite-dir}
2890 @item --no-overwrite-dir
2892 Preserve metadata of existing directories when extracting files
2893 from an archive. @xref{Overwrite Old Files}.
2895 @opsummary{no-quote-chars}
2896 @item --no-quote-chars=@var{string}
2897 Remove characters listed in @var{string} from the list of quoted
2898 characters set by the previous @option{--quote-chars} option
2899 (@pxref{quoting styles}).
2901 @opsummary{no-recursion}
2902 @item --no-recursion
2904 With this option, @command{tar} will not recurse into directories.
2907 @opsummary{no-same-owner}
2908 @item --no-same-owner
2911 When extracting an archive, do not attempt to preserve the owner
2912 specified in the @command{tar} archive. This the default behavior
2915 @opsummary{no-same-permissions}
2916 @item --no-same-permissions
2918 When extracting an archive, subtract the user's umask from files from
2919 the permissions specified in the archive. This is the default behavior
2922 @opsummary{no-unquote}
2924 Treat all input file or member names literally, do not interpret
2925 escape sequences. @xref{input name quoting}.
2927 @opsummary{no-wildcards}
2928 @item --no-wildcards
2929 Do not use wildcards.
2930 @xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
2932 @opsummary{no-wildcards-match-slash}
2933 @item --no-wildcards-match-slash
2934 Wildcards do not match @samp{/}.
2935 @xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
2940 When @command{tar} is using the @option{--files-from} option, this option
2941 instructs @command{tar} to expect file names terminated with @acronym{NUL}, so
2942 @command{tar} can correctly work with file names that contain newlines.
2945 @opsummary{numeric-owner}
2946 @item --numeric-owner
2948 This option will notify @command{tar} that it should use numeric user
2949 and group IDs when creating a @command{tar} file, rather than names.
2953 The function of this option depends on the action @command{tar} is
2954 performing. When extracting files, @option{-o} is a synonym for
2955 @option{--no-same-owner}, i.e., it prevents @command{tar} from
2956 restoring ownership of files being extracted.
2958 When creating an archive, it is a synonym for
2959 @option{--old-archive}. This behavior is for compatibility
2960 with previous versions of @GNUTAR{}, and will be
2961 removed in future releases.
2963 @xref{Changes}, for more information.
2965 @opsummary{occurrence}
2966 @item --occurrence[=@var{number}]
2968 This option can be used in conjunction with one of the subcommands
2969 @option{--delete}, @option{--diff}, @option{--extract} or
2970 @option{--list} when a list of files is given either on the command
2971 line or via @option{-T} option.
2973 This option instructs @command{tar} to process only the @var{number}th
2974 occurrence of each named file. @var{Number} defaults to 1, so
2977 tar -x -f archive.tar --occurrence filename
2981 will extract the first occurrence of the member @file{filename} from @file{archive.tar}
2982 and will terminate without scanning to the end of the archive.
2984 @opsummary{old-archive}
2986 Synonym for @option{--format=v7}.
2988 @opsummary{one-file-system}
2989 @item --one-file-system
2990 Used when creating an archive. Prevents @command{tar} from recursing into
2991 directories that are on different file systems from the current
2994 @opsummary{overwrite}
2997 Overwrite existing files and directory metadata when extracting files
2998 from an archive. @xref{Overwrite Old Files}.
3000 @opsummary{overwrite-dir}
3001 @item --overwrite-dir
3003 Overwrite the metadata of existing directories when extracting files
3004 from an archive. @xref{Overwrite Old Files}.
3007 @item --owner=@var{user}
3009 Specifies that @command{tar} should use @var{user} as the owner of members
3010 when creating archives, instead of the user associated with the source
3011 file. @var{user} is first decoded as a user symbolic name, but if
3012 this interpretation fails, it has to be a decimal numeric user @acronym{ID}.
3015 This option does not affect extraction from archives.
3017 @opsummary{pax-option}
3018 @item --pax-option=@var{keyword-list}
3019 This option is meaningful only with @acronym{POSIX.1-2001} archives
3020 (@pxref{posix}). It modifies the way @command{tar} handles the
3021 extended header keywords. @var{Keyword-list} is a comma-separated
3022 list of keyword options. @xref{PAX keywords}, for a detailed
3025 @opsummary{portability}
3027 @itemx --old-archive
3028 Synonym for @option{--format=v7}.
3032 Same as @option{--format=posix}.
3034 @opsummary{preserve}
3037 Synonymous with specifying both @option{--preserve-permissions} and
3038 @option{--same-order}. @xref{Setting Access Permissions}.
3040 @opsummary{preserve-order}
3041 @item --preserve-order
3043 (See @option{--same-order}; @pxref{Reading}.)
3045 @opsummary{preserve-permissions}
3046 @opsummary{same-permissions}
3047 @item --preserve-permissions
3048 @itemx --same-permissions
3051 When @command{tar} is extracting an archive, it normally subtracts the
3052 users' umask from the permissions specified in the archive and uses
3053 that number as the permissions to create the destination file.
3054 Specifying this option instructs @command{tar} that it should use the
3055 permissions directly from the archive. @xref{Setting Access Permissions}.
3057 @opsummary{quote-chars}
3058 @item --quote-chars=@var{string}
3059 Always quote characters from @var{string}, even if the selected
3060 quoting style would not quote them (@pxref{quoting styles}).
3062 @opsummary{quoting-style}
3063 @item --quoting-style=@var{style}
3064 Set quoting style to use when printing member and file names
3065 (@pxref{quoting styles}). Valid @var{style} values are:
3066 @code{literal}, @code{shell}, @code{shell-always}, @code{c},
3067 @code{escape}, @code{locale}, and @code{clocale}. Default quoting
3068 style is @code{escape}, unless overridden while configuring the
3071 @opsummary{read-full-records}
3072 @item --read-full-records
3075 Specifies that @command{tar} should reblock its input, for reading
3076 from pipes on systems with buggy implementations. @xref{Reading}.
3078 @opsummary{record-size}
3079 @item --record-size=@var{size}
3081 Instructs @command{tar} to use @var{size} bytes per record when accessing the
3082 archive. @xref{Blocking Factor}.
3084 @opsummary{recursion}
3087 With this option, @command{tar} recurses into directories (default).
3090 @opsummary{recursive-unlink}
3091 @item --recursive-unlink
3094 directory hierarchies before extracting directories of the same name
3095 from the archive. @xref{Recursive Unlink}.
3097 @opsummary{remove-files}
3098 @item --remove-files
3100 Directs @command{tar} to remove the source file from the file system after
3101 appending it to an archive. @xref{remove files}.
3103 @opsummary{restrict}
3106 Disable use of some potentially harmful @command{tar} options.
3107 Currently this option disables shell invocation from multi-volume menu
3108 (@pxref{Using Multiple Tapes}).
3110 @opsummary{rmt-command}
3111 @item --rmt-command=@var{cmd}
3113 Notifies @command{tar} that it should use @var{cmd} instead of
3114 the default @file{/usr/libexec/rmt} (@pxref{Remote Tape Server}).
3116 @opsummary{rsh-command}
3117 @item --rsh-command=@var{cmd}
3119 Notifies @command{tar} that is should use @var{cmd} to communicate with remote
3120 devices. @xref{Device}.
3122 @opsummary{same-order}
3124 @itemx --preserve-order
3127 This option is an optimization for @command{tar} when running on machines with
3128 small amounts of memory. It informs @command{tar} that the list of file
3129 arguments has already been sorted to match the order of files in the
3130 archive. @xref{Reading}.
3132 @opsummary{same-owner}
3135 When extracting an archive, @command{tar} will attempt to preserve the owner
3136 specified in the @command{tar} archive with this option present.
3137 This is the default behavior for the superuser; this option has an
3138 effect only for ordinary users. @xref{Attributes}.
3140 @opsummary{same-permissions}
3141 @item --same-permissions
3143 (See @option{--preserve-permissions}; @pxref{Setting Access Permissions}.)
3149 Assume that the archive media supports seeks to arbitrary
3150 locations. Usually @command{tar} determines automatically whether
3151 the archive can be seeked or not. This option is intended for use
3152 in cases when such recognition fails.
3154 @opsummary{show-defaults}
3155 @item --show-defaults
3157 Displays the default options used by @command{tar} and exits
3158 successfully. This option is intended for use in shell scripts.
3159 Here is an example of what you can see using this option:
3162 $ tar --show-defaults
3163 --format=gnu -f- -b20 --quoting-style=escape \
3164 --rmt-command=/usr/libexec/rmt --rsh-command=/usr/bin/rsh
3167 @opsummary{show-omitted-dirs}
3168 @item --show-omitted-dirs
3170 Instructs @command{tar} to mention the directories it is skipping when
3171 operating on a @command{tar} archive. @xref{show-omitted-dirs}.
3173 @opsummary{show-transformed-names}
3174 @opsummary{show-stored-names}
3175 @item --show-transformed-names
3176 @itemx --show-stored-names
3178 Display file or member names after applying any transformations
3179 (@pxref{transform}). In particular, when used in conjunction with one of
3180 the archive creation operations it instructs @command{tar} to list the
3181 member names stored in the archive, as opposed to the actual file
3182 names. @xref{listing member and file names}.
3188 Invokes a @acronym{GNU} extension when adding files to an archive that handles
3189 sparse files efficiently. @xref{sparse}.
3191 @opsummary{sparse-version}
3192 @item --sparse-version=@var{version}
3194 Specifies the @dfn{format version} to use when archiving sparse
3195 files. Implies @option{--sparse}. @xref{sparse}. For the description
3196 of the supported sparse formats, @xref{Sparse Formats}.
3198 @opsummary{starting-file}
3199 @item --starting-file=@var{name}
3200 @itemx -K @var{name}
3202 This option affects extraction only; @command{tar} will skip extracting
3203 files in the archive until it finds one that matches @var{name}.
3206 @opsummary{strip-components}
3207 @item --strip-components=@var{number}
3208 Strip given @var{number} of leading components from file names before
3209 extraction. For example, if archive @file{archive.tar} contained
3210 @file{/some/file/name}, then running
3213 tar --extract --file archive.tar --strip-components=2
3217 would extract this file to file @file{name}.
3219 @opsummary{suffix}, summary
3220 @item --suffix=@var{suffix}
3222 Alters the suffix @command{tar} uses when backing up files from the default
3223 @samp{~}. @xref{backup}.
3225 @opsummary{tape-length}
3226 @item --tape-length=@var{num}
3229 Specifies the length of tapes that @command{tar} is writing as being
3230 @w{@var{num} x 1024} bytes long. @xref{Using Multiple Tapes}.
3232 @opsummary{test-label}
3235 Reads the volume label. If an argument is specified, test whether it
3236 matches the volume label. @xref{--test-label option}.
3238 @opsummary{to-command}
3239 @item --to-command=@var{command}
3241 During extraction @command{tar} will pipe extracted files to the
3242 standard input of @var{command}. @xref{Writing to an External Program}.
3244 @opsummary{to-stdout}
3248 During extraction, @command{tar} will extract files to stdout rather
3249 than to the file system. @xref{Writing to Standard Output}.
3252 @item --totals[=@var{signo}]
3254 Displays the total number of bytes transferred when processing an
3255 archive. If an argument is given, these data are displayed on
3256 request, when signal @var{signo} is delivered to @command{tar}.
3263 Sets the data modification time of extracted files to the extraction time,
3264 rather than the data modification time stored in the archive.
3265 @xref{Data Modification Times}.
3267 @opsummary{transform}
3269 @item --transform=@var{sed-expr}
3270 @itemx --xform=@var{sed-expr}
3271 Transform file or member names using @command{sed} replacement expression
3272 @var{sed-expr}. For example,
3275 $ @kbd{tar cf archive.tar --transform 's,^\./,usr/,' .}
3279 will add to @file{archive} files from the current working directory,
3280 replacing initial @samp{./} prefix with @samp{usr/}. For the detailed
3281 discussion, @xref{transform}.
3283 To see transformed member names in verbose listings, use
3284 @option{--show-transformed-names} option
3285 (@pxref{show-transformed-names}).
3287 @opsummary{uncompress}
3290 (See @option{--compress}. @pxref{gzip})
3295 (See @option{--gzip}. @pxref{gzip})
3297 @opsummary{unlink-first}
3298 @item --unlink-first
3301 Directs @command{tar} to remove the corresponding file from the file
3302 system before extracting it from the archive. @xref{Unlink First}.
3306 Enable unquoting input file or member names (default). @xref{input
3309 @opsummary{use-compress-program}
3310 @item --use-compress-program=@var{prog}
3311 @itemx -I=@var{prog}
3313 Instructs @command{tar} to access the archive through @var{prog}, which is
3314 presumed to be a compression program of some sort. @xref{gzip}.
3319 Display file modification dates in @acronym{UTC}. This option implies
3326 Specifies that @command{tar} should be more verbose about the
3327 operations it is performing. This option can be specified multiple
3328 times for some operations to increase the amount of information displayed.
3335 Verifies that the archive was correctly written when creating an
3336 archive. @xref{verify}.
3341 Print information about the program's name, version, origin and legal
3342 status, all on standard output, and then exit successfully.
3345 @opsummary{volno-file}
3346 @item --volno-file=@var{file}
3348 Used in conjunction with @option{--multi-volume}. @command{tar} will
3349 keep track of which volume of a multi-volume archive it is working in
3350 @var{file}. @xref{volno-file}.
3352 @opsummary{wildcards}
3354 Use wildcards when matching member names with patterns.
3355 @xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
3357 @opsummary{wildcards-match-slash}
3358 @item --wildcards-match-slash
3359 Wildcards match @samp{/}.
3360 @xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
3365 Use @command{xz} for compressing or decompressing the archives. @xref{gzip}.
3369 @node Short Option Summary
3370 @subsection Short Options Cross Reference
3372 Here is an alphabetized list of all of the short option forms, matching
3373 them with the equivalent long option.
3375 @multitable @columnfractions 0.20 0.80
3376 @headitem Short Option @tab Reference
3378 @item -A @tab @ref{--concatenate}.
3380 @item -B @tab @ref{--read-full-records}.
3382 @item -C @tab @ref{--directory}.
3384 @item -F @tab @ref{--info-script}.
3386 @item -G @tab @ref{--incremental}.
3388 @item -J @tab @ref{--xz}.
3390 @item -K @tab @ref{--starting-file}.
3392 @item -L @tab @ref{--tape-length}.
3394 @item -M @tab @ref{--multi-volume}.
3396 @item -N @tab @ref{--newer}.
3398 @item -O @tab @ref{--to-stdout}.
3400 @item -P @tab @ref{--absolute-names}.
3402 @item -R @tab @ref{--block-number}.
3404 @item -S @tab @ref{--sparse}.
3406 @item -T @tab @ref{--files-from}.
3408 @item -U @tab @ref{--unlink-first}.
3410 @item -V @tab @ref{--label}.
3412 @item -W @tab @ref{--verify}.
3414 @item -X @tab @ref{--exclude-from}.
3416 @item -Z @tab @ref{--compress}.
3418 @item -b @tab @ref{--blocking-factor}.
3420 @item -c @tab @ref{--create}.
3422 @item -d @tab @ref{--compare}.
3424 @item -f @tab @ref{--file}.
3426 @item -g @tab @ref{--listed-incremental}.
3428 @item -h @tab @ref{--dereference}.
3430 @item -i @tab @ref{--ignore-zeros}.
3432 @item -j @tab @ref{--bzip2}.
3434 @item -k @tab @ref{--keep-old-files}.
3436 @item -l @tab @ref{--check-links}.
3438 @item -m @tab @ref{--touch}.
3440 @item -o @tab When creating, @ref{--no-same-owner}, when extracting ---
3441 @ref{--portability}.
3443 The latter usage is deprecated. It is retained for compatibility with
3444 the earlier versions of @GNUTAR{}. In future releases
3445 @option{-o} will be equivalent to @option{--no-same-owner} only.
3447 @item -p @tab @ref{--preserve-permissions}.
3449 @item -r @tab @ref{--append}.
3451 @item -s @tab @ref{--same-order}.
3453 @item -t @tab @ref{--list}.
3455 @item -u @tab @ref{--update}.
3457 @item -v @tab @ref{--verbose}.
3459 @item -w @tab @ref{--interactive}.
3461 @item -x @tab @ref{--extract}.
3463 @item -z @tab @ref{--gzip}.
3468 @section @GNUTAR{} documentation
3470 @cindex Getting program version number
3472 @cindex Version of the @command{tar} program
3473 Being careful, the first thing is really checking that you are using
3474 @GNUTAR{}, indeed. The @option{--version} option
3475 causes @command{tar} to print information about its name, version,
3476 origin and legal status, all on standard output, and then exit
3477 successfully. For example, @w{@samp{tar --version}} might print:
3480 tar (GNU tar) @value{VERSION}
3481 Copyright (C) 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3482 This is free software. You may redistribute copies of it under the terms
3483 of the GNU General Public License <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
3484 There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
3486 Written by John Gilmore and Jay Fenlason.
3490 The first occurrence of @samp{tar} in the result above is the program
3491 name in the package (for example, @command{rmt} is another program),
3492 while the second occurrence of @samp{tar} is the name of the package
3493 itself, containing possibly many programs. The package is currently
3494 named @samp{tar}, after the name of the main program it
3495 contains@footnote{There are plans to merge the @command{cpio} and
3496 @command{tar} packages into a single one which would be called
3497 @code{paxutils}. So, who knows if, one of this days, the
3498 @option{--version} would not output @w{@samp{tar (@acronym{GNU}
3501 @cindex Obtaining help
3502 @cindex Listing all @command{tar} options
3503 @xopindex{help, introduction}
3504 Another thing you might want to do is checking the spelling or meaning
3505 of some particular @command{tar} option, without resorting to this
3506 manual, for once you have carefully read it. @GNUTAR{}
3507 has a short help feature, triggerable through the
3508 @option{--help} option. By using this option, @command{tar} will
3509 print a usage message listing all available options on standard
3510 output, then exit successfully, without doing anything else and
3511 ignoring all other options. Even if this is only a brief summary, it
3512 may be several screens long. So, if you are not using some kind of
3513 scrollable window, you might prefer to use something like:
3516 $ @kbd{tar --help | less}
3520 presuming, here, that you like using @command{less} for a pager. Other
3521 popular pagers are @command{more} and @command{pg}. If you know about some
3522 @var{keyword} which interests you and do not want to read all the
3523 @option{--help} output, another common idiom is doing:
3526 tar --help | grep @var{keyword}
3530 for getting only the pertinent lines. Notice, however, that some
3531 @command{tar} options have long description lines and the above
3532 command will list only the first of them.
3534 The exact look of the option summary displayed by @kbd{tar --help} is
3535 configurable. @xref{Configuring Help Summary}, for a detailed description.
3538 If you only wish to check the spelling of an option, running @kbd{tar
3539 --usage} may be a better choice. This will display a terse list of
3540 @command{tar} option without accompanying explanations.
3542 The short help output is quite succinct, and you might have to get
3543 back to the full documentation for precise points. If you are reading
3544 this paragraph, you already have the @command{tar} manual in some
3545 form. This manual is available in a variety of forms from
3546 @url{http://www.gnu.org/software/tar/manual}. It may be printed out of the @GNUTAR{}
3547 distribution, provided you have @TeX{} already installed somewhere,
3548 and a laser printer around. Just configure the distribution, execute
3549 the command @w{@samp{make dvi}}, then print @file{doc/tar.dvi} the
3550 usual way (contact your local guru to know how). If @GNUTAR{}
3551 has been conveniently installed at your place, this
3552 manual is also available in interactive, hypertextual form as an Info
3553 file. Just call @w{@samp{info tar}} or, if you do not have the
3554 @command{info} program handy, use the Info reader provided within
3555 @acronym{GNU} Emacs, calling @samp{tar} from the main Info menu.
3557 There is currently no @code{man} page for @GNUTAR{}.
3558 If you observe such a @code{man} page on the system you are running,
3559 either it does not belong to @GNUTAR{}, or it has not
3560 been produced by @acronym{GNU}. Some package maintainers convert
3561 @kbd{tar --help} output to a man page, using @command{help2man}. In
3562 any case, please bear in mind that the authoritative source of
3563 information about @GNUTAR{} is this Texinfo documentation.
3566 @section Obtaining @GNUTAR{} default values
3568 @opindex show-defaults
3569 @GNUTAR{} has some predefined defaults that are used when you do not
3570 explicitly specify another values. To obtain a list of such
3571 defaults, use @option{--show-defaults} option. This will output the
3572 values in the form of @command{tar} command line options:
3576 @kbd{tar --show-defaults}
3577 --format=gnu -f- -b20 --quoting-style=escape
3578 --rmt-command=/etc/rmt --rsh-command=/usr/bin/rsh
3583 Notice, that this option outputs only one line. The example output above
3584 has been split to fit page boundaries.
3587 The above output shows that this version of @GNUTAR{} defaults to
3588 using @samp{gnu} archive format (@pxref{Formats}), it uses standard
3589 output as the archive, if no @option{--file} option has been given
3590 (@pxref{file tutorial}), the default blocking factor is 20
3591 (@pxref{Blocking Factor}). It also shows the default locations where
3592 @command{tar} will look for @command{rmt} and @command{rsh} binaries.
3595 @section Checking @command{tar} progress
3597 Typically, @command{tar} performs most operations without reporting any
3598 information to the user except error messages. When using @command{tar}
3599 with many options, particularly ones with complicated or
3600 difficult-to-predict behavior, it is possible to make serious mistakes.
3601 @command{tar} provides several options that make observing @command{tar}
3602 easier. These options cause @command{tar} to print information as it
3603 progresses in its job, and you might want to use them just for being
3604 more careful about what is going on, or merely for entertaining
3605 yourself. If you have encountered a problem when operating on an
3606 archive, however, you may need more information than just an error
3607 message in order to solve the problem. The following options can be
3608 helpful diagnostic tools.
3610 @cindex Verbose operation
3612 Normally, the @option{--list} (@option{-t}) command to list an archive
3613 prints just the file names (one per line) and the other commands are
3614 silent. When used with most operations, the @option{--verbose}
3615 (@option{-v}) option causes @command{tar} to print the name of each
3616 file or archive member as it is processed. This and the other options
3617 which make @command{tar} print status information can be useful in
3618 monitoring @command{tar}.
3620 With @option{--create} or @option{--extract}, @option{--verbose} used
3621 once just prints the names of the files or members as they are processed.
3622 Using it twice causes @command{tar} to print a longer listing
3623 (@xref{verbose member listing}, for the description) for each member.
3624 Since @option{--list} already prints the names of the members,
3625 @option{--verbose} used once with @option{--list} causes @command{tar}
3626 to print an @samp{ls -l} type listing of the files in the archive.
3627 The following examples both extract members with long list output:
3630 $ @kbd{tar --extract --file=archive.tar --verbose --verbose}
3631 $ @kbd{tar xvvf archive.tar}
3634 Verbose output appears on the standard output except when an archive is
3635 being written to the standard output, as with @samp{tar --create
3636 --file=- --verbose} (@samp{tar cfv -}, or even @samp{tar cv}---if the
3637 installer let standard output be the default archive). In that case
3638 @command{tar} writes verbose output to the standard error stream.
3640 If @option{--index-file=@var{file}} is specified, @command{tar} sends
3641 verbose output to @var{file} rather than to standard output or standard
3645 @cindex Obtaining total status information
3647 The @option{--totals} option causes @command{tar} to print on the
3648 standard error the total amount of bytes transferred when processing
3649 an archive. When creating or appending to an archive, this option
3650 prints the number of bytes written to the archive and the average
3651 speed at which they have been written, e.g.:
3655 $ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar --totals /home}
3656 Total bytes written: 7924664320 (7.4GiB, 85MiB/s)
3660 When reading an archive, this option displays the number of bytes
3665 $ @kbd{tar -x -f archive.tar --totals}
3666 Total bytes read: 7924664320 (7.4GiB, 95MiB/s)
3670 Finally, when deleting from an archive, the @option{--totals} option
3671 displays both numbers plus number of bytes removed from the archive:
3675 $ @kbd{tar --delete -f foo.tar --totals --wildcards '*~'}
3676 Total bytes read: 9543680 (9.2MiB, 201MiB/s)
3677 Total bytes written: 3829760 (3.7MiB, 81MiB/s)
3678 Total bytes deleted: 1474048
3682 You can also obtain this information on request. When
3683 @option{--totals} is used with an argument, this argument is
3684 interpreted as a symbolic name of a signal, upon delivery of which the
3685 statistics is to be printed:
3688 @item --totals=@var{signo}
3689 Print statistics upon delivery of signal @var{signo}. Valid arguments
3690 are: @code{SIGHUP}, @code{SIGQUIT}, @code{SIGINT}, @code{SIGUSR1} and
3691 @code{SIGUSR2}. Shortened names without @samp{SIG} prefix are also
3695 Both forms of @option{--totals} option can be used simultaneously.
3696 Thus, @kbd{tar -x --totals --totals=USR1} instructs @command{tar} to
3697 extract all members from its default archive and print statistics
3698 after finishing the extraction, as well as when receiving signal
3701 @anchor{Progress information}
3702 @cindex Progress information
3703 The @option{--checkpoint} option prints an occasional message
3704 as @command{tar} reads or writes the archive. It is designed for
3705 those who don't need the more detailed (and voluminous) output of
3706 @option{--block-number} (@option{-R}), but do want visual confirmation
3707 that @command{tar} is actually making forward progress. By default it
3708 prints a message each 10 records read or written. This can be changed
3709 by giving it a numeric argument after an equal sign:
3712 $ @kbd{tar -c --checkpoint=1000} /var
3713 tar: Write checkpoint 1000
3714 tar: Write checkpoint 2000
3715 tar: Write checkpoint 3000
3718 This example shows the default checkpoint message used by
3719 @command{tar}. If you place a dot immediately after the equal
3720 sign, it will print a @samp{.} at each checkpoint@footnote{This is
3721 actually a shortcut for @option{--checkpoint=@var{n}
3722 --checkpoint-action=dot}. @xref{checkpoints, dot}.}. For example:
3725 $ @kbd{tar -c --checkpoint=.1000} /var
3729 The @option{--checkpoint} option provides a flexible mechanism for
3730 executing arbitrary actions upon hitting checkpoints, see the next
3731 section (@pxref{checkpoints}), for more information on it.
3733 @opindex show-omitted-dirs
3734 @anchor{show-omitted-dirs}
3735 The @option{--show-omitted-dirs} option, when reading an archive---with
3736 @option{--list} or @option{--extract}, for example---causes a message
3737 to be printed for each directory in the archive which is skipped.
3738 This happens regardless of the reason for skipping: the directory might
3739 not have been named on the command line (implicitly or explicitly),
3740 it might be excluded by the use of the
3741 @option{--exclude=@var{pattern}} option, or some other reason.
3743 @opindex block-number
3744 @cindex Block number where error occurred
3745 @anchor{block-number}
3746 If @option{--block-number} (@option{-R}) is used, @command{tar} prints, along with
3747 every message it would normally produce, the block number within the
3748 archive where the message was triggered. Also, supplementary messages
3749 are triggered when reading blocks full of NULs, or when hitting end of
3750 file on the archive. As of now, if the archive if properly terminated
3751 with a NUL block, the reading of the file may stop before end of file
3752 is met, so the position of end of file will not usually show when
3753 @option{--block-number} (@option{-R}) is used. Note that @GNUTAR{}
3754 drains the archive before exiting when reading the
3755 archive from a pipe.
3757 @cindex Error message, block number of
3758 This option is especially useful when reading damaged archives, since
3759 it helps pinpoint the damaged sections. It can also be used with
3760 @option{--list} (@option{-t}) when listing a file-system backup tape, allowing you to
3761 choose among several backup tapes when retrieving a file later, in
3762 favor of the tape where the file appears earliest (closest to the
3763 front of the tape). @xref{backup}.
3766 @section Checkpoints
3767 @cindex checkpoints, defined
3769 @opindex checkpoint-action
3771 A @dfn{checkpoint} is a moment of time before writing @var{n}th record to
3772 the archive (a @dfn{write checkpoint}), or before reading @var{n}th record
3773 from the archive (a @dfn{read checkpoint}). Checkpoints allow to
3774 periodically execute arbitrary actions.
3776 The checkpoint facility is enabled using the following option:
3779 @xopindex{checkpoint, defined}
3780 @item --checkpoint[=@var{n}]
3781 Schedule checkpoints before writing or reading each @var{n}th record.
3782 The default value for @var{n} is 10.
3785 A list of arbitrary @dfn{actions} can be executed at each checkpoint.
3786 These actions include: pausing, displaying textual messages, and
3787 executing arbitrary external programs. Actions are defined using
3788 the @option{--checkpoint-action} option.
3791 @xopindex{checkpoint-action, defined}
3792 @item --checkpoint-action=@var{action}
3793 Execute an @var{action} at each checkpoint.
3796 @cindex @code{echo}, checkpoint action
3797 The simplest value of @var{action} is @samp{echo}. It instructs
3798 @command{tar} to display the default message on the standard error
3799 stream upon arriving at each checkpoint. The default message is (in
3800 @acronym{POSIX} locale) @samp{Write checkpoint @var{n}}, for write
3801 checkpoints, and @samp{Read checkpoint @var{n}}, for read checkpoints.
3802 Here, @var{n} represents ordinal number of the checkpoint.
3804 In another locales, translated versions of this message are used.
3806 This is the default action, so running:
3809 $ @kbd{tar -c --checkpoint=1000 --checkpoint-action=echo} /var
3816 $ @kbd{tar -c --checkpoint=1000} /var
3819 The @samp{echo} action also allows to supply a customized message.
3820 You do so by placing an equals sign and the message right after it,
3824 --checkpoint-action="echo=Hit %s checkpoint #%u"
3827 The @samp{%s} and @samp{%u} in the above example are
3828 @dfn{meta-characters}. The @samp{%s} meta-character is replaced with
3829 the @dfn{type} of the checkpoint: @samp{write} or
3830 @samp{read} (or a corresponding translated version in locales other
3831 than @acronym{POSIX}). The @samp{%u} meta-character is replaced with
3832 the ordinal number of the checkpoint. Thus, the above example could
3833 produce the following output when used with the @option{--create}
3837 tar: Hit write checkpoint #10
3838 tar: Hit write checkpoint #20
3839 tar: Hit write checkpoint #30
3842 Aside from meta-character expansion, the message string is subject to
3843 @dfn{unquoting}, during which the backslash @dfn{escape sequences} are
3844 replaced with their corresponding @acronym{ASCII} characters
3845 (@pxref{escape sequences}). E.g. the following action will produce an
3846 audible bell and the message described above at each checkpoint:
3849 --checkpoint-action='echo=\aHit %s checkpoint #%u'
3852 @cindex @code{bell}, checkpoint action
3853 There is also a special action which produces an audible signal:
3854 @samp{bell}. It is not equivalent to @samp{echo='\a'}, because
3855 @samp{bell} sends the bell directly to the console (@file{/dev/tty}),
3856 whereas @samp{echo='\a'} sends it to the standard error.
3858 @cindex @code{ttyout}, checkpoint action
3859 The @samp{ttyout=@var{string}} action outputs @var{string} to
3860 @file{/dev/tty}, so it can be used even if the standard output is
3861 redirected elsewhere. The @var{string} is subject to the same
3862 modifications as with @samp{echo} action. In contrast to the latter,
3863 @samp{ttyout} does not prepend @command{tar} executable name to the
3864 string, nor does it output a newline after it. For example, the
3865 following action will print the checkpoint message at the same screen
3866 line, overwriting any previous message:
3869 --checkpoint-action="ttyout=\rHit %s checkpoint #%u"
3872 @cindex @code{dot}, checkpoint action
3873 Another available checkpoint action is @samp{dot} (or @samp{.}). It
3874 instructs @command{tar} to print a single dot on the standard listing
3878 $ @kbd{tar -c --checkpoint=1000 --checkpoint-action=dot} /var
3882 For compatibility with previous @GNUTAR{} versions, this action can
3883 be abbreviated by placing a dot in front of the checkpoint frequency,
3884 as shown in the previous section.
3886 @cindex @code{sleep}, checkpoint action
3887 Yet another action, @samp{sleep}, pauses @command{tar} for a specified
3888 amount of seconds. The following example will stop for 30 seconds at each
3892 $ @kbd{tar -c --checkpoint=1000 --checkpoint-action=sleep=30}
3895 @cindex @code{exec}, checkpoint action
3896 Finally, the @code{exec} action executes a given external program.
3900 $ @kbd{tar -c --checkpoint=1000 --checkpoint-action=exec=/sbin/cpoint}
3903 This program is executed using @command{/bin/sh -c}, with no
3904 additional arguments. Its exit code is ignored. It gets a copy of
3905 @command{tar}'s environment plus the following variables:
3908 @vrindex TAR_VERSION, checkpoint script environment
3910 @GNUTAR{} version number.
3912 @vrindex TAR_ARCHIVE, checkpoint script environment
3914 The name of the archive @command{tar} is processing.
3916 @vrindex TAR_BLOCKING_FACTOR, checkpoint script environment
3917 @item TAR_BLOCKING_FACTOR
3918 Current blocking factor (@pxref{Blocking}).
3920 @vrindex TAR_CHECKPOINT, checkpoint script environment
3921 @item TAR_CHECKPOINT
3922 Number of the checkpoint.
3924 @vrindex TAR_SUBCOMMAND, checkpoint script environment
3925 @item TAR_SUBCOMMAND
3926 A short option describing the operation @command{tar} is executing.
3927 @xref{Operations}, for a complete list of subcommand options.
3929 @vrindex TAR_FORMAT, checkpoint script environment
3931 Format of the archive being processed. @xref{Formats}, for a complete
3932 list of archive format names.
3935 Any number of actions can be defined, by supplying several
3936 @option{--checkpoint-action} options in the command line. For
3937 example, the command below displays two messages, pauses
3938 execution for 30 seconds and executes the @file{/sbin/cpoint} script:
3942 $ @kbd{tar -c -f arc.tar \
3943 --checkpoint-action='\aecho=Hit %s checkpoint #%u' \
3944 --checkpoint-action='echo=Sleeping for 30 seconds' \
3945 --checkpoint-action='sleep=30' \
3946 --checkpoint-action='exec=/sbin/cpoint'}
3950 This example also illustrates the fact that
3951 @option{--checkpoint-action} can be used without
3952 @option{--checkpoint}. In this case, the default checkpoint frequency
3953 (at each 10th record) is assumed.
3956 @section Asking for Confirmation During Operations
3957 @cindex Interactive operation
3959 Typically, @command{tar} carries out a command without stopping for
3960 further instructions. In some situations however, you may want to
3961 exclude some files and archive members from the operation (for instance
3962 if disk or storage space is tight). You can do this by excluding
3963 certain files automatically (@pxref{Choosing}), or by performing
3964 an operation interactively, using the @option{--interactive} (@option{-w}) option.
3965 @command{tar} also accepts @option{--confirmation} for this option.
3967 @opindex interactive
3968 When the @option{--interactive} (@option{-w}) option is specified, before
3969 reading, writing, or deleting files, @command{tar} first prints a message
3970 for each such file, telling what operation it intends to take, then asks
3971 for confirmation on the terminal. The actions which require
3972 confirmation include adding a file to the archive, extracting a file
3973 from the archive, deleting a file from the archive, and deleting a file
3974 from disk. To confirm the action, you must type a line of input
3975 beginning with @samp{y}. If your input line begins with anything other
3976 than @samp{y}, @command{tar} skips that file.
3978 If @command{tar} is reading the archive from the standard input,
3979 @command{tar} opens the file @file{/dev/tty} to support the interactive
3982 Verbose output is normally sent to standard output, separate from
3983 other error messages. However, if the archive is produced directly
3984 on standard output, then verbose output is mixed with errors on
3985 @code{stderr}. Producing the archive on standard output may be used
3986 as a way to avoid using disk space, when the archive is soon to be
3987 consumed by another process reading it, say. Some people felt the need
3988 of producing an archive on stdout, still willing to segregate between
3989 verbose output and error output. A possible approach would be using a
3990 named pipe to receive the archive, and having the consumer process to
3991 read from that named pipe. This has the advantage of letting standard
3992 output free to receive verbose output, all separate from errors.
3995 @chapter @GNUTAR{} Operations
4008 @section Basic @GNUTAR{} Operations
4010 The basic @command{tar} operations, @option{--create} (@option{-c}),
4011 @option{--list} (@option{-t}) and @option{--extract} (@option{--get},
4012 @option{-x}), are currently presented and described in the tutorial
4013 chapter of this manual. This section provides some complementary notes
4014 for these operations.
4017 @xopindex{create, complementary notes}
4021 Creating an empty archive would have some kind of elegance. One can
4022 initialize an empty archive and later use @option{--append}
4023 (@option{-r}) for adding all members. Some applications would not
4024 welcome making an exception in the way of adding the first archive
4025 member. On the other hand, many people reported that it is
4026 dangerously too easy for @command{tar} to destroy a magnetic tape with
4027 an empty archive@footnote{This is well described in @cite{Unix-haters
4028 Handbook}, by Simson Garfinkel, Daniel Weise & Steven Strassmann, IDG
4029 Books, ISBN 1-56884-203-1.}. The two most common errors are:
4033 Mistakingly using @code{create} instead of @code{extract}, when the
4034 intent was to extract the full contents of an archive. This error
4035 is likely: keys @kbd{c} and @kbd{x} are right next to each other on
4036 the QWERTY keyboard. Instead of being unpacked, the archive then
4037 gets wholly destroyed. When users speak about @dfn{exploding} an
4038 archive, they usually mean something else :-).
4041 Forgetting the argument to @code{file}, when the intent was to create
4042 an archive with a single file in it. This error is likely because a
4043 tired user can easily add the @kbd{f} key to the cluster of option
4044 letters, by the mere force of habit, without realizing the full
4045 consequence of doing so. The usual consequence is that the single
4046 file, which was meant to be saved, is rather destroyed.
4049 So, recognizing the likelihood and the catastrophic nature of these
4050 errors, @GNUTAR{} now takes some distance from elegance, and
4051 cowardly refuses to create an archive when @option{--create} option is
4052 given, there are no arguments besides options, and
4053 @option{--files-from} (@option{-T}) option is @emph{not} used. To get
4054 around the cautiousness of @GNUTAR{} and nevertheless create an
4055 archive with nothing in it, one may still use, as the value for the
4056 @option{--files-from} option, a file with no names in it, as shown in
4057 the following commands:
4060 @kbd{tar --create --file=empty-archive.tar --files-from=/dev/null}
4061 @kbd{tar cfT empty-archive.tar /dev/null}
4064 @xopindex{extract, complementary notes}
4069 A socket is stored, within a @GNUTAR{} archive, as a pipe.
4071 @item @option{--list} (@option{-t})
4073 @GNUTAR{} now shows dates as @samp{1996-08-30},
4074 while it used to show them as @samp{Aug 30 1996}. Preferably,
4075 people should get used to ISO 8601 dates. Local American dates should
4076 be made available again with full date localization support, once
4077 ready. In the meantime, programs not being localizable for dates
4078 should prefer international dates, that's really the way to go.
4080 Look up @url{http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/@/~mgk25/@/iso-time.html} if you
4081 are curious, it contains a detailed explanation of the ISO 8601 standard.
4086 @section Advanced @GNUTAR{} Operations
4088 Now that you have learned the basics of using @GNUTAR{}, you may want
4089 to learn about further ways in which @command{tar} can help you.
4091 This chapter presents five, more advanced operations which you probably
4092 won't use on a daily basis, but which serve more specialized functions.
4093 We also explain the different styles of options and why you might want
4094 to use one or another, or a combination of them in your @command{tar}
4095 commands. Additionally, this chapter includes options which allow you to
4096 define the output from @command{tar} more carefully, and provide help and
4097 error correction in special circumstances.
4099 @FIXME{check this after the chapter is actually revised to make sure
4100 it still introduces the info in the chapter correctly : ).}
4112 @subsection The Five Advanced @command{tar} Operations
4115 In the last chapter, you learned about the first three operations to
4116 @command{tar}. This chapter presents the remaining five operations to
4117 @command{tar}: @option{--append}, @option{--update}, @option{--concatenate},
4118 @option{--delete}, and @option{--compare}.
4120 You are not likely to use these operations as frequently as those
4121 covered in the last chapter; however, since they perform specialized
4122 functions, they are quite useful when you do need to use them. We
4123 will give examples using the same directory and files that you created
4124 in the last chapter. As you may recall, the directory is called
4125 @file{practice}, the files are @samp{jazz}, @samp{blues}, @samp{folk},
4126 @samp{rock}, and the two archive files you created are
4127 @samp{collection.tar} and @samp{music.tar}.
4129 We will also use the archive files @samp{afiles.tar} and
4130 @samp{bfiles.tar}. The archive @samp{afiles.tar} contains the members @samp{apple},
4131 @samp{angst}, and @samp{aspic}; @samp{bfiles.tar} contains the members
4132 @samp{./birds}, @samp{baboon}, and @samp{./box}.
4134 Unless we state otherwise, all practicing you do and examples you follow
4135 in this chapter will take place in the @file{practice} directory that
4136 you created in the previous chapter; see @ref{prepare for examples}.
4137 (Below in this section, we will remind you of the state of the examples
4138 where the last chapter left them.)
4140 The five operations that we will cover in this chapter are:
4145 Add new entries to an archive that already exists.
4148 Add more recent copies of archive members to the end of an archive, if
4153 Add one or more pre-existing archives to the end of another archive.
4155 Delete items from an archive (does not work on tapes).
4159 Compare archive members to their counterparts in the file system.
4163 @subsection How to Add Files to Existing Archives: @option{--append}
4167 If you want to add files to an existing archive, you don't need to
4168 create a new archive; you can use @option{--append} (@option{-r}).
4169 The archive must already exist in order to use @option{--append}. (A
4170 related operation is the @option{--update} operation; you can use this
4171 to add newer versions of archive members to an existing archive. To learn how to
4172 do this with @option{--update}, @pxref{update}.)
4174 If you use @option{--append} to add a file that has the same name as an
4175 archive member to an archive containing that archive member, then the
4176 old member is not deleted. What does happen, however, is somewhat
4177 complex. @command{tar} @emph{allows} you to have infinite number of files
4178 with the same name. Some operations treat these same-named members no
4179 differently than any other set of archive members: for example, if you
4180 view an archive with @option{--list} (@option{-t}), you will see all
4181 of those members listed, with their data modification times, owners, etc.
4183 Other operations don't deal with these members as perfectly as you might
4184 prefer; if you were to use @option{--extract} to extract the archive,
4185 only the most recently added copy of a member with the same name as four
4186 other members would end up in the working directory. This is because
4187 @option{--extract} extracts an archive in the order the members appeared
4188 in the archive; the most recently archived members will be extracted
4189 last. Additionally, an extracted member will @emph{replace} a file of
4190 the same name which existed in the directory already, and @command{tar}
4191 will not prompt you about this@footnote{Unless you give it
4192 @option{--keep-old-files} option, or the disk copy is newer than the
4193 the one in the archive and you invoke @command{tar} with
4194 @option{--keep-newer-files} option}. Thus, only the most recently archived
4195 member will end up being extracted, as it will replace the one
4196 extracted before it, and so on.
4198 There exists a special option that allows you to get around this
4199 behavior and extract (or list) only a particular copy of the file.
4200 This is @option{--occurrence} option. If you run @command{tar} with
4201 this option, it will extract only the first copy of the file. You
4202 may also give this option an argument specifying the number of
4203 copy to be extracted. Thus, for example if the archive
4204 @file{archive.tar} contained three copies of file @file{myfile}, then
4208 tar --extract --file archive.tar --occurrence=2 myfile
4212 would extract only the second copy. @xref{Option
4213 Summary,---occurrence}, for the description of @option{--occurrence}
4216 @FIXME{ hag -- you might want to incorporate some of the above into the
4217 MMwtSN node; not sure. i didn't know how to make it simpler...
4219 There are a few ways to get around this. (maybe xref Multiple Members
4220 with the Same Name.}
4222 @cindex Members, replacing with other members
4223 @cindex Replacing members with other members
4224 If you want to replace an archive member, use @option{--delete} to
4225 delete the member you want to remove from the archive, , and then use
4226 @option{--append} to add the member you want to be in the archive. Note
4227 that you can not change the order of the archive; the most recently
4228 added member will still appear last. In this sense, you cannot truly
4229 ``replace'' one member with another. (Replacing one member with another
4230 will not work on certain types of media, such as tapes; see @ref{delete}
4231 and @ref{Media}, for more information.)
4234 * appending files:: Appending Files to an Archive
4238 @node appending files
4239 @subsubsection Appending Files to an Archive
4241 @cindex Adding files to an Archive
4242 @cindex Appending files to an Archive
4243 @cindex Archives, Appending files to
4245 The simplest way to add a file to an already existing archive is the
4246 @option{--append} (@option{-r}) operation, which writes specified
4247 files into the archive whether or not they are already among the
4250 When you use @option{--append}, you @emph{must} specify file name
4251 arguments, as there is no default. If you specify a file that already
4252 exists in the archive, another copy of the file will be added to the
4253 end of the archive. As with other operations, the member names of the
4254 newly added files will be exactly the same as their names given on the
4255 command line. The @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) option will print
4256 out the names of the files as they are written into the archive.
4258 @option{--append} cannot be performed on some tape drives, unfortunately,
4259 due to deficiencies in the formats those tape drives use. The archive
4260 must be a valid @command{tar} archive, or else the results of using this
4261 operation will be unpredictable. @xref{Media}.
4263 To demonstrate using @option{--append} to add a file to an archive,
4264 create a file called @file{rock} in the @file{practice} directory.
4265 Make sure you are in the @file{practice} directory. Then, run the
4266 following @command{tar} command to add @file{rock} to
4267 @file{collection.tar}:
4270 $ @kbd{tar --append --file=collection.tar rock}
4274 If you now use the @option{--list} (@option{-t}) operation, you will see that
4275 @file{rock} has been added to the archive:
4278 $ @kbd{tar --list --file=collection.tar}
4279 -rw-r--r-- me user 28 1996-10-18 16:31 jazz
4280 -rw-r--r-- me user 21 1996-09-23 16:44 blues
4281 -rw-r--r-- me user 20 1996-09-23 16:44 folk
4282 -rw-r--r-- me user 20 1996-09-23 16:44 rock
4286 @subsubsection Multiple Members with the Same Name
4288 You can use @option{--append} (@option{-r}) to add copies of files
4289 which have been updated since the archive was created. (However, we
4290 do not recommend doing this since there is another @command{tar}
4291 option called @option{--update}; @xref{update}, for more information.
4292 We describe this use of @option{--append} here for the sake of
4293 completeness.) When you extract the archive, the older version will
4294 be effectively lost. This works because files are extracted from an
4295 archive in the order in which they were archived. Thus, when the
4296 archive is extracted, a file archived later in time will replace a
4297 file of the same name which was archived earlier, even though the
4298 older version of the file will remain in the archive unless you delete
4299 all versions of the file.
4301 Supposing you change the file @file{blues} and then append the changed
4302 version to @file{collection.tar}. As you saw above, the original
4303 @file{blues} is in the archive @file{collection.tar}. If you change the
4304 file and append the new version of the file to the archive, there will
4305 be two copies in the archive. When you extract the archive, the older
4306 version of the file will be extracted first, and then replaced by the
4307 newer version when it is extracted.
4309 You can append the new, changed copy of the file @file{blues} to the
4310 archive in this way:
4313 $ @kbd{tar --append --verbose --file=collection.tar blues}
4318 Because you specified the @option{--verbose} option, @command{tar} has
4319 printed the name of the file being appended as it was acted on. Now
4320 list the contents of the archive:
4323 $ @kbd{tar --list --verbose --file=collection.tar}
4324 -rw-r--r-- me user 28 1996-10-18 16:31 jazz
4325 -rw-r--r-- me user 21 1996-09-23 16:44 blues
4326 -rw-r--r-- me user 20 1996-09-23 16:44 folk
4327 -rw-r--r-- me user 20 1996-09-23 16:44 rock
4328 -rw-r--r-- me user 58 1996-10-24 18:30 blues
4332 The newest version of @file{blues} is now at the end of the archive
4333 (note the different creation dates and file sizes). If you extract
4334 the archive, the older version of the file @file{blues} will be
4335 replaced by the newer version. You can confirm this by extracting
4336 the archive and running @samp{ls} on the directory.
4338 If you wish to extract the first occurrence of the file @file{blues}
4339 from the archive, use @option{--occurrence} option, as shown in
4340 the following example:
4343 $ @kbd{tar --extract -vv --occurrence --file=collection.tar blues}
4344 -rw-r--r-- me user 21 1996-09-23 16:44 blues
4347 @xref{Writing}, for more information on @option{--extract} and
4348 @xref{Option Summary, --occurrence}, for the description of
4349 @option{--occurrence} option.
4352 @subsection Updating an Archive
4354 @cindex Updating an archive
4357 In the previous section, you learned how to use @option{--append} to
4358 add a file to an existing archive. A related operation is
4359 @option{--update} (@option{-u}). The @option{--update} operation
4360 updates a @command{tar} archive by comparing the date of the specified
4361 archive members against the date of the file with the same name. If
4362 the file has been modified more recently than the archive member, then
4363 the newer version of the file is added to the archive (as with
4366 Unfortunately, you cannot use @option{--update} with magnetic tape drives.
4367 The operation will fail.
4369 @FIXME{other examples of media on which --update will fail? need to ask
4370 charles and/or mib/thomas/dave shevett..}
4372 Both @option{--update} and @option{--append} work by adding to the end
4373 of the archive. When you extract a file from the archive, only the
4374 version stored last will wind up in the file system, unless you use
4375 the @option{--backup} option. @xref{multiple}, for a detailed discussion.
4382 @subsubsection How to Update an Archive Using @option{--update}
4384 You must use file name arguments with the @option{--update}
4385 (@option{-u}) operation. If you don't specify any files,
4386 @command{tar} won't act on any files and won't tell you that it didn't
4387 do anything (which may end up confusing you).
4389 @c note: the above parenthetical added because in fact, this
4390 @c behavior just confused the author. :-)
4392 To see the @option{--update} option at work, create a new file,
4393 @file{classical}, in your practice directory, and some extra text to the
4394 file @file{blues}, using any text editor. Then invoke @command{tar} with
4395 the @samp{update} operation and the @option{--verbose} (@option{-v})
4396 option specified, using the names of all the files in the practice
4397 directory as file name arguments:
4400 $ @kbd{tar --update -v -f collection.tar blues folk rock classical}
4407 Because we have specified verbose mode, @command{tar} prints out the names
4408 of the files it is working on, which in this case are the names of the
4409 files that needed to be updated. If you run @samp{tar --list} and look
4410 at the archive, you will see @file{blues} and @file{classical} at its
4411 end. There will be a total of two versions of the member @samp{blues};
4412 the one at the end will be newer and larger, since you added text before
4415 (The reason @command{tar} does not overwrite the older file when updating
4416 it is because writing to the middle of a section of tape is a difficult
4417 process. Tapes are not designed to go backward. @xref{Media}, for more
4418 information about tapes.
4420 @option{--update} (@option{-u}) is not suitable for performing backups for two
4421 reasons: it does not change directory content entries, and it
4422 lengthens the archive every time it is used. The @GNUTAR{}
4423 options intended specifically for backups are more
4424 efficient. If you need to run backups, please consult @ref{Backups}.
4427 @subsection Combining Archives with @option{--concatenate}
4429 @cindex Adding archives to an archive
4430 @cindex Concatenating Archives
4431 @opindex concatenate
4433 @c @cindex @option{-A} described
4434 Sometimes it may be convenient to add a second archive onto the end of
4435 an archive rather than adding individual files to the archive. To add
4436 one or more archives to the end of another archive, you should use the
4437 @option{--concatenate} (@option{--catenate}, @option{-A}) operation.
4439 To use @option{--concatenate}, give the first archive with
4440 @option{--file} option and name the rest of archives to be
4441 concatenated on the command line. The members, and their member
4442 names, will be copied verbatim from those archives to the first one.
4443 @footnote{This can cause multiple members to have the same name, for
4444 information on how this affects reading the archive, @ref{multiple}.}
4445 The new, concatenated archive will be called by the same name as the
4446 one given with the @option{--file} option. As usual, if you omit
4447 @option{--file}, @command{tar} will use the value of the environment
4448 variable @env{TAPE}, or, if this has not been set, the default archive name.
4450 @FIXME{There is no way to specify a new name...}
4452 To demonstrate how @option{--concatenate} works, create two small archives
4453 called @file{bluesrock.tar} and @file{folkjazz.tar}, using the relevant
4454 files from @file{practice}:
4457 $ @kbd{tar -cvf bluesrock.tar blues rock}
4460 $ @kbd{tar -cvf folkjazz.tar folk jazz}
4466 If you like, You can run @samp{tar --list} to make sure the archives
4467 contain what they are supposed to:
4470 $ @kbd{tar -tvf bluesrock.tar}
4471 -rw-r--r-- melissa user 105 1997-01-21 19:42 blues
4472 -rw-r--r-- melissa user 33 1997-01-20 15:34 rock
4473 $ @kbd{tar -tvf jazzfolk.tar}
4474 -rw-r--r-- melissa user 20 1996-09-23 16:44 folk
4475 -rw-r--r-- melissa user 65 1997-01-30 14:15 jazz
4478 We can concatenate these two archives with @command{tar}:
4482 $ @kbd{tar --concatenate --file=bluesrock.tar jazzfolk.tar}
4485 If you now list the contents of the @file{bluesrock.tar}, you will see
4486 that now it also contains the archive members of @file{jazzfolk.tar}:
4489 $ @kbd{tar --list --file=bluesrock.tar}
4496 When you use @option{--concatenate}, the source and target archives must
4497 already exist and must have been created using compatible format
4498 parameters. Notice, that @command{tar} does not check whether the
4499 archives it concatenates have compatible formats, it does not
4500 even check if the files are really tar archives.
4502 Like @option{--append} (@option{-r}), this operation cannot be performed on some
4503 tape drives, due to deficiencies in the formats those tape drives use.
4505 @cindex @code{concatenate} vs @command{cat}
4506 @cindex @command{cat} vs @code{concatenate}
4507 It may seem more intuitive to you to want or try to use @command{cat} to
4508 concatenate two archives instead of using the @option{--concatenate}
4509 operation; after all, @command{cat} is the utility for combining files.
4511 However, @command{tar} archives incorporate an end-of-file marker which
4512 must be removed if the concatenated archives are to be read properly as
4513 one archive. @option{--concatenate} removes the end-of-archive marker
4514 from the target archive before each new archive is appended. If you use
4515 @command{cat} to combine the archives, the result will not be a valid
4516 @command{tar} format archive. If you need to retrieve files from an
4517 archive that was added to using the @command{cat} utility, use the
4518 @option{--ignore-zeros} (@option{-i}) option. @xref{Ignore Zeros}, for further
4519 information on dealing with archives improperly combined using the
4520 @command{cat} shell utility.
4523 @subsection Removing Archive Members Using @option{--delete}
4525 @cindex Deleting files from an archive
4526 @cindex Removing files from an archive
4529 You can remove members from an archive by using the @option{--delete}
4530 option. Specify the name of the archive with @option{--file}
4531 (@option{-f}) and then specify the names of the members to be deleted;
4532 if you list no member names, nothing will be deleted. The
4533 @option{--verbose} option will cause @command{tar} to print the names
4534 of the members as they are deleted. As with @option{--extract}, you
4535 must give the exact member names when using @samp{tar --delete}.
4536 @option{--delete} will remove all versions of the named file from the
4537 archive. The @option{--delete} operation can run very slowly.
4539 Unlike other operations, @option{--delete} has no short form.
4541 @cindex Tapes, using @option{--delete} and
4542 @cindex Deleting from tape archives
4543 This operation will rewrite the archive. You can only use
4544 @option{--delete} on an archive if the archive device allows you to
4545 write to any point on the media, such as a disk; because of this, it
4546 does not work on magnetic tapes. Do not try to delete an archive member
4547 from a magnetic tape; the action will not succeed, and you will be
4548 likely to scramble the archive and damage your tape. There is no safe
4549 way (except by completely re-writing the archive) to delete files from
4550 most kinds of magnetic tape. @xref{Media}.
4552 To delete all versions of the file @file{blues} from the archive
4553 @file{collection.tar} in the @file{practice} directory, make sure you
4554 are in that directory, and then,
4557 $ @kbd{tar --list --file=collection.tar}
4562 $ @kbd{tar --delete --file=collection.tar blues}
4563 $ @kbd{tar --list --file=collection.tar}
4570 @FIXME{Check if the above listing is actually produced after running
4571 all the examples on collection.tar.}
4573 The @option{--delete} option has been reported to work properly when
4574 @command{tar} acts as a filter from @code{stdin} to @code{stdout}.
4577 @subsection Comparing Archive Members with the File System
4578 @cindex Verifying the currency of an archive
4582 The @option{--compare} (@option{-d}), or @option{--diff} operation compares
4583 specified archive members against files with the same names, and then
4584 reports differences in file size, mode, owner, modification date and
4585 contents. You should @emph{only} specify archive member names, not file
4586 names. If you do not name any members, then @command{tar} will compare the
4587 entire archive. If a file is represented in the archive but does not
4588 exist in the file system, @command{tar} reports a difference.
4590 You have to specify the record size of the archive when modifying an
4591 archive with a non-default record size.
4593 @command{tar} ignores files in the file system that do not have
4594 corresponding members in the archive.
4596 The following example compares the archive members @file{rock},
4597 @file{blues} and @file{funk} in the archive @file{bluesrock.tar} with
4598 files of the same name in the file system. (Note that there is no file,
4599 @file{funk}; @command{tar} will report an error message.)
4602 $ @kbd{tar --compare --file=bluesrock.tar rock blues funk}
4605 tar: funk not found in archive
4608 The spirit behind the @option{--compare} (@option{--diff},
4609 @option{-d}) option is to check whether the archive represents the
4610 current state of files on disk, more than validating the integrity of
4611 the archive media. For this later goal, @xref{verify}.
4613 @node create options
4614 @section Options Used by @option{--create}
4616 @xopindex{create, additional options}
4617 The previous chapter described the basics of how to use
4618 @option{--create} (@option{-c}) to create an archive from a set of files.
4619 @xref{create}. This section described advanced options to be used with
4623 * override:: Overriding File Metadata.
4624 * Ignore Failed Read::
4628 @subsection Overriding File Metadata
4630 As described above, a @command{tar} archive keeps, for each member it contains,
4631 its @dfn{metadata}, such as modification time, mode and ownership of
4632 the file. @GNUTAR{} allows to replace these data with other values
4633 when adding files to the archive. The options described in this
4634 section affect creation of archives of any type. For POSIX archives,
4635 see also @ref{PAX keywords}, for additional ways of controlling
4636 metadata, stored in the archive.
4640 @item --mode=@var{permissions}
4642 When adding files to an archive, @command{tar} will use
4643 @var{permissions} for the archive members, rather than the permissions
4644 from the files. @var{permissions} can be specified either as an octal
4645 number or as symbolic permissions, like with
4646 @command{chmod} (@xref{File permissions, Permissions, File
4647 permissions, fileutils, @acronym{GNU} file utilities}. This reference
4648 also has useful information for those not being overly familiar with
4649 the UNIX permission system). Using latter syntax allows for
4650 more flexibility. For example, the value @samp{a+rw} adds read and write
4651 permissions for everybody, while retaining executable bits on directories
4652 or on any other file already marked as executable:
4655 $ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar --mode='a+rw' .}
4658 @item --mtime=@var{date}
4661 When adding files to an archive, @command{tar} will use @var{date} as
4662 the modification time of members when creating archives, instead of
4663 their actual modification times. The argument @var{date} can be
4664 either a textual date representation in almost arbitrary format
4665 (@pxref{Date input formats}) or a name of the existing file, starting
4666 with @samp{/} or @samp{.}. In the latter case, the modification time
4667 of that file will be used.
4669 The following example will set the modification date to 00:00:00 UTC,
4673 $ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar --mtime='1970-01-01' .}
4677 When used with @option{--verbose} (@pxref{verbose tutorial}) @GNUTAR{}
4678 will try to convert the specified date back to its textual
4679 representation and compare it with the one given with
4680 @option{--mtime} options. If the two dates differ, @command{tar} will
4681 print a warning saying what date it will use. This is to help user
4682 ensure he is using the right date.
4687 $ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar -v --mtime=yesterday .}
4688 tar: Option --mtime: Treating date `yesterday' as 2006-06-20
4693 @item --owner=@var{user}
4696 Specifies that @command{tar} should use @var{user} as the owner of members
4697 when creating archives, instead of the user associated with the source
4698 file. The argument @var{user} can be either an existing user symbolic
4699 name, or a decimal numeric user @acronym{ID}.
4701 There is no value indicating a missing number, and @samp{0} usually means
4702 @code{root}. Some people like to force @samp{0} as the value to offer in
4703 their distributions for the owner of files, because the @code{root} user is
4704 anonymous anyway, so that might as well be the owner of anonymous
4705 archives. For example:
4709 $ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar --owner=0 .}
4711 $ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar --owner=root .}
4715 @item --group=@var{group}
4718 Files added to the @command{tar} archive will have a group @acronym{ID} of @var{group},
4719 rather than the group from the source file. The argument @var{group}
4720 can be either an existing group symbolic name, or a decimal numeric group @acronym{ID}.
4723 @node Ignore Failed Read
4724 @subsection Ignore Fail Read
4727 @item --ignore-failed-read
4728 @opindex ignore-failed-read
4729 Do not exit with nonzero on unreadable files or directories.
4732 @node extract options
4733 @section Options Used by @option{--extract}
4736 @xopindex{extract, additional options}
4737 The previous chapter showed how to use @option{--extract} to extract
4738 an archive into the file system. Various options cause @command{tar} to
4739 extract more information than just file contents, such as the owner,
4740 the permissions, the modification date, and so forth. This section
4741 presents options to be used with @option{--extract} when certain special
4742 considerations arise. You may review the information presented in
4743 @ref{extract} for more basic information about the
4744 @option{--extract} operation.
4747 * Reading:: Options to Help Read Archives
4748 * Writing:: Changing How @command{tar} Writes Files
4749 * Scarce:: Coping with Scarce Resources
4753 @subsection Options to Help Read Archives
4754 @cindex Options when reading archives
4757 @cindex Reading incomplete records
4758 @cindex Records, incomplete
4759 @opindex read-full-records
4760 Normally, @command{tar} will request data in full record increments from
4761 an archive storage device. If the device cannot return a full record,
4762 @command{tar} will report an error. However, some devices do not always
4763 return full records, or do not require the last record of an archive to
4764 be padded out to the next record boundary. To keep reading until you
4765 obtain a full record, or to accept an incomplete record if it contains
4766 an end-of-archive marker, specify the @option{--read-full-records} (@option{-B}) option
4767 in conjunction with the @option{--extract} or @option{--list} operations.
4770 The @option{--read-full-records} (@option{-B}) option is turned on by default when
4771 @command{tar} reads an archive from standard input, or from a remote
4772 machine. This is because on @acronym{BSD} Unix systems, attempting to read a
4773 pipe returns however much happens to be in the pipe, even if it is
4774 less than was requested. If this option were not enabled, @command{tar}
4775 would fail as soon as it read an incomplete record from the pipe.
4777 If you're not sure of the blocking factor of an archive, you can
4778 read the archive by specifying @option{--read-full-records} (@option{-B}) and
4779 @option{--blocking-factor=@var{512-size}} (@option{-b
4780 @var{512-size}}), using a blocking factor larger than what the archive
4781 uses. This lets you avoid having to determine the blocking factor
4782 of an archive. @xref{Blocking Factor}.
4785 * read full records::
4789 @node read full records
4790 @unnumberedsubsubsec Reading Full Records
4792 @FIXME{need sentence or so of intro here}
4795 @opindex read-full-records
4796 @item --read-full-records
4798 Use in conjunction with @option{--extract} (@option{--get},
4799 @option{-x}) to read an archive which contains incomplete records, or
4800 one which has a blocking factor less than the one specified.
4804 @unnumberedsubsubsec Ignoring Blocks of Zeros
4806 @cindex End-of-archive blocks, ignoring
4807 @cindex Ignoring end-of-archive blocks
4808 @opindex ignore-zeros
4809 Normally, @command{tar} stops reading when it encounters a block of zeros
4810 between file entries (which usually indicates the end of the archive).
4811 @option{--ignore-zeros} (@option{-i}) allows @command{tar} to
4812 completely read an archive which contains a block of zeros before the
4813 end (i.e., a damaged archive, or one that was created by concatenating
4814 several archives together).
4816 The @option{--ignore-zeros} (@option{-i}) option is turned off by default because many
4817 versions of @command{tar} write garbage after the end-of-archive entry,
4818 since that part of the media is never supposed to be read. @GNUTAR{}
4819 does not write after the end of an archive, but seeks to
4820 maintain compatibility among archiving utilities.
4823 @item --ignore-zeros
4825 To ignore blocks of zeros (i.e., end-of-archive entries) which may be
4826 encountered while reading an archive. Use in conjunction with
4827 @option{--extract} or @option{--list}.
4831 @subsection Changing How @command{tar} Writes Files
4834 @FIXME{Introductory paragraph}
4837 * Dealing with Old Files::
4838 * Overwrite Old Files::
4840 * Keep Newer Files::
4842 * Recursive Unlink::
4843 * Data Modification Times::
4844 * Setting Access Permissions::
4845 * Directory Modification Times and Permissions::
4846 * Writing to Standard Output::
4847 * Writing to an External Program::
4851 @node Dealing with Old Files
4852 @unnumberedsubsubsec Options Controlling the Overwriting of Existing Files
4854 @xopindex{overwrite-dir, introduced}
4855 When extracting files, if @command{tar} discovers that the extracted
4856 file already exists, it normally replaces the file by removing it before
4857 extracting it, to prevent confusion in the presence of hard or symbolic
4858 links. (If the existing file is a symbolic link, it is removed, not
4859 followed.) However, if a directory cannot be removed because it is
4860 nonempty, @command{tar} normally overwrites its metadata (ownership,
4861 permission, etc.). The @option{--overwrite-dir} option enables this
4862 default behavior. To be more cautious and preserve the metadata of
4863 such a directory, use the @option{--no-overwrite-dir} option.
4865 @cindex Overwriting old files, prevention
4866 @xopindex{keep-old-files, introduced}
4867 To be even more cautious and prevent existing files from being replaced, use
4868 the @option{--keep-old-files} (@option{-k}) option. It causes @command{tar} to refuse
4869 to replace or update a file that already exists, i.e., a file with the
4870 same name as an archive member prevents extraction of that archive
4871 member. Instead, it reports an error.
4873 @xopindex{overwrite, introduced}
4874 To be more aggressive about altering existing files, use the
4875 @option{--overwrite} option. It causes @command{tar} to overwrite
4876 existing files and to follow existing symbolic links when extracting.
4878 @cindex Protecting old files
4879 Some people argue that @GNUTAR{} should not hesitate
4880 to overwrite files with other files when extracting. When extracting
4881 a @command{tar} archive, they expect to see a faithful copy of the
4882 state of the file system when the archive was created. It is debatable
4883 that this would always be a proper behavior. For example, suppose one
4884 has an archive in which @file{usr/local} is a link to
4885 @file{usr/local2}. Since then, maybe the site removed the link and
4886 renamed the whole hierarchy from @file{/usr/local2} to
4887 @file{/usr/local}. Such things happen all the time. I guess it would
4888 not be welcome at all that @GNUTAR{} removes the
4889 whole hierarchy just to make room for the link to be reinstated
4890 (unless it @emph{also} simultaneously restores the full
4891 @file{/usr/local2}, of course!) @GNUTAR{} is indeed
4892 able to remove a whole hierarchy to reestablish a symbolic link, for
4893 example, but @emph{only if} @option{--recursive-unlink} is specified
4894 to allow this behavior. In any case, single files are silently
4897 @xopindex{unlink-first, introduced}
4898 Finally, the @option{--unlink-first} (@option{-U}) option can improve performance in
4899 some cases by causing @command{tar} to remove files unconditionally
4900 before extracting them.
4902 @node Overwrite Old Files
4903 @unnumberedsubsubsec Overwrite Old Files
4908 Overwrite existing files and directory metadata when extracting files
4911 This causes @command{tar} to write extracted files into the file system without
4912 regard to the files already on the system; i.e., files with the same
4913 names as archive members are overwritten when the archive is extracted.
4914 It also causes @command{tar} to extract the ownership, permissions,
4915 and time stamps onto any preexisting files or directories.
4916 If the name of a corresponding file name is a symbolic link, the file
4917 pointed to by the symbolic link will be overwritten instead of the
4918 symbolic link itself (if this is possible). Moreover, special devices,
4919 empty directories and even symbolic links are automatically removed if
4920 they are in the way of extraction.
4922 Be careful when using the @option{--overwrite} option, particularly when
4923 combined with the @option{--absolute-names} (@option{-P}) option, as this combination
4924 can change the contents, ownership or permissions of any file on your
4925 system. Also, many systems do not take kindly to overwriting files that
4926 are currently being executed.
4928 @opindex overwrite-dir
4929 @item --overwrite-dir
4930 Overwrite the metadata of directories when extracting files from an
4931 archive, but remove other files before extracting.
4934 @node Keep Old Files
4935 @unnumberedsubsubsec Keep Old Files
4938 @opindex keep-old-files
4939 @item --keep-old-files
4941 Do not replace existing files from archive. The
4942 @option{--keep-old-files} (@option{-k}) option prevents @command{tar}
4943 from replacing existing files with files with the same name from the
4944 archive. The @option{--keep-old-files} option is meaningless with
4945 @option{--list} (@option{-t}). Prevents @command{tar} from replacing
4946 files in the file system during extraction.
4949 @node Keep Newer Files
4950 @unnumberedsubsubsec Keep Newer Files
4953 @opindex keep-newer-files
4954 @item --keep-newer-files
4955 Do not replace existing files that are newer than their archive
4956 copies. This option is meaningless with @option{--list} (@option{-t}).
4960 @unnumberedsubsubsec Unlink First
4963 @opindex unlink-first
4964 @item --unlink-first
4966 Remove files before extracting over them.
4967 This can make @command{tar} run a bit faster if you know in advance
4968 that the extracted files all need to be removed. Normally this option
4969 slows @command{tar} down slightly, so it is disabled by default.
4972 @node Recursive Unlink
4973 @unnumberedsubsubsec Recursive Unlink
4976 @opindex recursive-unlink
4977 @item --recursive-unlink
4978 When this option is specified, try removing files and directory hierarchies
4979 before extracting over them. @emph{This is a dangerous option!}
4982 If you specify the @option{--recursive-unlink} option,
4983 @command{tar} removes @emph{anything} that keeps you from extracting a file
4984 as far as current permissions will allow it. This could include removal
4985 of the contents of a full directory hierarchy.
4987 @node Data Modification Times
4988 @unnumberedsubsubsec Setting Data Modification Times
4990 @cindex Data modification times of extracted files
4991 @cindex Modification times of extracted files
4992 Normally, @command{tar} sets the data modification times of extracted
4993 files to the corresponding times recorded for the files in the archive, but
4994 limits the permissions of extracted files by the current @code{umask}
4997 To set the data modification times of extracted files to the time when
4998 the files were extracted, use the @option{--touch} (@option{-m}) option in
4999 conjunction with @option{--extract} (@option{--get}, @option{-x}).
5005 Sets the data modification time of extracted archive members to the time
5006 they were extracted, not the time recorded for them in the archive.
5007 Use in conjunction with @option{--extract} (@option{--get}, @option{-x}).
5010 @node Setting Access Permissions
5011 @unnumberedsubsubsec Setting Access Permissions
5013 @cindex Permissions of extracted files
5014 @cindex Modes of extracted files
5015 To set the modes (access permissions) of extracted files to those
5016 recorded for those files in the archive, use @option{--same-permissions}
5017 in conjunction with the @option{--extract} (@option{--get},
5018 @option{-x}) operation.
5021 @opindex preserve-permissions
5022 @opindex same-permissions
5023 @item --preserve-permissions
5024 @itemx --same-permissions
5025 @c @itemx --ignore-umask
5027 Set modes of extracted archive members to those recorded in the
5028 archive, instead of current umask settings. Use in conjunction with
5029 @option{--extract} (@option{--get}, @option{-x}).
5032 @node Directory Modification Times and Permissions
5033 @unnumberedsubsubsec Directory Modification Times and Permissions
5035 After successfully extracting a file member, @GNUTAR{} normally
5036 restores its permissions and modification times, as described in the
5037 previous sections. This cannot be done for directories, because
5038 after extracting a directory @command{tar} will almost certainly
5039 extract files into that directory and this will cause the directory
5040 modification time to be updated. Moreover, restoring that directory
5041 permissions may not permit file creation within it. Thus, restoring
5042 directory permissions and modification times must be delayed at least
5043 until all files have been extracted into that directory. @GNUTAR{}
5044 restores directories using the following approach.
5046 The extracted directories are created with the mode specified in the
5047 archive, as modified by the umask of the user, which gives sufficient
5048 permissions to allow file creation. The meta-information about the
5049 directory is recorded in the temporary list of directories. When
5050 preparing to extract next archive member, @GNUTAR{} checks if the
5051 directory prefix of this file contains the remembered directory. If
5052 it does not, the program assumes that all files have been extracted
5053 into that directory, restores its modification time and permissions
5054 and removes its entry from the internal list. This approach allows
5055 to correctly restore directory meta-information in the majority of
5056 cases, while keeping memory requirements sufficiently small. It is
5057 based on the fact, that most @command{tar} archives use the predefined
5058 order of members: first the directory, then all the files and
5059 subdirectories in that directory.
5061 However, this is not always true. The most important exception are
5062 incremental archives (@pxref{Incremental Dumps}). The member order in
5063 an incremental archive is reversed: first all directory members are
5064 stored, followed by other (non-directory) members. So, when extracting
5065 from incremental archives, @GNUTAR{} alters the above procedure. It
5066 remembers all restored directories, and restores their meta-data
5067 only after the entire archive has been processed. Notice, that you do
5068 not need to specify any special options for that, as @GNUTAR{}
5069 automatically detects archives in incremental format.
5071 There may be cases, when such processing is required for normal archives
5072 too. Consider the following example:
5076 $ @kbd{tar --no-recursion -cvf archive \
5077 foo foo/file1 bar bar/file foo/file2}
5086 During the normal operation, after encountering @file{bar}
5087 @GNUTAR{} will assume that all files from the directory @file{foo}
5088 were already extracted and will therefore restore its timestamp and
5089 permission bits. However, after extracting @file{foo/file2} the
5090 directory timestamp will be offset again.
5092 To correctly restore directory meta-information in such cases, use
5093 @option{delay-directory-restore} command line option:
5096 @opindex delay-directory-restore
5097 @item --delay-directory-restore
5098 Delays restoring of the modification times and permissions of extracted
5099 directories until the end of extraction. This way, correct
5100 meta-information is restored even if the archive has unusual member
5103 @opindex no-delay-directory-restore
5104 @item --no-delay-directory-restore
5105 Cancel the effect of the previous @option{--delay-directory-restore}.
5106 Use this option if you have used @option{--delay-directory-restore} in
5107 @env{TAR_OPTIONS} variable (@pxref{TAR_OPTIONS}) and wish to
5108 temporarily disable it.
5111 @node Writing to Standard Output
5112 @unnumberedsubsubsec Writing to Standard Output
5114 @cindex Writing extracted files to standard output
5115 @cindex Standard output, writing extracted files to
5116 To write the extracted files to the standard output, instead of
5117 creating the files on the file system, use @option{--to-stdout} (@option{-O}) in
5118 conjunction with @option{--extract} (@option{--get}, @option{-x}). This option is useful if you are
5119 extracting files to send them through a pipe, and do not need to
5120 preserve them in the file system. If you extract multiple members,
5121 they appear on standard output concatenated, in the order they are
5122 found in the archive.
5128 Writes files to the standard output. Use only in conjunction with
5129 @option{--extract} (@option{--get}, @option{-x}). When this option is
5130 used, instead of creating the files specified, @command{tar} writes
5131 the contents of the files extracted to its standard output. This may
5132 be useful if you are only extracting the files in order to send them
5133 through a pipe. This option is meaningless with @option{--list}
5137 This can be useful, for example, if you have a tar archive containing
5138 a big file and don't want to store the file on disk before processing
5139 it. You can use a command like this:
5142 tar -xOzf foo.tgz bigfile | process
5145 or even like this if you want to process the concatenation of the files:
5148 tar -xOzf foo.tgz bigfile1 bigfile2 | process
5151 However, @option{--to-command} may be more convenient for use with
5152 multiple files. See the next section.
5154 @node Writing to an External Program
5155 @unnumberedsubsubsec Writing to an External Program
5157 You can instruct @command{tar} to send the contents of each extracted
5158 file to the standard input of an external program:
5162 @item --to-command=@var{command}
5163 Extract files and pipe their contents to the standard input of
5164 @var{command}. When this option is used, instead of creating the
5165 files specified, @command{tar} invokes @var{command} and pipes the
5166 contents of the files to its standard output. @var{Command} may
5167 contain command line arguments. The program is executed via
5168 @code{sh -c}. Notice, that @var{command} is executed once for each regular file
5169 extracted. Non-regular files (directories, etc.) are ignored when this
5173 The command can obtain the information about the file it processes
5174 from the following environment variables:
5177 @vrindex TAR_FILETYPE, to-command environment
5179 Type of the file. It is a single letter with the following meaning:
5181 @multitable @columnfractions 0.10 0.90
5182 @item f @tab Regular file
5183 @item d @tab Directory
5184 @item l @tab Symbolic link
5185 @item h @tab Hard link
5186 @item b @tab Block device
5187 @item c @tab Character device
5190 Currently only regular files are supported.
5192 @vrindex TAR_MODE, to-command environment
5194 File mode, an octal number.
5196 @vrindex TAR_FILENAME, to-command environment
5198 The name of the file.
5200 @vrindex TAR_REALNAME, to-command environment
5202 Name of the file as stored in the archive.
5204 @vrindex TAR_UNAME, to-command environment
5206 Name of the file owner.
5208 @vrindex TAR_GNAME, to-command environment
5210 Name of the file owner group.
5212 @vrindex TAR_ATIME, to-command environment
5214 Time of last access. It is a decimal number, representing seconds
5215 since the epoch. If the archive provides times with nanosecond
5216 precision, the nanoseconds are appended to the timestamp after a
5219 @vrindex TAR_MTIME, to-command environment
5221 Time of last modification.
5223 @vrindex TAR_CTIME, to-command environment
5225 Time of last status change.
5227 @vrindex TAR_SIZE, to-command environment
5231 @vrindex TAR_UID, to-command environment
5233 UID of the file owner.
5235 @vrindex TAR_GID, to-command environment
5237 GID of the file owner.
5240 In addition to these variables, @env{TAR_VERSION} contains the
5241 @GNUTAR{} version number.
5243 If @var{command} exits with a non-0 status, @command{tar} will print
5244 an error message similar to the following:
5247 tar: 2345: Child returned status 1
5250 Here, @samp{2345} is the PID of the finished process.
5252 If this behavior is not wanted, use @option{--ignore-command-error}:
5255 @opindex ignore-command-error
5256 @item --ignore-command-error
5257 Ignore exit codes of subprocesses. Notice that if the program
5258 exits on signal or otherwise terminates abnormally, the error message
5259 will be printed even if this option is used.
5261 @opindex no-ignore-command-error
5262 @item --no-ignore-command-error
5263 Cancel the effect of any previous @option{--ignore-command-error}
5264 option. This option is useful if you have set
5265 @option{--ignore-command-error} in @env{TAR_OPTIONS}
5266 (@pxref{TAR_OPTIONS}) and wish to temporarily cancel it.
5270 @unnumberedsubsubsec Removing Files
5272 @FIXME{The section is too terse. Something more to add? An example,
5276 @opindex remove-files
5277 @item --remove-files
5278 Remove files after adding them to the archive.
5282 @subsection Coping with Scarce Resources
5285 @cindex Small memory
5286 @cindex Running out of space
5294 @unnumberedsubsubsec Starting File
5297 @opindex starting-file
5298 @item --starting-file=@var{name}
5299 @itemx -K @var{name}
5300 Starts an operation in the middle of an archive. Use in conjunction
5301 with @option{--extract} (@option{--get}, @option{-x}) or @option{--list} (@option{-t}).
5304 @cindex Middle of the archive, starting in the
5305 If a previous attempt to extract files failed due to lack of disk
5306 space, you can use @option{--starting-file=@var{name}} (@option{-K
5307 @var{name}}) to start extracting only after member @var{name} of the
5308 archive. This assumes, of course, that there is now free space, or
5309 that you are now extracting into a different file system. (You could
5310 also choose to suspend @command{tar}, remove unnecessary files from
5311 the file system, and then restart the same @command{tar} operation.
5312 In this case, @option{--starting-file} is not necessary.
5313 @xref{Incremental Dumps}, @xref{interactive}, and @ref{exclude}.)
5316 @unnumberedsubsubsec Same Order
5319 @cindex Large lists of file names on small machines
5321 @opindex preserve-order
5323 @itemx --preserve-order
5325 To process large lists of file names on machines with small amounts of
5326 memory. Use in conjunction with @option{--compare} (@option{--diff},
5327 @option{-d}), @option{--list} (@option{-t}) or @option{--extract}
5328 (@option{--get}, @option{-x}).
5331 The @option{--same-order} (@option{--preserve-order}, @option{-s}) option tells @command{tar} that the list of file
5332 names to be listed or extracted is sorted in the same order as the
5333 files in the archive. This allows a large list of names to be used,
5334 even on a small machine that would not otherwise be able to hold all
5335 the names in memory at the same time. Such a sorted list can easily be
5336 created by running @samp{tar -t} on the archive and editing its output.
5338 This option is probably never needed on modern computer systems.
5341 @section Backup options
5343 @cindex backup options
5345 @GNUTAR{} offers options for making backups of files
5346 before writing new versions. These options control the details of
5347 these backups. They may apply to the archive itself before it is
5348 created or rewritten, as well as individual extracted members. Other
5349 @acronym{GNU} programs (@command{cp}, @command{install}, @command{ln},
5350 and @command{mv}, for example) offer similar options.
5352 Backup options may prove unexpectedly useful when extracting archives
5353 containing many members having identical name, or when extracting archives
5354 on systems having file name limitations, making different members appear
5355 has having similar names through the side-effect of name truncation.
5356 (This is true only if we have a good scheme for truncated backup names,
5357 which I'm not sure at all: I suspect work is needed in this area.)
5358 When any existing file is backed up before being overwritten by extraction,
5359 then clashing files are automatically be renamed to be unique, and the
5360 true name is kept for only the last file of a series of clashing files.
5361 By using verbose mode, users may track exactly what happens.
5363 At the detail level, some decisions are still experimental, and may
5364 change in the future, we are waiting comments from our users. So, please
5365 do not learn to depend blindly on the details of the backup features.
5366 For example, currently, directories themselves are never renamed through
5367 using these options, so, extracting a file over a directory still has
5368 good chances to fail. Also, backup options apply to created archives,
5369 not only to extracted members. For created archives, backups will not
5370 be attempted when the archive is a block or character device, or when it
5371 refers to a remote file.
5373 For the sake of simplicity and efficiency, backups are made by renaming old
5374 files prior to creation or extraction, and not by copying. The original
5375 name is restored if the file creation fails. If a failure occurs after a
5376 partial extraction of a file, both the backup and the partially extracted
5380 @item --backup[=@var{method}]
5382 @vindex VERSION_CONTROL
5384 Back up files that are about to be overwritten or removed.
5385 Without this option, the original versions are destroyed.
5387 Use @var{method} to determine the type of backups made.
5388 If @var{method} is not specified, use the value of the @env{VERSION_CONTROL}
5389 environment variable. And if @env{VERSION_CONTROL} is not set,
5390 use the @samp{existing} method.
5392 @vindex version-control @r{Emacs variable}
5393 This option corresponds to the Emacs variable @samp{version-control};
5394 the same values for @var{method} are accepted as in Emacs. This option
5395 also allows more descriptive names. The valid @var{method}s are:
5400 @cindex numbered @r{backup method}
5401 Always make numbered backups.
5405 @cindex existing @r{backup method}
5406 Make numbered backups of files that already have them, simple backups
5411 @cindex simple @r{backup method}
5412 Always make simple backups.
5416 @item --suffix=@var{suffix}
5418 @cindex backup suffix
5419 @vindex SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX
5420 Append @var{suffix} to each backup file made with @option{--backup}. If this
5421 option is not specified, the value of the @env{SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX}
5422 environment variable is used. And if @env{SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX} is not
5423 set, the default is @samp{~}, just as in Emacs.
5428 @section Notable @command{tar} Usages
5431 @FIXME{Using Unix file linking capability to recreate directory
5432 structures---linking files into one subdirectory and then
5433 @command{tar}ring that directory.}
5435 @FIXME{Nice hairy example using absolute-names, newer, etc.}
5438 You can easily use archive files to transport a group of files from
5439 one system to another: put all relevant files into an archive on one
5440 computer system, transfer the archive to another system, and extract
5441 the contents there. The basic transfer medium might be magnetic tape,
5442 Internet FTP, or even electronic mail (though you must encode the
5443 archive with @command{uuencode} in order to transport it properly by
5444 mail). Both machines do not have to use the same operating system, as
5445 long as they both support the @command{tar} program.
5447 For example, here is how you might copy a directory's contents from
5448 one disk to another, while preserving the dates, modes, owners and
5449 link-structure of all the files therein. In this case, the transfer
5450 medium is a @dfn{pipe}, which is one a Unix redirection mechanism:
5453 $ @kbd{(cd sourcedir; tar -cf - .) | (cd targetdir; tar -xf -)}
5457 You can avoid subshells by using @option{-C} option:
5460 $ @kbd{tar -C sourcedir -cf - . | tar -C targetdir -xf -}
5464 The command also works using short option forms:
5467 $ @kbd{(cd sourcedir; tar --create --file=- . ) \
5468 | (cd targetdir; tar --extract --file=-)}
5470 $ @kbd{tar --directory sourcedir --create --file=- . ) \
5471 | tar --directory targetdir --extract --file=-}
5475 This is one of the easiest methods to transfer a @command{tar} archive.
5478 @section Looking Ahead: The Rest of this Manual
5480 You have now seen how to use all eight of the operations available to
5481 @command{tar}, and a number of the possible options. The next chapter
5482 explains how to choose and change file and archive names, how to use
5483 files to store names of other files which you can then call as
5484 arguments to @command{tar} (this can help you save time if you expect to
5485 archive the same list of files a number of times), and so forth.
5486 @FIXME{in case it's not obvious, i'm making this up in some sense
5487 based on my limited memory of what the next chapter *really* does. i
5488 just wanted to flesh out this final section a little bit so i'd
5489 remember to stick it in here. :-)}
5491 If there are too many files to conveniently list on the command line,
5492 you can list the names in a file, and @command{tar} will read that file.
5495 There are various ways of causing @command{tar} to skip over some files,
5496 and not archive them. @xref{Choosing}.
5499 @chapter Performing Backups and Restoring Files
5502 @GNUTAR{} is distributed along with the scripts
5503 which the Free Software Foundation uses for performing backups. There
5504 is no corresponding scripts available yet for doing restoration of
5505 files. Even if there is a good chance those scripts may be satisfying
5506 to you, they are not the only scripts or methods available for doing
5507 backups and restore. You may well create your own, or use more
5508 sophisticated packages dedicated to that purpose.
5510 Some users are enthusiastic about @code{Amanda} (The Advanced Maryland
5511 Automatic Network Disk Archiver), a backup system developed by James
5512 da Silva @file{jds@@cs.umd.edu} and available on many Unix systems.
5513 This is free software, and it is available at these places:
5516 http://www.cs.umd.edu/projects/amanda/amanda.html
5517 ftp://ftp.cs.umd.edu/pub/amanda
5522 Here is a possible plan for a future documentation about the backuping
5523 scripts which are provided within the @GNUTAR{}
5529 @item what are dumps
5530 @item different levels of dumps
5532 @item full dump = dump everything
5533 @item level 1, level 2 dumps etc
5534 A level @var{n} dump dumps everything changed since the last level
5537 @item how to use scripts for dumps (ie, the concept)
5539 @item scripts to run after editing backup specs (details)
5541 @item Backup Specs, what is it.
5543 @item how to customize
5544 @item actual text of script [/sp/dump/backup-specs]
5548 @item rsh doesn't work
5549 @item rtape isn't installed
5552 @item the @option{--incremental} option of tar
5555 @item write protection
5556 @item types of media, different sizes and types, useful for different things
5557 @item files and tape marks
5558 one tape mark between files, two at end.
5559 @item positioning the tape
5560 MT writes two at end of write,
5561 backspaces over one when writing again.
5567 This chapter documents both the provided shell scripts and @command{tar}
5568 options which are more specific to usage as a backup tool.
5570 To @dfn{back up} a file system means to create archives that contain
5571 all the files in that file system. Those archives can then be used to
5572 restore any or all of those files (for instance if a disk crashes or a
5573 file is accidentally deleted). File system @dfn{backups} are also
5577 * Full Dumps:: Using @command{tar} to Perform Full Dumps
5578 * Incremental Dumps:: Using @command{tar} to Perform Incremental Dumps
5579 * Backup Levels:: Levels of Backups
5580 * Backup Parameters:: Setting Parameters for Backups and Restoration
5581 * Scripted Backups:: Using the Backup Scripts
5582 * Scripted Restoration:: Using the Restore Script
5586 @section Using @command{tar} to Perform Full Dumps
5592 @cindex corrupted archives
5593 Full dumps should only be made when no other people or programs
5594 are modifying files in the file system. If files are modified while
5595 @command{tar} is making the backup, they may not be stored properly in
5596 the archive, in which case you won't be able to restore them if you
5597 have to. (Files not being modified are written with no trouble, and do
5598 not corrupt the entire archive.)
5600 You will want to use the @option{--label=@var{archive-label}}
5601 (@option{-V @var{archive-label}}) option to give the archive a
5602 volume label, so you can tell what this archive is even if the label
5603 falls off the tape, or anything like that.
5605 Unless the file system you are dumping is guaranteed to fit on
5606 one volume, you will need to use the @option{--multi-volume} (@option{-M}) option.
5607 Make sure you have enough tapes on hand to complete the backup.
5609 If you want to dump each file system separately you will need to use
5610 the @option{--one-file-system} option to prevent
5611 @command{tar} from crossing file system boundaries when storing
5614 The @option{--incremental} (@option{-G}) (@pxref{Incremental Dumps})
5615 option is not needed, since this is a complete copy of everything in
5616 the file system, and a full restore from this backup would only be
5617 done onto a completely
5620 Unless you are in a hurry, and trust the @command{tar} program (and your
5621 tapes), it is a good idea to use the @option{--verify} (@option{-W})
5622 option, to make sure your files really made it onto the dump properly.
5623 This will also detect cases where the file was modified while (or just
5624 after) it was being archived. Not all media (notably cartridge tapes)
5625 are capable of being verified, unfortunately.
5627 @node Incremental Dumps
5628 @section Using @command{tar} to Perform Incremental Dumps
5630 @dfn{Incremental backup} is a special form of @GNUTAR{} archive that
5631 stores additional metadata so that exact state of the file system
5632 can be restored when extracting the archive.
5634 @GNUTAR{} currently offers two options for handling incremental
5635 backups: @option{--listed-incremental=@var{snapshot-file}} (@option{-g
5636 @var{snapshot-file}}) and @option{--incremental} (@option{-G}).
5638 @opindex listed-incremental
5639 The option @option{--listed-incremental} instructs tar to operate on
5640 an incremental archive with additional metadata stored in a standalone
5641 file, called a @dfn{snapshot file}. The purpose of this file is to help
5642 determine which files have been changed, added or deleted since the
5643 last backup, so that the next incremental backup will contain only
5644 modified files. The name of the snapshot file is given as an argument
5648 @item --listed-incremental=@var{file}
5649 @itemx -g @var{file}
5650 Handle incremental backups with snapshot data in @var{file}.
5653 To create an incremental backup, you would use
5654 @option{--listed-incremental} together with @option{--create}
5655 (@pxref{create}). For example:
5658 $ @kbd{tar --create \
5659 --file=archive.1.tar \
5660 --listed-incremental=/var/log/usr.snar \
5664 This will create in @file{archive.1.tar} an incremental backup of
5665 the @file{/usr} file system, storing additional metadata in the file
5666 @file{/var/log/usr.snar}. If this file does not exist, it will be
5667 created. The created archive will then be a @dfn{level 0 backup};
5668 please see the next section for more on backup levels.
5670 Otherwise, if the file @file{/var/log/usr.snar} exists, it
5671 determines which files are modified. In this case only these files will be
5672 stored in the archive. Suppose, for example, that after running the
5673 above command, you delete file @file{/usr/doc/old} and create
5674 directory @file{/usr/local/db} with the following contents:
5677 $ @kbd{ls /usr/local/db}
5682 Some time later you create another incremental backup. You will
5686 $ @kbd{tar --create \
5687 --file=archive.2.tar \
5688 --listed-incremental=/var/log/usr.snar \
5690 tar: usr/local/db: Directory is new
5697 The created archive @file{archive.2.tar} will contain only these
5698 three members. This archive is called a @dfn{level 1 backup}. Notice
5699 that @file{/var/log/usr.snar} will be updated with the new data, so if
5700 you plan to create more @samp{level 1} backups, it is necessary to
5701 create a working copy of the snapshot file before running
5702 @command{tar}. The above example will then be modified as follows:
5705 $ @kbd{cp /var/log/usr.snar /var/log/usr.snar-1}
5706 $ @kbd{tar --create \
5707 --file=archive.2.tar \
5708 --listed-incremental=/var/log/usr.snar-1 \
5712 Incremental dumps depend crucially on time stamps, so the results are
5713 unreliable if you modify a file's time stamps during dumping (e.g.,
5714 with the @option{--atime-preserve=replace} option), or if you set the clock
5717 @anchor{device numbers}
5718 @cindex Device numbers, using in incremental backups
5719 Metadata stored in snapshot files include device numbers, which,
5720 obviously are supposed to be a non-volatile values. However, it turns
5721 out that @acronym{NFS} devices have undependable values when an automounter
5722 gets in the picture. This can lead to a great deal of spurious
5723 redumping in incremental dumps, so it is somewhat useless to compare
5724 two @acronym{NFS} devices numbers over time. The solution implemented
5725 currently is to considers all @acronym{NFS} devices as being equal
5726 when it comes to comparing directories; this is fairly gross, but
5727 there does not seem to be a better way to go.
5729 Apart from using @acronym{NFS}, there are a number of cases where
5730 relying on device numbers can cause spurious redumping of unmodified
5731 files. For example, this occurs when archiving @acronym{LVM} snapshot
5732 volumes. To avoid this, use @option{--no-check-device} option:
5735 @xopindex{no-check-device, described}
5736 @item --no-check-device
5737 Do not rely on device numbers when preparing a list of changed files
5738 for an incremental dump.
5740 @xopindex{check-device, described}
5741 @item --check-device
5742 Use device numbers when preparing a list of changed files
5743 for an incremental dump. This is the default behavior. The purpose
5744 of this option is to undo the effect of the @option{--no-check-device}
5745 if it was given in @env{TAR_OPTIONS} environment variable
5746 (@pxref{TAR_OPTIONS}).
5749 There is also another way to cope with changing device numbers. It is
5750 described in detail in @ref{Fixing Snapshot Files}.
5752 Note that incremental archives use @command{tar} extensions and may
5753 not be readable by non-@acronym{GNU} versions of the @command{tar} program.
5755 @xopindex{listed-incremental, using with @option{--extract}}
5756 @xopindex{extract, using with @option{--listed-incremental}}
5757 To extract from the incremental dumps, use
5758 @option{--listed-incremental} together with @option{--extract}
5759 option (@pxref{extracting files}). In this case, @command{tar} does
5760 not need to access snapshot file, since all the data necessary for
5761 extraction are stored in the archive itself. So, when extracting, you
5762 can give whatever argument to @option{--listed-incremental}, the usual
5763 practice is to use @option{--listed-incremental=/dev/null}.
5764 Alternatively, you can use @option{--incremental}, which needs no
5765 arguments. In general, @option{--incremental} (@option{-G}) can be
5766 used as a shortcut for @option{--listed-incremental} when listing or
5767 extracting incremental backups (for more information, regarding this
5768 option, @pxref{incremental-op}).
5770 When extracting from the incremental backup @GNUTAR{} attempts to
5771 restore the exact state the file system had when the archive was
5772 created. In particular, it will @emph{delete} those files in the file
5773 system that did not exist in their directories when the archive was
5774 created. If you have created several levels of incremental files,
5775 then in order to restore the exact contents the file system had when
5776 the last level was created, you will need to restore from all backups
5777 in turn. Continuing our example, to restore the state of @file{/usr}
5778 file system, one would do@footnote{Notice, that since both archives
5779 were created without @option{-P} option (@pxref{absolute}), these
5780 commands should be run from the root file system.}:
5783 $ @kbd{tar --extract \
5784 --listed-incremental=/dev/null \
5785 --file archive.1.tar}
5786 $ @kbd{tar --extract \
5787 --listed-incremental=/dev/null \
5788 --file archive.2.tar}
5791 To list the contents of an incremental archive, use @option{--list}
5792 (@pxref{list}), as usual. To obtain more information about the
5793 archive, use @option{--listed-incremental} or @option{--incremental}
5794 combined with two @option{--verbose} options@footnote{Two
5795 @option{--verbose} options were selected to avoid breaking usual
5796 verbose listing output (@option{--list --verbose}) when using in
5799 @xopindex{incremental, using with @option{--list}}
5800 @xopindex{listed-incremental, using with @option{--list}}
5801 @xopindex{list, using with @option{--incremental}}
5802 @xopindex{list, using with @option{--listed-incremental}}
5803 Versions of @GNUTAR{} up to 1.15.1 used to dump verbatim binary
5804 contents of the DUMPDIR header (with terminating nulls) when
5805 @option{--incremental} or @option{--listed-incremental} option was
5806 given, no matter what the verbosity level. This behavior, and,
5807 especially, the binary output it produced were considered inconvenient
5808 and were changed in version 1.16}:
5811 @kbd{tar --list --incremental --verbose --verbose archive.tar}
5814 This command will print, for each directory in the archive, the list
5815 of files in that directory at the time the archive was created. This
5816 information is put out in a format which is both human-readable and
5817 unambiguous for a program: each file name is printed as
5824 where @var{x} is a letter describing the status of the file: @samp{Y}
5825 if the file is present in the archive, @samp{N} if the file is not
5826 included in the archive, or a @samp{D} if the file is a directory (and
5827 is included in the archive). @xref{Dumpdir}, for the detailed
5828 description of dumpdirs and status codes. Each such
5829 line is terminated by a newline character. The last line is followed
5830 by an additional newline to indicate the end of the data.
5832 @anchor{incremental-op}The option @option{--incremental} (@option{-G})
5833 gives the same behavior as @option{--listed-incremental} when used
5834 with @option{--list} and @option{--extract} options. When used with
5835 @option{--create} option, it creates an incremental archive without
5836 creating snapshot file. Thus, it is impossible to create several
5837 levels of incremental backups with @option{--incremental} option.
5840 @section Levels of Backups
5842 An archive containing all the files in the file system is called a
5843 @dfn{full backup} or @dfn{full dump}. You could insure your data by
5844 creating a full dump every day. This strategy, however, would waste a
5845 substantial amount of archive media and user time, as unchanged files
5846 are daily re-archived.
5848 It is more efficient to do a full dump only occasionally. To back up
5849 files between full dumps, you can use @dfn{incremental dumps}. A @dfn{level
5850 one} dump archives all the files that have changed since the last full
5853 A typical dump strategy would be to perform a full dump once a week,
5854 and a level one dump once a day. This means some versions of files
5855 will in fact be archived more than once, but this dump strategy makes
5856 it possible to restore a file system to within one day of accuracy by
5857 only extracting two archives---the last weekly (full) dump and the
5858 last daily (level one) dump. The only information lost would be in
5859 files changed or created since the last daily backup. (Doing dumps
5860 more than once a day is usually not worth the trouble).
5862 @GNUTAR{} comes with scripts you can use to do full
5863 and level-one (actually, even level-two and so on) dumps. Using
5864 scripts (shell programs) to perform backups and restoration is a
5865 convenient and reliable alternative to typing out file name lists
5866 and @command{tar} commands by hand.
5868 Before you use these scripts, you need to edit the file
5869 @file{backup-specs}, which specifies parameters used by the backup
5870 scripts and by the restore script. This file is usually located
5871 in @file{/etc/backup} directory. @xref{Backup Parameters}, for its
5872 detailed description. Once the backup parameters are set, you can
5873 perform backups or restoration by running the appropriate script.
5875 The name of the backup script is @code{backup}. The name of the
5876 restore script is @code{restore}. The following sections describe
5877 their use in detail.
5879 @emph{Please Note:} The backup and restoration scripts are
5880 designed to be used together. While it is possible to restore files by
5881 hand from an archive which was created using a backup script, and to create
5882 an archive by hand which could then be extracted using the restore script,
5883 it is easier to use the scripts. @xref{Incremental Dumps}, before
5884 making such an attempt.
5886 @node Backup Parameters
5887 @section Setting Parameters for Backups and Restoration
5889 The file @file{backup-specs} specifies backup parameters for the
5890 backup and restoration scripts provided with @command{tar}. You must
5891 edit @file{backup-specs} to fit your system configuration and schedule
5892 before using these scripts.
5894 Syntactically, @file{backup-specs} is a shell script, containing
5895 mainly variable assignments. However, any valid shell construct
5896 is allowed in this file. Particularly, you may wish to define
5897 functions within that script (e.g., see @code{RESTORE_BEGIN} below).
5898 For more information about shell script syntax, please refer to
5899 @url{http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399/utilities/xcu_chap02.html#ta
5900 g_02, the definition of the Shell Command Language}. See also
5901 @ref{Top,,Bash Features,bashref,Bash Reference Manual}.
5903 The shell variables controlling behavior of @code{backup} and
5904 @code{restore} are described in the following subsections.
5907 * General-Purpose Variables::
5908 * Magnetic Tape Control::
5910 * backup-specs example:: An Example Text of @file{Backup-specs}
5913 @node General-Purpose Variables
5914 @subsection General-Purpose Variables
5916 @defvr {Backup variable} ADMINISTRATOR
5917 The user name of the backup administrator. @code{Backup} scripts
5918 sends a backup report to this address.
5921 @defvr {Backup variable} BACKUP_HOUR
5922 The hour at which the backups are done. This can be a number from 0
5923 to 23, or the time specification in form @var{hours}:@var{minutes},
5924 or the string @samp{now}.
5926 This variable is used by @code{backup}. Its value may be overridden
5927 using @option{--time} option (@pxref{Scripted Backups}).
5930 @defvr {Backup variable} TAPE_FILE
5932 The device @command{tar} writes the archive to. If @var{TAPE_FILE}
5933 is a remote archive (@pxref{remote-dev}), backup script will suppose
5934 that your @command{mt} is able to access remote devices. If @var{RSH}
5935 (@pxref{RSH}) is set, @option{--rsh-command} option will be added to
5936 invocations of @command{mt}.
5939 @defvr {Backup variable} BLOCKING
5941 The blocking factor @command{tar} will use when writing the dump archive.
5942 @xref{Blocking Factor}.
5945 @defvr {Backup variable} BACKUP_DIRS
5947 A list of file systems to be dumped (for @code{backup}), or restored
5948 (for @code{restore}). You can include any directory
5949 name in the list --- subdirectories on that file system will be
5950 included, regardless of how they may look to other networked machines.
5951 Subdirectories on other file systems will be ignored.
5953 The host name specifies which host to run @command{tar} on, and should
5954 normally be the host that actually contains the file system. However,
5955 the host machine must have @GNUTAR{} installed, and
5956 must be able to access the directory containing the backup scripts and
5957 their support files using the same file name that is used on the
5958 machine where the scripts are run (i.e., what @command{pwd} will print
5959 when in that directory on that machine). If the host that contains
5960 the file system does not have this capability, you can specify another
5961 host as long as it can access the file system through @acronym{NFS}.
5963 If the list of file systems is very long you may wish to put it
5964 in a separate file. This file is usually named
5965 @file{/etc/backup/dirs}, but this name may be overridden in
5966 @file{backup-specs} using @code{DIRLIST} variable.
5969 @defvr {Backup variable} DIRLIST
5971 The name of the file that contains a list of file systems to backup
5972 or restore. By default it is @file{/etc/backup/dirs}.
5975 @defvr {Backup variable} BACKUP_FILES
5977 A list of individual files to be dumped (for @code{backup}), or restored
5978 (for @code{restore}). These should be accessible from the machine on
5979 which the backup script is run.
5981 If the list of file systems is very long you may wish to store it
5982 in a separate file. This file is usually named
5983 @file{/etc/backup/files}, but this name may be overridden in
5984 @file{backup-specs} using @code{FILELIST} variable.
5987 @defvr {Backup variable} FILELIST
5989 The name of the file that contains a list of individual files to backup
5990 or restore. By default it is @file{/etc/backup/files}.
5993 @defvr {Backup variable} MT
5995 Full file name of @command{mt} binary.
5998 @defvr {Backup variable} RSH
6000 Full file name of @command{rsh} binary or its equivalent. You may wish to
6001 set it to @code{ssh}, to improve security. In this case you will have
6002 to use public key authentication.
6005 @defvr {Backup variable} RSH_COMMAND
6007 Full file name of @command{rsh} binary on remote machines. This will
6008 be passed via @option{--rsh-command} option to the remote invocation
6012 @defvr {Backup variable} VOLNO_FILE
6014 Name of temporary file to hold volume numbers. This needs to be accessible
6015 by all the machines which have file systems to be dumped.
6018 @defvr {Backup variable} XLIST
6020 Name of @dfn{exclude file list}. An @dfn{exclude file list} is a file
6021 located on the remote machine and containing the list of files to
6022 be excluded from the backup. Exclude file lists are searched in
6023 /etc/tar-backup directory. A common use for exclude file lists
6024 is to exclude files containing security-sensitive information
6025 (e.g., @file{/etc/shadow} from backups).
6027 This variable affects only @code{backup}.
6030 @defvr {Backup variable} SLEEP_TIME
6032 Time to sleep between dumps of any two successive file systems
6034 This variable affects only @code{backup}.
6037 @defvr {Backup variable} DUMP_REMIND_SCRIPT
6039 Script to be run when it's time to insert a new tape in for the next
6040 volume. Administrators may want to tailor this script for their site.
6041 If this variable isn't set, @GNUTAR{} will display its built-in
6042 prompt, and will expect confirmation from the console. For the
6043 description of the default prompt, see @ref{change volume prompt}.
6047 @defvr {Backup variable} SLEEP_MESSAGE
6049 Message to display on the terminal while waiting for dump time. Usually
6050 this will just be some literal text.
6053 @defvr {Backup variable} TAR
6055 Full file name of the @GNUTAR{} executable. If this is not set, backup
6056 scripts will search @command{tar} in the current shell path.
6059 @node Magnetic Tape Control
6060 @subsection Magnetic Tape Control
6062 Backup scripts access tape device using special @dfn{hook functions}.
6063 These functions take a single argument -- the name of the tape
6064 device. Their names are kept in the following variables:
6066 @defvr {Backup variable} MT_BEGIN
6067 The name of @dfn{begin} function. This function is called before
6068 accessing the drive. By default it retensions the tape:
6074 mt -f "$1" retension
6079 @defvr {Backup variable} MT_REWIND
6080 The name of @dfn{rewind} function. The default definition is as
6093 @defvr {Backup variable} MT_OFFLINE
6094 The name of the function switching the tape off line. By default
6095 it is defined as follows:
6098 MT_OFFLINE=mt_offline
6106 @defvr {Backup variable} MT_STATUS
6107 The name of the function used to obtain the status of the archive device,
6108 including error count. Default definition:
6120 @subsection User Hooks
6122 @dfn{User hooks} are shell functions executed before and after
6123 each @command{tar} invocation. Thus, there are @dfn{backup
6124 hooks}, which are executed before and after dumping each file
6125 system, and @dfn{restore hooks}, executed before and
6126 after restoring a file system. Each user hook is a shell function
6127 taking four arguments:
6129 @deffn {User Hook Function} hook @var{level} @var{host} @var{fs} @var{fsname}
6134 Current backup or restore level.
6137 Name or IP address of the host machine being dumped or restored.
6140 Full file name of the file system being dumped or restored.
6143 File system name with directory separators replaced with colons. This
6144 is useful, e.g., for creating unique files.
6148 Following variables keep the names of user hook functions
6150 @defvr {Backup variable} DUMP_BEGIN
6151 Dump begin function. It is executed before dumping the file system.
6154 @defvr {Backup variable} DUMP_END
6155 Executed after dumping the file system.
6158 @defvr {Backup variable} RESTORE_BEGIN
6159 Executed before restoring the file system.
6162 @defvr {Backup variable} RESTORE_END
6163 Executed after restoring the file system.
6166 @node backup-specs example
6167 @subsection An Example Text of @file{Backup-specs}
6169 The following is an example of @file{backup-specs}:
6172 # site-specific parameters for file system backup.
6174 ADMINISTRATOR=friedman
6176 TAPE_FILE=/dev/nrsmt0
6178 # Use @code{ssh} instead of the less secure @code{rsh}
6180 RSH_COMMAND=/usr/bin/ssh
6182 # Override MT_STATUS function:
6188 # Disable MT_OFFLINE function
6205 apple-gunkies:/com/mailer/gnu
6206 apple-gunkies:/com/archive/gnu"
6208 BACKUP_FILES="/com/mailer/aliases /com/mailer/league*[a-z]"
6212 @node Scripted Backups
6213 @section Using the Backup Scripts
6215 The syntax for running a backup script is:
6218 backup --level=@var{level} --time=@var{time}
6221 The @option{level} option requests the dump level. Thus, to produce
6222 a full dump, specify @code{--level=0} (this is the default, so
6223 @option{--level} may be omitted if its value is @code{0}).
6224 @footnote{For backward compatibility, the @code{backup} will also
6225 try to deduce the requested dump level from the name of the
6226 script itself. If the name consists of a string @samp{level-}
6227 followed by a single decimal digit, that digit is taken as
6228 the dump level number. Thus, you may create a link from @code{backup}
6229 to @code{level-1} and then run @code{level-1} whenever you need to
6230 create a level one dump.}
6232 The @option{--time} option determines when should the backup be
6233 run. @var{Time} may take three forms:
6236 @item @var{hh}:@var{mm}
6238 The dump must be run at @var{hh} hours @var{mm} minutes.
6242 The dump must be run at @var{hh} hours
6246 The dump must be run immediately.
6249 You should start a script with a tape or disk mounted. Once you
6250 start a script, it prompts you for new tapes or disks as it
6251 needs them. Media volumes don't have to correspond to archive
6252 files --- a multi-volume archive can be started in the middle of a
6253 tape that already contains the end of another multi-volume archive.
6254 The @code{restore} script prompts for media by its archive volume,
6255 so to avoid an error message you should keep track of which tape
6256 (or disk) contains which volume of the archive (@pxref{Scripted
6259 The backup scripts write two files on the file system. The first is a
6260 record file in @file{/etc/tar-backup/}, which is used by the scripts
6261 to store and retrieve information about which files were dumped. This
6262 file is not meant to be read by humans, and should not be deleted by
6263 them. @xref{Snapshot Files}, for a more detailed explanation of this
6266 The second file is a log file containing the names of the file systems
6267 and files dumped, what time the backup was made, and any error
6268 messages that were generated, as well as how much space was left in
6269 the media volume after the last volume of the archive was written.
6270 You should check this log file after every backup. The file name is
6271 @file{log-@var{mm-dd-yyyy}-level-@var{n}}, where @var{mm-dd-yyyy}
6272 represents current date, and @var{n} represents current dump level number.
6274 The script also prints the name of each system being dumped to the
6277 Following is the full list of options accepted by @code{backup}
6281 @item -l @var{level}
6282 @itemx --level=@var{level}
6283 Do backup level @var{level} (default 0).
6287 Force backup even if today's log file already exists.
6289 @item -v[@var{level}]
6290 @itemx --verbose[=@var{level}]
6291 Set verbosity level. The higher the level is, the more debugging
6292 information will be output during execution. Default @var{level}
6293 is 100, which means the highest debugging level.
6295 @item -t @var{start-time}
6296 @itemx --time=@var{start-time}
6297 Wait till @var{time}, then do backup.
6301 Display short help message and exit.
6305 Display information about the program's name, version, origin and legal
6306 status, all on standard output, and then exit successfully.
6310 @node Scripted Restoration
6311 @section Using the Restore Script
6313 To restore files that were archived using a scripted backup, use the
6314 @code{restore} script. Its usage is quite straightforward. In the
6315 simplest form, invoke @code{restore --all}, it will
6316 then restore all the file systems and files specified in
6317 @file{backup-specs} (@pxref{General-Purpose Variables,BACKUP_DIRS}).
6319 You may select the file systems (and/or files) to restore by
6320 giving @code{restore} list of @dfn{patterns} in its command
6321 line. For example, running
6328 will restore all file systems on the machine @samp{albert}. A more
6329 complicated example:
6332 restore 'albert:*' '*:/var'
6336 This command will restore all file systems on the machine @samp{albert}
6337 as well as @file{/var} file system on all machines.
6339 By default @code{restore} will start restoring files from the lowest
6340 available dump level (usually zero) and will continue through
6341 all available dump levels. There may be situations where such a
6342 thorough restore is not necessary. For example, you may wish to
6343 restore only files from the recent level one backup. To do so,
6344 use @option{--level} option, as shown in the example below:
6350 The full list of options accepted by @code{restore} follows:
6355 Restore all file systems and files specified in @file{backup-specs}
6357 @item -l @var{level}
6358 @itemx --level=@var{level}
6359 Start restoring from the given backup level, instead of the default 0.
6361 @item -v[@var{level}]
6362 @itemx --verbose[=@var{level}]
6363 Set verbosity level. The higher the level is, the more debugging
6364 information will be output during execution. Default @var{level}
6365 is 100, which means the highest debugging level.
6369 Display short help message and exit.
6373 Display information about the program's name, version, origin and legal
6374 status, all on standard output, and then exit successfully.
6377 You should start the restore script with the media containing the
6378 first volume of the archive mounted. The script will prompt for other
6379 volumes as they are needed. If the archive is on tape, you don't need
6380 to rewind the tape to to its beginning---if the tape head is
6381 positioned past the beginning of the archive, the script will rewind
6382 the tape as needed. @xref{Tape Positioning}, for a discussion of tape
6386 @strong{Warning:} The script will delete files from the active file
6387 system if they were not in the file system when the archive was made.
6390 @xref{Incremental Dumps}, for an explanation of how the script makes
6394 @chapter Choosing Files and Names for @command{tar}
6397 Certain options to @command{tar} enable you to specify a name for your
6398 archive. Other options let you decide which files to include or exclude
6399 from the archive, based on when or whether files were modified, whether
6400 the file names do or don't match specified patterns, or whether files
6401 are in specified directories.
6403 This chapter discusses these options in detail.
6406 * file:: Choosing the Archive's Name
6407 * Selecting Archive Members::
6408 * files:: Reading Names from a File
6409 * exclude:: Excluding Some Files
6410 * wildcards:: Wildcards Patterns and Matching
6411 * quoting styles:: Ways of Quoting Special Characters in Names
6412 * transform:: Modifying File and Member Names
6413 * after:: Operating Only on New Files
6414 * recurse:: Descending into Directories
6415 * one:: Crossing File System Boundaries
6419 @section Choosing and Naming Archive Files
6422 @cindex Naming an archive
6423 @cindex Archive Name
6424 @cindex Choosing an archive file
6425 @cindex Where is the archive?
6426 By default, @command{tar} uses an archive file name that was compiled when
6427 it was built on the system; usually this name refers to some physical
6428 tape drive on the machine. However, the person who installed @command{tar}
6429 on the system may not have set the default to a meaningful value as far as
6430 most users are concerned. As a result, you will usually want to tell
6431 @command{tar} where to find (or create) the archive. The
6432 @option{--file=@var{archive-name}} (@option{-f @var{archive-name}})
6433 option allows you to either specify or name a file to use as the archive
6434 instead of the default archive file location.
6437 @xopindex{file, short description}
6438 @item --file=@var{archive-name}
6439 @itemx -f @var{archive-name}
6440 Name the archive to create or operate on. Use in conjunction with
6444 For example, in this @command{tar} command,
6447 $ @kbd{tar -cvf collection.tar blues folk jazz}
6451 @file{collection.tar} is the name of the archive. It must directly
6452 follow the @option{-f} option, since whatever directly follows @option{-f}
6453 @emph{will} end up naming the archive. If you neglect to specify an
6454 archive name, you may end up overwriting a file in the working directory
6455 with the archive you create since @command{tar} will use this file's name
6456 for the archive name.
6458 An archive can be saved as a file in the file system, sent through a
6459 pipe or over a network, or written to an I/O device such as a tape,
6460 floppy disk, or CD write drive.
6462 @cindex Writing new archives
6463 @cindex Archive creation
6464 If you do not name the archive, @command{tar} uses the value of the
6465 environment variable @env{TAPE} as the file name for the archive. If
6466 that is not available, @command{tar} uses a default, compiled-in archive
6467 name, usually that for tape unit zero (i.e., @file{/dev/tu00}).
6469 @cindex Standard input and output
6470 @cindex tar to standard input and output
6471 If you use @file{-} as an @var{archive-name}, @command{tar} reads the
6472 archive from standard input (when listing or extracting files), or
6473 writes it to standard output (when creating an archive). If you use
6474 @file{-} as an @var{archive-name} when modifying an archive,
6475 @command{tar} reads the original archive from its standard input and
6476 writes the entire new archive to its standard output.
6478 The following example is a convenient way of copying directory
6479 hierarchy from @file{sourcedir} to @file{targetdir}.
6482 $ @kbd{(cd sourcedir; tar -cf - .) | (cd targetdir; tar -xpf -)}
6485 The @option{-C} option allows to avoid using subshells:
6488 $ @kbd{tar -C sourcedir -cf - . | tar -C targetdir -xpf -}
6491 In both examples above, the leftmost @command{tar} invocation archives
6492 the contents of @file{sourcedir} to the standard output, while the
6493 rightmost one reads this archive from its standard input and
6494 extracts it. The @option{-p} option tells it to restore permissions
6495 of the extracted files.
6497 @cindex Remote devices
6498 @cindex tar to a remote device
6500 To specify an archive file on a device attached to a remote machine,
6504 @kbd{--file=@var{hostname}:/@var{dev}/@var{file-name}}
6508 @command{tar} will complete the remote connection, if possible, and
6509 prompt you for a username and password. If you use
6510 @option{--file=@@@var{hostname}:/@var{dev}/@var{file-name}}, @command{tar}
6511 will complete the remote connection, if possible, using your username
6512 as the username on the remote machine.
6514 @cindex Local and remote archives
6515 @anchor{local and remote archives}
6516 If the archive file name includes a colon (@samp{:}), then it is assumed
6517 to be a file on another machine. If the archive file is
6518 @samp{@var{user}@@@var{host}:@var{file}}, then @var{file} is used on the
6519 host @var{host}. The remote host is accessed using the @command{rsh}
6520 program, with a username of @var{user}. If the username is omitted
6521 (along with the @samp{@@} sign), then your user name will be used.
6522 (This is the normal @command{rsh} behavior.) It is necessary for the
6523 remote machine, in addition to permitting your @command{rsh} access, to
6524 have the @file{rmt} program installed (This command is included in
6525 the @GNUTAR{} distribution and by default is installed under
6526 @file{@var{prefix}/libexec/rmt}, were @var{prefix} means your
6527 installation prefix). If you need to use a file whose name includes a
6528 colon, then the remote tape drive behavior
6529 can be inhibited by using the @option{--force-local} option.
6531 When the archive is being created to @file{/dev/null}, @GNUTAR{}
6532 tries to minimize input and output operations. The Amanda backup
6533 system, when used with @GNUTAR{}, has an initial sizing pass which
6536 @node Selecting Archive Members
6537 @section Selecting Archive Members
6538 @cindex Specifying files to act on
6539 @cindex Specifying archive members
6541 @dfn{File Name arguments} specify which files in the file system
6542 @command{tar} operates on, when creating or adding to an archive, or which
6543 archive members @command{tar} operates on, when reading or deleting from
6544 an archive. @xref{Operations}.
6546 To specify file names, you can include them as the last arguments on
6547 the command line, as follows:
6549 @kbd{tar} @var{operation} [@var{option1} @var{option2} @dots{}] [@var{file name-1} @var{file name-2} @dots{}]
6552 If a file name begins with dash (@samp{-}), precede it with
6553 @option{--add-file} option to prevent it from being treated as an
6556 @anchor{input name quoting}
6557 By default @GNUTAR{} attempts to @dfn{unquote} each file or member
6558 name, replacing @dfn{escape sequences} according to the following
6561 @multitable @columnfractions 0.20 0.60
6562 @headitem Escape @tab Replaced with
6563 @item \a @tab Audible bell (@acronym{ASCII} 7)
6564 @item \b @tab Backspace (@acronym{ASCII} 8)
6565 @item \f @tab Form feed (@acronym{ASCII} 12)
6566 @item \n @tab New line (@acronym{ASCII} 10)
6567 @item \r @tab Carriage return (@acronym{ASCII} 13)
6568 @item \t @tab Horizontal tabulation (@acronym{ASCII} 9)
6569 @item \v @tab Vertical tabulation (@acronym{ASCII} 11)
6570 @item \? @tab @acronym{ASCII} 127
6571 @item \@var{n} @tab @acronym{ASCII} @var{n} (@var{n} should be an octal number
6575 A backslash followed by any other symbol is retained.
6577 This default behavior is controlled by the following command line
6583 Enable unquoting input file or member names (default).
6587 Disable unquoting input file or member names.
6590 If you specify a directory name as a file name argument, all the files
6591 in that directory are operated on by @command{tar}.
6593 If you do not specify files, @command{tar} behavior differs depending
6594 on the operation mode as described below:
6596 When @command{tar} is invoked with @option{--create} (@option{-c}),
6597 @command{tar} will stop immediately, reporting the following:
6601 $ @kbd{tar cf a.tar}
6602 tar: Cowardly refusing to create an empty archive
6603 Try `tar --help' or `tar --usage' for more information.
6607 If you specify either @option{--list} (@option{-t}) or
6608 @option{--extract} (@option{--get}, @option{-x}), @command{tar}
6609 operates on all the archive members in the archive.
6611 If run with @option{--diff} option, tar will compare the archive with
6612 the contents of the current working directory.
6614 If you specify any other operation, @command{tar} does nothing.
6616 By default, @command{tar} takes file names from the command line. However,
6617 there are other ways to specify file or member names, or to modify the
6618 manner in which @command{tar} selects the files or members upon which to
6619 operate. In general, these methods work both for specifying the names
6620 of files and archive members.
6623 @section Reading Names from a File
6625 @cindex Reading file names from a file
6626 @cindex Lists of file names
6627 @cindex File Name arguments, alternatives
6628 Instead of giving the names of files or archive members on the command
6629 line, you can put the names into a file, and then use the
6630 @option{--files-from=@var{file-of-names}} (@option{-T
6631 @var{file-of-names}}) option to @command{tar}. Give the name of the
6632 file which contains the list of files to include as the argument to
6633 @option{--files-from}. In the list, the file names should be separated by
6634 newlines. You will frequently use this option when you have generated
6635 the list of files to archive with the @command{find} utility.
6639 @item --files-from=@var{file-name}
6640 @itemx -T @var{file-name}
6641 Get names to extract or create from file @var{file-name}.
6644 If you give a single dash as a file name for @option{--files-from}, (i.e.,
6645 you specify either @code{--files-from=-} or @code{-T -}), then the file
6646 names are read from standard input.
6648 Unless you are running @command{tar} with @option{--create}, you can not use
6649 both @code{--files-from=-} and @code{--file=-} (@code{-f -}) in the same
6652 Any number of @option{-T} options can be given in the command line.
6654 The following example shows how to use @command{find} to generate a list of
6655 files smaller than 400K in length and put that list into a file
6656 called @file{small-files}. You can then use the @option{-T} option to
6657 @command{tar} to specify the files from that file, @file{small-files}, to
6658 create the archive @file{little.tgz}. (The @option{-z} option to
6659 @command{tar} compresses the archive with @command{gzip}; @pxref{gzip} for
6663 $ @kbd{find . -size -400 -print > small-files}
6664 $ @kbd{tar -c -v -z -T small-files -f little.tgz}
6668 In the file list given by @option{-T} option, any file name beginning
6669 with @samp{-} character is considered a @command{tar} option and is
6670 processed accordingly.@footnote{Versions of @GNUTAR{} up to 1.15.1
6671 recognized only @option{-C} option in file lists, and only if the
6672 option and its argument occupied two consecutive lines.} For example,
6673 the common use of this feature is to change to another directory by
6674 specifying @option{-C} option:
6684 $ @kbd{tar -c -f foo.tar --files-from list}
6689 In this example, @command{tar} will first switch to @file{/etc}
6690 directory and add files @file{passwd} and @file{hosts} to the
6691 archive. Then it will change to @file{/lib} directory and will archive
6692 the file @file{libc.a}. Thus, the resulting archive @file{foo.tar} will
6697 $ @kbd{tar tf foo.tar}
6705 @xopindex{directory, using in @option{--files-from} argument}
6706 Notice that the option parsing algorithm used with @option{-T} is
6707 stricter than the one used by shell. Namely, when specifying option
6708 arguments, you should observe the following rules:
6712 When using short (single-letter) option form, its argument must
6713 immediately follow the option letter, without any intervening
6714 whitespace. For example: @code{-Cdir}.
6717 When using long option form, the option argument must be separated
6718 from the option by a single equal sign. No whitespace is allowed on
6719 any side of the equal sign. For example: @code{--directory=dir}.
6722 For both short and long option forms, the option argument can be given
6723 on the next line after the option name, e.g.:
6744 If you happen to have a file whose name starts with @samp{-},
6745 precede it with @option{--add-file} option to prevent it from
6746 being recognized as an option. For example: @code{--add-file=--my-file}.
6753 @subsection @code{NUL} Terminated File Names
6755 @cindex File names, terminated by @code{NUL}
6756 @cindex @code{NUL} terminated file names
6757 The @option{--null} option causes
6758 @option{--files-from=@var{file-of-names}} (@option{-T @var{file-of-names}})
6759 to read file names terminated by a @code{NUL} instead of a newline, so
6760 files whose names contain newlines can be archived using
6761 @option{--files-from}.
6764 @xopindex{null, described}
6766 Only consider @code{NUL} terminated file names, instead of files that
6767 terminate in a newline.
6769 @xopindex{no-null, described}
6771 Undo the effect of any previous @option{--null} option.
6774 The @option{--null} option is just like the one in @acronym{GNU}
6775 @command{xargs} and @command{cpio}, and is useful with the
6776 @option{-print0} predicate of @acronym{GNU} @command{find}. In
6777 @command{tar}, @option{--null} also disables special handling for
6778 file names that begin with dash.
6780 This example shows how to use @command{find} to generate a list of files
6781 larger than 800K in length and put that list into a file called
6782 @file{long-files}. The @option{-print0} option to @command{find} is just
6783 like @option{-print}, except that it separates files with a @code{NUL}
6784 rather than with a newline. You can then run @command{tar} with both the
6785 @option{--null} and @option{-T} options to specify that @command{tar} get the
6786 files from that file, @file{long-files}, to create the archive
6787 @file{big.tgz}. The @option{--null} option to @command{tar} will cause
6788 @command{tar} to recognize the @code{NUL} separator between files.
6791 $ @kbd{find . -size +800 -print0 > long-files}
6792 $ @kbd{tar -c -v --null --files-from=long-files --file=big.tar}
6795 The @option{--no-null} option can be used if you need to read both
6796 zero-terminated and newline-terminated files on the same command line.
6797 For example, if @file{flist} is a newline-terminated file, then the
6798 following command can be used to combine it with the above command:
6802 $ @kbd{find . -size +800 -print0 |
6803 tar -c -f big.tar --null -T - --no-null -T flist}
6807 This example uses short options for typographic reasons, to avoid
6810 @GNUTAR is able to automatically detect null-terminated file lists, so
6811 it is safe to use them even without the @option{--null} option. In
6812 this case @command{tar} will print a warning and continue reading such
6813 a file as if @option{--null} were actually given:
6817 $ @kbd{find . -size +800 -print0 | tar -c -f big.tar -T -}
6818 tar: -: file name read contains nul character
6822 The null terminator, however, remains in effect only for this
6823 particular file, any following @option{-T} options will assume
6824 newline termination. Of course, the null autodetection applies
6825 to these eventual surplus @option{-T} options as well.
6828 @section Excluding Some Files
6831 @cindex File names, excluding files by
6832 @cindex Excluding files by name and pattern
6833 @cindex Excluding files by file system
6834 To avoid operating on files whose names match a particular pattern,
6835 use the @option{--exclude} or @option{--exclude-from} options.
6839 @item --exclude=@var{pattern}
6840 Causes @command{tar} to ignore files that match the @var{pattern}.
6844 The @option{--exclude=@var{pattern}} option prevents any file or
6845 member whose name matches the shell wildcard (@var{pattern}) from
6847 For example, to create an archive with all the contents of the directory
6848 @file{src} except for files whose names end in @file{.o}, use the
6849 command @samp{tar -cf src.tar --exclude='*.o' src}.
6851 You may give multiple @option{--exclude} options.
6854 @opindex exclude-from
6855 @item --exclude-from=@var{file}
6856 @itemx -X @var{file}
6857 Causes @command{tar} to ignore files that match the patterns listed in
6861 @findex exclude-from
6862 Use the @option{--exclude-from} option to read a
6863 list of patterns, one per line, from @var{file}; @command{tar} will
6864 ignore files matching those patterns. Thus if @command{tar} is
6865 called as @w{@samp{tar -c -X foo .}} and the file @file{foo} contains a
6866 single line @file{*.o}, no files whose names end in @file{.o} will be
6867 added to the archive.
6869 Notice, that lines from @var{file} are read verbatim. One of the
6870 frequent errors is leaving some extra whitespace after a file name,
6871 which is difficult to catch using text editors.
6873 However, empty lines are OK.
6875 @cindex version control system, excluding files
6876 @cindex VCS, excluding files
6877 @cindex SCCS, excluding files
6878 @cindex RCS, excluding files
6879 @cindex CVS, excluding files
6880 @cindex SVN, excluding files
6881 @cindex git, excluding files
6882 @cindex Bazaar, excluding files
6883 @cindex Arch, excluding files
6884 @cindex Mercurial, excluding files
6885 @cindex Darcs, excluding files
6887 @opindex exclude-vcs
6889 Exclude files and directories used by following version control
6890 systems: @samp{CVS}, @samp{RCS}, @samp{SCCS}, @samp{SVN}, @samp{Arch},
6891 @samp{Bazaar}, @samp{Mercurial}, and @samp{Darcs}.
6894 As of version @value{VERSION}, the following files are excluded:
6897 @item @file{CVS/}, and everything under it
6898 @item @file{RCS/}, and everything under it
6899 @item @file{SCCS/}, and everything under it
6900 @item @file{.git/}, and everything under it
6901 @item @file{.gitignore}
6902 @item @file{.cvsignore}
6903 @item @file{.svn/}, and everything under it
6904 @item @file{.arch-ids/}, and everything under it
6905 @item @file{@{arch@}/}, and everything under it
6906 @item @file{=RELEASE-ID}
6907 @item @file{=meta-update}
6908 @item @file{=update}
6910 @item @file{.bzrignore}
6911 @item @file{.bzrtags}
6913 @item @file{.hgignore}
6914 @item @file{.hgrags}
6918 @findex exclude-caches
6919 When creating an archive, the @option{--exclude-caches} option family
6920 causes @command{tar} to exclude all directories that contain a @dfn{cache
6921 directory tag}. A cache directory tag is a short file with the
6922 well-known name @file{CACHEDIR.TAG} and having a standard header
6923 specified in @url{http://www.brynosaurus.com/cachedir/spec.html}.
6924 Various applications write cache directory tags into directories they
6925 use to hold regenerable, non-precious data, so that such data can be
6926 more easily excluded from backups.
6928 There are three @samp{exclude-caches} options, each providing a different
6929 exclusion semantics:
6932 @opindex exclude-caches
6933 @item --exclude-caches
6934 Do not archive the contents of the directory, but archive the
6935 directory itself and the @file{CACHEDIR.TAG} file.
6937 @opindex exclude-caches-under
6938 @item --exclude-caches-under
6939 Do not archive the contents of the directory, nor the
6940 @file{CACHEDIR.TAG} file, archive only the directory itself.
6942 @opindex exclude-caches-all
6943 @item --exclude-caches-all
6944 Omit directories containing @file{CACHEDIR.TAG} file entirely.
6948 Another option family, @option{--exclude-tag}, provides a generalization of
6949 this concept. It takes a single argument, a file name to look for.
6950 Any directory that contains this file will be excluded from the dump.
6951 Similarly to @samp{exclude-caches}, there are three options in this
6955 @opindex exclude-tag
6956 @item --exclude-tag=@var{file}
6957 Do not dump the contents of the directory, but dump the
6958 directory itself and the @var{file}.
6960 @opindex exclude-tag-under
6961 @item --exclude-tag-under=@var{file}
6962 Do not dump the contents of the directory, nor the
6963 @var{file}, archive only the directory itself.
6965 @opindex exclude-tag-all
6966 @item --exclude-tag-all=@var{file}
6967 Omit directories containing @var{file} file entirely.
6970 Multiple @option{--exclude-tag*} options can be given.
6972 For example, given this directory:
6987 The @option{--exclude-tag} will produce the following:
6990 $ @kbd{tar -cf archive.tar --exclude-tag=tagfile -v dir}
6995 tar: dir/folk/: contains a cache directory tag tagfile;
7000 Both the @file{dir/folk} directory and its tagfile are preserved in
7001 the archive, however the rest of files in this directory are not.
7003 Now, using the @option{--exclude-tag-under} option will exclude
7004 @file{tagfile} from the dump, while still preserving the directory
7005 itself, as shown in this example:
7008 $ @kbd{tar -cf archive.tar --exclude-tag-under=tagfile -v dir}
7013 ./tar: dir/folk/: contains a cache directory tag tagfile;
7017 Finally, using @option{--exclude-tag-all} omits the @file{dir/folk}
7021 $ @kbd{tar -cf archive.tar --exclude-tag-all=tagfile -v dir}
7025 ./tar: dir/folk/: contains a cache directory tag tagfile;
7026 directory not dumped
7030 * problems with exclude::
7033 @node problems with exclude
7034 @unnumberedsubsec Problems with Using the @code{exclude} Options
7036 @xopindex{exclude, potential problems with}
7037 Some users find @samp{exclude} options confusing. Here are some common
7042 The main operating mode of @command{tar} does not act on a file name
7043 explicitly listed on the command line, if one of its file name
7044 components is excluded. In the example above, if
7045 you create an archive and exclude files that end with @samp{*.o}, but
7046 explicitly name the file @samp{dir.o/foo} after all the options have been
7047 listed, @samp{dir.o/foo} will be excluded from the archive.
7050 You can sometimes confuse the meanings of @option{--exclude} and
7051 @option{--exclude-from}. Be careful: use @option{--exclude} when files
7052 to be excluded are given as a pattern on the command line. Use
7053 @option{--exclude-from} to introduce the name of a file which contains
7054 a list of patterns, one per line; each of these patterns can exclude
7055 zero, one, or many files.
7058 When you use @option{--exclude=@var{pattern}}, be sure to quote the
7059 @var{pattern} parameter, so @GNUTAR{} sees wildcard characters
7060 like @samp{*}. If you do not do this, the shell might expand the
7061 @samp{*} itself using files at hand, so @command{tar} might receive a
7062 list of files instead of one pattern, or none at all, making the
7063 command somewhat illegal. This might not correspond to what you want.
7068 $ @kbd{tar -c -f @var{archive.tar} --exclude '*.o' @var{directory}}
7076 $ @kbd{tar -c -f @var{archive.tar} --exclude *.o @var{directory}}
7080 You must use use shell syntax, or globbing, rather than @code{regexp}
7081 syntax, when using exclude options in @command{tar}. If you try to use
7082 @code{regexp} syntax to describe files to be excluded, your command
7086 @FIXME{The change in semantics must have occurred before 1.11,
7087 so I doubt if it is worth mentioning at all. Anyway, should at
7088 least specify in which version the semantics changed.}
7089 In earlier versions of @command{tar}, what is now the
7090 @option{--exclude-from} option was called @option{--exclude} instead.
7091 Now, @option{--exclude} applies to patterns listed on the command
7092 line and @option{--exclude-from} applies to patterns listed in a
7098 @section Wildcards Patterns and Matching
7100 @dfn{Globbing} is the operation by which @dfn{wildcard} characters,
7101 @samp{*} or @samp{?} for example, are replaced and expanded into all
7102 existing files matching the given pattern. @GNUTAR{} can use wildcard
7103 patterns for matching (or globbing) archive members when extracting
7104 from or listing an archive. Wildcard patterns are also used for
7105 verifying volume labels of @command{tar} archives. This section has the
7106 purpose of explaining wildcard syntax for @command{tar}.
7108 @FIXME{the next few paragraphs need work.}
7110 A @var{pattern} should be written according to shell syntax, using wildcard
7111 characters to effect globbing. Most characters in the pattern stand
7112 for themselves in the matched string, and case is significant: @samp{a}
7113 will match only @samp{a}, and not @samp{A}. The character @samp{?} in the
7114 pattern matches any single character in the matched string. The character
7115 @samp{*} in the pattern matches zero, one, or more single characters in
7116 the matched string. The character @samp{\} says to take the following
7117 character of the pattern @emph{literally}; it is useful when one needs to
7118 match the @samp{?}, @samp{*}, @samp{[} or @samp{\} characters, themselves.
7120 The character @samp{[}, up to the matching @samp{]}, introduces a character
7121 class. A @dfn{character class} is a list of acceptable characters
7122 for the next single character of the matched string. For example,
7123 @samp{[abcde]} would match any of the first five letters of the alphabet.
7124 Note that within a character class, all of the ``special characters''
7125 listed above other than @samp{\} lose their special meaning; for example,
7126 @samp{[-\\[*?]]} would match any of the characters, @samp{-}, @samp{\},
7127 @samp{[}, @samp{*}, @samp{?}, or @samp{]}. (Due to parsing constraints,
7128 the characters @samp{-} and @samp{]} must either come @emph{first} or
7129 @emph{last} in a character class.)
7131 @cindex Excluding characters from a character class
7132 @cindex Character class, excluding characters from
7133 If the first character of the class after the opening @samp{[}
7134 is @samp{!} or @samp{^}, then the meaning of the class is reversed.
7135 Rather than listing character to match, it lists those characters which
7136 are @emph{forbidden} as the next single character of the matched string.
7138 Other characters of the class stand for themselves. The special
7139 construction @samp{[@var{a}-@var{e}]}, using an hyphen between two
7140 letters, is meant to represent all characters between @var{a} and
7143 @FIXME{need to add a sentence or so here to make this clear for those
7144 who don't have dan around.}
7146 Periods (@samp{.}) or forward slashes (@samp{/}) are not considered
7147 special for wildcard matches. However, if a pattern completely matches
7148 a directory prefix of a matched string, then it matches the full matched
7149 string: thus, excluding a directory also excludes all the files beneath it.
7152 * controlling pattern-matching::
7155 @node controlling pattern-matching
7156 @unnumberedsubsec Controlling Pattern-Matching
7158 For the purposes of this section, we call @dfn{exclusion members} all
7159 member names obtained while processing @option{--exclude} and
7160 @option{--exclude-from} options, and @dfn{inclusion members} those
7161 member names that were given in the command line or read from the file
7162 specified with @option{--files-from} option.
7164 These two pairs of member lists are used in the following operations:
7165 @option{--diff}, @option{--extract}, @option{--list},
7168 There are no inclusion members in create mode (@option{--create} and
7169 @option{--append}), since in this mode the names obtained from the
7170 command line refer to @emph{files}, not archive members.
7172 By default, inclusion members are compared with archive members
7173 literally @footnote{Notice that earlier @GNUTAR{} versions used
7174 globbing for inclusion members, which contradicted to UNIX98
7175 specification and was not documented. @xref{Changes}, for more
7176 information on this and other changes.} and exclusion members are
7177 treated as globbing patterns. For example:
7181 $ @kbd{tar tf foo.tar}
7186 # @i{Member names are used verbatim:}
7187 $ @kbd{tar -xf foo.tar -v '[remarks]'}
7189 # @i{Exclude member names are globbed:}
7190 $ @kbd{tar -xf foo.tar -v --exclude '*.c'}
7196 This behavior can be altered by using the following options:
7201 Treat all member names as wildcards.
7203 @opindex no-wildcards
7204 @item --no-wildcards
7205 Treat all member names as literal strings.
7208 Thus, to extract files whose names end in @samp{.c}, you can use:
7211 $ @kbd{tar -xf foo.tar -v --wildcards '*.c'}
7217 Notice quoting of the pattern to prevent the shell from interpreting
7220 The effect of @option{--wildcards} option is canceled by
7221 @option{--no-wildcards}. This can be used to pass part of
7222 the command line arguments verbatim and other part as globbing
7223 patterns. For example, the following invocation:
7226 $ @kbd{tar -xf foo.tar --wildcards '*.txt' --no-wildcards '[remarks]'}
7230 instructs @command{tar} to extract from @file{foo.tar} all files whose
7231 names end in @samp{.txt} and the file named @file{[remarks]}.
7233 Normally, a pattern matches a name if an initial subsequence of the
7234 name's components matches the pattern, where @samp{*}, @samp{?}, and
7235 @samp{[...]} are the usual shell wildcards, @samp{\} escapes wildcards,
7236 and wildcards can match @samp{/}.
7238 Other than optionally stripping leading @samp{/} from names
7239 (@pxref{absolute}), patterns and names are used as-is. For
7240 example, trailing @samp{/} is not trimmed from a user-specified name
7241 before deciding whether to exclude it.
7243 However, this matching procedure can be altered by the options listed
7244 below. These options accumulate. For example:
7247 --ignore-case --exclude='makefile' --no-ignore-case ---exclude='readme'
7251 ignores case when excluding @samp{makefile}, but not when excluding
7256 @opindex no-anchored
7258 @itemx --no-anchored
7259 If anchored, a pattern must match an initial subsequence
7260 of the name's components. Otherwise, the pattern can match any
7261 subsequence. Default is @option{--no-anchored} for exclusion members
7262 and @option{--anchored} inclusion members.
7264 @opindex ignore-case
7265 @opindex no-ignore-case
7267 @itemx --no-ignore-case
7268 When ignoring case, upper-case patterns match lower-case names and vice versa.
7269 When not ignoring case (the default), matching is case-sensitive.
7271 @opindex wildcards-match-slash
7272 @opindex no-wildcards-match-slash
7273 @item --wildcards-match-slash
7274 @itemx --no-wildcards-match-slash
7275 When wildcards match slash (the default for exclusion members), a
7276 wildcard like @samp{*} in the pattern can match a @samp{/} in the
7277 name. Otherwise, @samp{/} is matched only by @samp{/}.
7281 The @option{--recursion} and @option{--no-recursion} options
7282 (@pxref{recurse}) also affect how member patterns are interpreted. If
7283 recursion is in effect, a pattern matches a name if it matches any of
7284 the name's parent directories.
7286 The following table summarizes pattern-matching default values:
7288 @multitable @columnfractions .3 .7
7289 @headitem Members @tab Default settings
7290 @item Inclusion @tab @option{--no-wildcards --anchored --no-wildcards-match-slash}
7291 @item Exclusion @tab @option{--wildcards --no-anchored --wildcards-match-slash}
7294 @node quoting styles
7295 @section Quoting Member Names
7297 When displaying member names, @command{tar} takes care to avoid
7298 ambiguities caused by certain characters. This is called @dfn{name
7299 quoting}. The characters in question are:
7302 @item Non-printable control characters:
7303 @anchor{escape sequences}
7304 @multitable @columnfractions 0.20 0.10 0.60
7305 @headitem Character @tab @acronym{ASCII} @tab Character name
7306 @item \a @tab 7 @tab Audible bell
7307 @item \b @tab 8 @tab Backspace
7308 @item \f @tab 12 @tab Form feed
7309 @item \n @tab 10 @tab New line
7310 @item \r @tab 13 @tab Carriage return
7311 @item \t @tab 9 @tab Horizontal tabulation
7312 @item \v @tab 11 @tab Vertical tabulation
7315 @item Space (@acronym{ASCII} 32)
7317 @item Single and double quotes (@samp{'} and @samp{"})
7319 @item Backslash (@samp{\})
7322 The exact way @command{tar} uses to quote these characters depends on
7323 the @dfn{quoting style}. The default quoting style, called
7324 @dfn{escape} (see below), uses backslash notation to represent control
7325 characters, space and backslash. Using this quoting style, control
7326 characters are represented as listed in column @samp{Character} in the
7327 above table, a space is printed as @samp{\ } and a backslash as @samp{\\}.
7329 @GNUTAR{} offers seven distinct quoting styles, which can be selected
7330 using @option{--quoting-style} option:
7333 @item --quoting-style=@var{style}
7334 @opindex quoting-style
7336 Sets quoting style. Valid values for @var{style} argument are:
7337 literal, shell, shell-always, c, escape, locale, clocale.
7340 These styles are described in detail below. To illustrate their
7341 effect, we will use an imaginary tar archive @file{arch.tar}
7342 containing the following members:
7346 # 1. Contains horizontal tabulation character.
7348 # 2. Contains newline character
7351 # 3. Contains a space
7353 # 4. Contains double quotes
7355 # 5. Contains single quotes
7357 # 6. Contains a backslash character:
7362 Here is how usual @command{ls} command would have listed them, if they
7363 had existed in the current working directory:
7381 No quoting, display each character as is:
7385 $ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=literal}
7398 Display characters the same way Bourne shell does:
7399 control characters, except @samp{\t} and @samp{\n}, are printed using
7400 backslash escapes, @samp{\t} and @samp{\n} are printed as is, and a
7401 single quote is printed as @samp{\'}. If a name contains any quoted
7402 characters, it is enclosed in single quotes. In particular, if a name
7403 contains single quotes, it is printed as several single-quoted strings:
7407 $ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=shell}
7410 './a'\''single'\''quote'
7420 Same as @samp{shell}, but the names are always enclosed in single
7425 $ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=shell-always}
7428 './a'\''single'\''quote'
7438 Use the notation of the C programming language. All names are
7439 enclosed in double quotes. Control characters are quoted using
7440 backslash notations, double quotes are represented as @samp{\"},
7441 backslash characters are represented as @samp{\\}. Single quotes and
7442 spaces are not quoted:
7446 $ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=c}
7450 "./a\"double\"quote"
7458 Control characters are printed using backslash notation, a space is
7459 printed as @samp{\ } and a backslash as @samp{\\}. This is the
7460 default quoting style, unless it was changed when configured the
7465 $ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=escape}
7477 Control characters, single quote and backslash are printed using
7478 backslash notation. All names are quoted using left and right
7479 quotation marks, appropriate to the current locale. If it does not
7480 define quotation marks, use @samp{`} as left and @samp{'} as right
7481 quotation marks. Any occurrences of the right quotation mark in a
7482 name are escaped with @samp{\}, for example:
7488 $ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=locale}
7491 `./a\'single\'quote'
7500 Same as @samp{locale}, but @samp{"} is used for both left and right
7501 quotation marks, if not provided by the currently selected locale:
7505 $ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=clocale}
7509 "./a\"double\"quote"
7517 You can specify which characters should be quoted in addition to those
7518 implied by the current quoting style:
7521 @item --quote-chars=@var{string}
7522 Always quote characters from @var{string}, even if the selected
7523 quoting style would not quote them.
7526 For example, using @samp{escape} quoting (compare with the usual
7527 escape listing above):
7531 $ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=escape --quote-chars=' "'}
7542 To disable quoting of such additional characters, use the following
7546 @item --no-quote-chars=@var{string}
7547 Remove characters listed in @var{string} from the list of quoted
7548 characters set by the previous @option{--quote-chars} option.
7551 This option is particularly useful if you have added
7552 @option{--quote-chars} to your @env{TAR_OPTIONS} (@pxref{TAR_OPTIONS})
7553 and wish to disable it for the current invocation.
7555 Note, that @option{--no-quote-chars} does @emph{not} disable those
7556 characters that are quoted by default in the selected quoting style.
7559 @section Modifying File and Member Names
7561 @command{Tar} archives contain detailed information about files stored
7562 in them and full file names are part of that information. When
7563 storing file to an archive, its file name is recorded in it,
7564 along with the actual file contents. When restoring from an archive,
7565 a file is created on disk with exactly the same name as that stored
7566 in the archive. In the majority of cases this is the desired behavior
7567 of a file archiver. However, there are some cases when it is not.
7569 First of all, it is often unsafe to extract archive members with
7570 absolute file names or those that begin with a @file{../}. @GNUTAR{}
7571 takes special precautions when extracting such names and provides a
7572 special option for handling them, which is described in
7575 Secondly, you may wish to extract file names without some leading
7576 directory components, or with otherwise modified names. In other
7577 cases it is desirable to store files under differing names in the
7580 @GNUTAR{} provides several options for these needs.
7583 @opindex strip-components
7584 @item --strip-components=@var{number}
7585 Strip given @var{number} of leading components from file names before
7589 For example, suppose you have archived whole @file{/usr} hierarchy to
7590 a tar archive named @file{usr.tar}. Among other files, this archive
7591 contains @file{usr/include/stdlib.h}, which you wish to extract to
7592 the current working directory. To do so, you type:
7595 $ @kbd{tar -xf usr.tar --strip=2 usr/include/stdlib.h}
7598 The option @option{--strip=2} instructs @command{tar} to strip the
7599 two leading components (@file{usr/} and @file{include/}) off the file
7602 If you add the @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) option to the invocation
7603 above, you will note that the verbose listing still contains the
7604 full file name, with the two removed components still in place. This
7605 can be inconvenient, so @command{tar} provides a special option for
7606 altering this behavior:
7608 @anchor{show-transformed-names}
7610 @opindex show-transformed-names
7611 @item --show-transformed-names
7612 Display file or member names with all requested transformations
7621 $ @kbd{tar -xf usr.tar -v --strip=2 usr/include/stdlib.h}
7622 usr/include/stdlib.h
7623 $ @kbd{tar -xf usr.tar -v --strip=2 --show-transformed usr/include/stdlib.h}
7628 Notice that in both cases the file @file{stdlib.h} is extracted to the
7629 current working directory, @option{--show-transformed-names} affects
7630 only the way its name is displayed.
7632 This option is especially useful for verifying whether the invocation
7633 will have the desired effect. Thus, before running
7636 $ @kbd{tar -x --strip=@var{n}}
7640 it is often advisable to run
7643 $ @kbd{tar -t -v --show-transformed --strip=@var{n}}
7647 to make sure the command will produce the intended results.
7649 In case you need to apply more complex modifications to the file name,
7650 @GNUTAR{} provides a general-purpose transformation option:
7655 @item --transform=@var{expression}
7656 @itemx --xform=@var{expression}
7657 Modify file names using supplied @var{expression}.
7661 The @var{expression} is a @command{sed}-like replace expression of the
7665 s/@var{regexp}/@var{replace}/[@var{flags}]
7669 where @var{regexp} is a @dfn{regular expression}, @var{replace} is a
7670 replacement for each file name part that matches @var{regexp}. Both
7671 @var{regexp} and @var{replace} are described in detail in
7672 @ref{The "s" Command, The "s" Command, The `s' Command, sed, GNU sed}.
7674 Any delimiter can be used in lieue of @samp{/}, the only requirement being
7675 that it be used consistently throughout the expression. For example,
7676 the following two expressions are equivalent:
7685 Changing delimiters is often useful when the @var{regex} contains
7686 slashes. For example, it is more convenient to write @code{s,/,-,} than
7689 As in @command{sed}, you can give several replace expressions,
7690 separated by a semicolon.
7692 Supported @var{flags} are:
7696 Apply the replacement to @emph{all} matches to the @var{regexp}, not
7700 Use case-insensitive matching
7703 @var{regexp} is an @dfn{extended regular expression} (@pxref{Extended
7704 regexps, Extended regular expressions, Extended regular expressions,
7708 Only replace the @var{number}th match of the @var{regexp}.
7710 Note: the @acronym{POSIX} standard does not specify what should happen
7711 when you mix the @samp{g} and @var{number} modifiers. @GNUTAR{}
7712 follows the GNU @command{sed} implementation in this regard, so
7713 the interaction is defined to be: ignore matches before the
7714 @var{number}th, and then match and replace all matches from the
7719 In addition, several @dfn{transformation scope} flags are supported,
7720 that control to what files transformations apply. These are:
7724 Apply transformation to regular archive members.
7727 Do not apply transformation to regular archive members.
7730 Apply transformation to symbolic link targets.
7733 Do not apply transformation to symbolic link targets.
7736 Apply transformation to hard link targets.
7739 Do not apply transformation to hard link targets.
7742 Default is @samp{rsh}, which means to apply tranformations to both archive
7743 members and targets of symbolic and hard links.
7745 Default scope flags can also be changed using @samp{flags=} statement
7746 in the transform expression. The flags set this way remain in force
7747 until next @samp{flags=} statement or end of expression, whichever
7748 occurs first. For example:
7751 --transform 'flags=S;s|^|/usr/local/|'
7754 Here are several examples of @option{--transform} usage:
7757 @item Extract @file{usr/} hierarchy into @file{usr/local/}:
7760 $ @kbd{tar --transform='s,usr/,usr/local/,' -x -f arch.tar}
7763 @item Strip two leading directory components (equivalent to
7764 @option{--strip-components=2}):
7767 $ @kbd{tar --transform='s,/*[^/]*/[^/]*/,,' -x -f arch.tar}
7770 @item Convert each file name to lower case:
7773 $ @kbd{tar --transform 's/.*/\L&/' -x -f arch.tar}
7776 @item Prepend @file{/prefix/} to each file name:
7779 $ @kbd{tar --transform 's,^,/prefix/,' -x -f arch.tar}
7782 @item Archive the @file{/lib} directory, prepending @samp{/usr/local}
7783 to each archive member:
7786 $ @kbd{tar --transform 's,^,/usr/local/,S' -c -f arch.tar /lib}
7790 Notice the use of flags in the last example. The @file{/lib}
7791 directory often contains many symbolic links to files within it.
7792 It may look, for example, like this:
7796 drwxr-xr-x root/root 0 2008-07-08 16:20 /lib/
7797 -rwxr-xr-x root/root 1250840 2008-05-25 07:44 /lib/libc-2.3.2.so
7798 lrwxrwxrwx root/root 0 2008-06-24 17:12 /lib/libc.so.6 -> libc-2.3.2.so
7802 Using the expression @samp{s,^,/usr/local/,} would mean adding
7803 @samp{/usr/local} to both regular archive members and to link
7804 targets. In this case, @file{/lib/libc.so.6} would become:
7807 /usr/local/lib/libc.so.6 -> /usr/local/libc-2.3.2.so
7810 This is definitely not desired. To avoid this, the @samp{S} flag
7811 are used, which excludes symbolic link targets from filename
7812 transformations. The result is:
7815 $ @kbd{tar --transform 's,^,/usr/local/,S', -c -v -f arch.tar \
7816 --show-transformed /lib}
7817 drwxr-xr-x root/root 0 2008-07-08 16:20 /usr/local/lib/
7818 -rwxr-xr-x root/root 1250840 2008-05-25 07:44 /usr/local/lib/libc-2.3.2.so
7819 lrwxrwxrwx root/root 0 2008-06-24 17:12 /usr/local/lib/libc.so.6 ->
7823 Unlike @option{--strip-components}, @option{--transform} can be used
7824 in any @GNUTAR{} operation mode. For example, the following command
7825 adds files to the archive while replacing the leading @file{usr/}
7826 component with @file{var/}:
7829 $ @kbd{tar -cf arch.tar --transform='s,^usr/,var/,' /}
7832 To test @option{--transform} effect we suggest using
7833 @option{--show-transformed-names} option:
7836 $ @kbd{tar -cf arch.tar --transform='s,^usr/,var/,' \
7837 --verbose --show-transformed-names /}
7840 If both @option{--strip-components} and @option{--transform} are used
7841 together, then @option{--transform} is applied first, and the required
7842 number of components is then stripped from its result.
7844 You can use as many @option{--transform} options in a single command
7845 line as you want. The specified expressions will then be applied in
7846 order of their appearance. For example, the following two invocations
7850 $ @kbd{tar -cf arch.tar --transform='s,/usr/var,/var/' \
7851 --transform='s,/usr/local,/usr/,'}
7852 $ @kbd{tar -cf arch.tar \
7853 --transform='s,/usr/var,/var/;s,/usr/local,/usr/,'}
7857 @section Operating Only on New Files
7860 @cindex Excluding file by age
7861 @cindex Data Modification time, excluding files by
7862 @cindex Modification time, excluding files by
7863 @cindex Age, excluding files by
7864 The @option{--after-date=@var{date}} (@option{--newer=@var{date}},
7865 @option{-N @var{date}}) option causes @command{tar} to only work on
7866 files whose data modification or status change times are newer than
7867 the @var{date} given. If @var{date} starts with @samp{/} or @samp{.},
7868 it is taken to be a file name; the data modification time of that file
7869 is used as the date. If you use this option when creating or appending
7870 to an archive, the archive will only include new files. If you use
7871 @option{--after-date} when extracting an archive, @command{tar} will
7872 only extract files newer than the @var{date} you specify.
7874 If you only want @command{tar} to make the date comparison based on
7875 modification of the file's data (rather than status
7876 changes), then use the @option{--newer-mtime=@var{date}} option.
7878 You may use these options with any operation. Note that these options
7879 differ from the @option{--update} (@option{-u}) operation in that they
7880 allow you to specify a particular date against which @command{tar} can
7881 compare when deciding whether or not to archive the files.
7886 @item --after-date=@var{date}
7887 @itemx --newer=@var{date}
7888 @itemx -N @var{date}
7889 Only store files newer than @var{date}.
7891 Acts on files only if their data modification or status change times are
7892 later than @var{date}. Use in conjunction with any operation.
7894 If @var{date} starts with @samp{/} or @samp{.}, it is taken to be a file
7895 name; the data modification time of that file is used as the date.
7897 @opindex newer-mtime
7898 @item --newer-mtime=@var{date}
7899 Acts like @option{--after-date}, but only looks at data modification times.
7902 These options limit @command{tar} to operate only on files which have
7903 been modified after the date specified. A file's status is considered to have
7904 changed if its contents have been modified, or if its owner,
7905 permissions, and so forth, have been changed. (For more information on
7906 how to specify a date, see @ref{Date input formats}; remember that the
7907 entire date argument must be quoted if it contains any spaces.)
7909 Gurus would say that @option{--after-date} tests both the data
7910 modification time (@code{mtime}, the time the contents of the file
7911 were last modified) and the status change time (@code{ctime}, the time
7912 the file's status was last changed: owner, permissions, etc.@:)
7913 fields, while @option{--newer-mtime} tests only the @code{mtime}
7916 To be precise, @option{--after-date} checks @emph{both} @code{mtime} and
7917 @code{ctime} and processes the file if either one is more recent than
7918 @var{date}, while @option{--newer-mtime} only checks @code{mtime} and
7919 disregards @code{ctime}. Neither does it use @code{atime} (the last time the
7920 contents of the file were looked at).
7922 Date specifiers can have embedded spaces. Because of this, you may need
7923 to quote date arguments to keep the shell from parsing them as separate
7924 arguments. For example, the following command will add to the archive
7925 all the files modified less than two days ago:
7928 $ @kbd{tar -cf foo.tar --newer-mtime '2 days ago'}
7931 When any of these options is used with the option @option{--verbose}
7932 (@pxref{verbose tutorial}) @GNUTAR{} will try to convert the specified
7933 date back to its textual representation and compare that with the
7934 one given with the option. If the two dates differ, @command{tar} will
7935 print a warning saying what date it will use. This is to help user
7936 ensure he is using the right date. For example:
7940 $ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar --after-date='10 days ago' .}
7941 tar: Option --after-date: Treating date `10 days ago' as 2006-06-11
7947 @strong{Please Note:} @option{--after-date} and @option{--newer-mtime}
7948 should not be used for incremental backups. @xref{Incremental Dumps},
7949 for proper way of creating incremental backups.
7953 @section Descending into Directories
7955 @cindex Avoiding recursion in directories
7956 @cindex Descending directories, avoiding
7957 @cindex Directories, avoiding recursion
7958 @cindex Recursion in directories, avoiding
7960 @FIXME{arrggh! this is still somewhat confusing to me. :-< }
7962 Usually, @command{tar} will recursively explore all directories (either
7963 those given on the command line or through the @option{--files-from}
7964 option) for the various files they contain. However, you may not always
7965 want @command{tar} to act this way.
7967 @opindex no-recursion
7968 The @option{--no-recursion} option inhibits @command{tar}'s recursive descent
7969 into specified directories. If you specify @option{--no-recursion}, you can
7970 use the @command{find} utility for hunting through levels of directories to
7971 construct a list of file names which you could then pass to @command{tar}.
7972 @command{find} allows you to be more selective when choosing which files to
7973 archive; see @ref{files}, for more information on using @command{find} with
7974 @command{tar}, or look.
7977 @item --no-recursion
7978 Prevents @command{tar} from recursively descending directories.
7982 Requires @command{tar} to recursively descend directories.
7983 This is the default.
7986 When you use @option{--no-recursion}, @GNUTAR{} grabs
7987 directory entries themselves, but does not descend on them
7988 recursively. Many people use @command{find} for locating files they
7989 want to back up, and since @command{tar} @emph{usually} recursively
7990 descends on directories, they have to use the @samp{@w{-not -type d}}
7991 test in their @command{find} invocation (@pxref{Type, Type, Type test,
7992 find, Finding Files}), as they usually do not want all the files in a
7993 directory. They then use the @option{--files-from} option to archive
7994 the files located via @command{find}.
7996 The problem when restoring files archived in this manner is that the
7997 directories themselves are not in the archive; so the
7998 @option{--same-permissions} (@option{--preserve-permissions},
7999 @option{-p}) option does not affect them---while users might really
8000 like it to. Specifying @option{--no-recursion} is a way to tell
8001 @command{tar} to grab only the directory entries given to it, adding
8002 no new files on its own. To summarize, if you use @command{find} to
8003 create a list of files to be stored in an archive, use it as follows:
8007 $ @kbd{find @var{dir} @var{tests} | \
8008 tar -cf @var{archive} -T - --no-recursion}
8012 The @option{--no-recursion} option also applies when extracting: it
8013 causes @command{tar} to extract only the matched directory entries, not
8014 the files under those directories.
8016 The @option{--no-recursion} option also affects how globbing patterns
8017 are interpreted (@pxref{controlling pattern-matching}).
8019 The @option{--no-recursion} and @option{--recursion} options apply to
8020 later options and operands, and can be overridden by later occurrences
8021 of @option{--no-recursion} and @option{--recursion}. For example:
8024 $ @kbd{tar -cf jams.tar --no-recursion grape --recursion grape/concord}
8028 creates an archive with one entry for @file{grape}, and the recursive
8029 contents of @file{grape/concord}, but no entries under @file{grape}
8030 other than @file{grape/concord}.
8033 @section Crossing File System Boundaries
8034 @cindex File system boundaries, not crossing
8037 @command{tar} will normally automatically cross file system boundaries in
8038 order to archive files which are part of a directory tree. You can
8039 change this behavior by running @command{tar} and specifying
8040 @option{--one-file-system}. This option only affects files that are
8041 archived because they are in a directory that is being archived;
8042 @command{tar} will still archive files explicitly named on the command line
8043 or through @option{--files-from}, regardless of where they reside.
8046 @opindex one-file-system
8047 @item --one-file-system
8048 Prevents @command{tar} from crossing file system boundaries when
8049 archiving. Use in conjunction with any write operation.
8052 The @option{--one-file-system} option causes @command{tar} to modify its
8053 normal behavior in archiving the contents of directories. If a file in
8054 a directory is not on the same file system as the directory itself, then
8055 @command{tar} will not archive that file. If the file is a directory
8056 itself, @command{tar} will not archive anything beneath it; in other words,
8057 @command{tar} will not cross mount points.
8059 This option is useful for making full or incremental archival backups of
8060 a file system. If this option is used in conjunction with
8061 @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}), files that are excluded are
8062 mentioned by name on the standard error.
8065 * directory:: Changing Directory
8066 * absolute:: Absolute File Names
8070 @subsection Changing the Working Directory
8072 @FIXME{need to read over this node now for continuity; i've switched
8073 things around some.}
8075 @cindex Changing directory mid-stream
8076 @cindex Directory, changing mid-stream
8077 @cindex Working directory, specifying
8078 To change the working directory in the middle of a list of file names,
8079 either on the command line or in a file specified using
8080 @option{--files-from} (@option{-T}), use @option{--directory} (@option{-C}).
8081 This will change the working directory to the specified directory
8082 after that point in the list.
8086 @item --directory=@var{directory}
8087 @itemx -C @var{directory}
8088 Changes the working directory in the middle of a command line.
8094 $ @kbd{tar -c -f jams.tar grape prune -C food cherry}
8098 will place the files @file{grape} and @file{prune} from the current
8099 directory into the archive @file{jams.tar}, followed by the file
8100 @file{cherry} from the directory @file{food}. This option is especially
8101 useful when you have several widely separated files that you want to
8102 store in the same archive.
8104 Note that the file @file{cherry} is recorded in the archive under the
8105 precise name @file{cherry}, @emph{not} @file{food/cherry}. Thus, the
8106 archive will contain three files that all appear to have come from the
8107 same directory; if the archive is extracted with plain @samp{tar
8108 --extract}, all three files will be written in the current directory.
8110 Contrast this with the command,
8113 $ @kbd{tar -c -f jams.tar grape prune -C food red/cherry}
8117 which records the third file in the archive under the name
8118 @file{red/cherry} so that, if the archive is extracted using
8119 @samp{tar --extract}, the third file will be written in a subdirectory
8120 named @file{orange-colored}.
8122 You can use the @option{--directory} option to make the archive
8123 independent of the original name of the directory holding the files.
8124 The following command places the files @file{/etc/passwd},
8125 @file{/etc/hosts}, and @file{/lib/libc.a} into the archive
8129 $ @kbd{tar -c -f foo.tar -C /etc passwd hosts -C /lib libc.a}
8133 However, the names of the archive members will be exactly what they were
8134 on the command line: @file{passwd}, @file{hosts}, and @file{libc.a}.
8135 They will not appear to be related by file name to the original
8136 directories where those files were located.
8138 Note that @option{--directory} options are interpreted consecutively. If
8139 @option{--directory} specifies a relative file name, it is interpreted
8140 relative to the then current directory, which might not be the same as
8141 the original current working directory of @command{tar}, due to a previous
8142 @option{--directory} option.
8144 When using @option{--files-from} (@pxref{files}), you can put various
8145 @command{tar} options (including @option{-C}) in the file list. Notice,
8146 however, that in this case the option and its argument may not be
8147 separated by whitespace. If you use short option, its argument must
8148 either follow the option letter immediately, without any intervening
8149 whitespace, or occupy the next line. Otherwise, if you use long
8150 option, separate its argument by an equal sign.
8152 For instance, the file list for the above example will be:
8165 To use it, you would invoke @command{tar} as follows:
8168 $ @kbd{tar -c -f foo.tar --files-from list}
8171 The interpretation of @option{--directory} is disabled by
8172 @option{--null} option.
8175 @subsection Absolute File Names
8179 @opindex absolute-names
8180 @item --absolute-names
8182 Do not strip leading slashes from file names, and permit file names
8183 containing a @file{..} file name component.
8186 By default, @GNUTAR{} drops a leading @samp{/} on
8187 input or output, and complains about file names containing a @file{..}
8188 component. This option turns off this behavior.
8190 When @command{tar} extracts archive members from an archive, it strips any
8191 leading slashes (@samp{/}) from the member name. This causes absolute
8192 member names in the archive to be treated as relative file names. This
8193 allows you to have such members extracted wherever you want, instead of
8194 being restricted to extracting the member in the exact directory named
8195 in the archive. For example, if the archive member has the name
8196 @file{/etc/passwd}, @command{tar} will extract it as if the name were
8197 really @file{etc/passwd}.
8199 File names containing @file{..} can cause problems when extracting, so
8200 @command{tar} normally warns you about such files when creating an
8201 archive, and rejects attempts to extracts such files.
8203 Other @command{tar} programs do not do this. As a result, if you
8204 create an archive whose member names start with a slash, they will be
8205 difficult for other people with a non-@GNUTAR{}
8206 program to use. Therefore, @GNUTAR{} also strips
8207 leading slashes from member names when putting members into the
8208 archive. For example, if you ask @command{tar} to add the file
8209 @file{/bin/ls} to an archive, it will do so, but the member name will
8210 be @file{bin/ls}.@footnote{A side effect of this is that when
8211 @option{--create} is used with @option{--verbose} the resulting output
8212 is not, generally speaking, the same as the one you'd get running
8213 @kbd{tar --list} command. This may be important if you use some
8214 scripts for comparing both outputs. @xref{listing member and file names},
8215 for the information on how to handle this case.}
8217 If you use the @option{--absolute-names} (@option{-P}) option,
8218 @command{tar} will do none of these transformations.
8220 To archive or extract files relative to the root directory, specify
8221 the @option{--absolute-names} (@option{-P}) option.
8223 Normally, @command{tar} acts on files relative to the working
8224 directory---ignoring superior directory names when archiving, and
8225 ignoring leading slashes when extracting.
8227 When you specify @option{--absolute-names} (@option{-P}),
8228 @command{tar} stores file names including all superior directory
8229 names, and preserves leading slashes. If you only invoked
8230 @command{tar} from the root directory you would never need the
8231 @option{--absolute-names} option, but using this option
8232 may be more convenient than switching to root.
8234 @FIXME{Should be an example in the tutorial/wizardry section using this
8235 to transfer files between systems.}
8237 @FIXME{Is write access an issue?}
8240 @item --absolute-names
8241 Preserves full file names (including superior directory names) when
8242 archiving files. Preserves leading slash when extracting files.
8246 @FIXME{this is still horrible; need to talk with dan on monday.}
8248 @command{tar} prints out a message about removing the @samp{/} from
8249 file names. This message appears once per @GNUTAR{}
8250 invocation. It represents something which ought to be told; ignoring
8251 what it means can cause very serious surprises, later.
8253 Some people, nevertheless, do not want to see this message. Wanting to
8254 play really dangerously, one may of course redirect @command{tar} standard
8255 error to the sink. For example, under @command{sh}:
8258 $ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar /home 2> /dev/null}
8262 Another solution, both nicer and simpler, would be to change to
8263 the @file{/} directory first, and then avoid absolute notation.
8267 $ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar -C / home}
8270 @include getdate.texi
8273 @chapter Controlling the Archive Format
8275 @cindex Tar archive formats
8276 Due to historical reasons, there are several formats of tar archives.
8277 All of them are based on the same principles, but have some subtle
8278 differences that often make them incompatible with each other.
8280 GNU tar is able to create and handle archives in a variety of formats.
8281 The most frequently used formats are (in alphabetical order):
8285 Format used by @GNUTAR{} versions up to 1.13.25. This format derived
8286 from an early @acronym{POSIX} standard, adding some improvements such as
8287 sparse file handling and incremental archives. Unfortunately these
8288 features were implemented in a way incompatible with other archive
8291 Archives in @samp{gnu} format are able to hold file names of unlimited
8295 Format used by @GNUTAR{} of versions prior to 1.12.
8298 Archive format, compatible with the V7 implementation of tar. This
8299 format imposes a number of limitations. The most important of them
8303 @item The maximum length of a file name is limited to 99 characters.
8304 @item The maximum length of a symbolic link is limited to 99 characters.
8305 @item It is impossible to store special files (block and character
8306 devices, fifos etc.)
8307 @item Maximum value of user or group @acronym{ID} is limited to 2097151 (7777777
8309 @item V7 archives do not contain symbolic ownership information (user
8310 and group name of the file owner).
8313 This format has traditionally been used by Automake when producing
8314 Makefiles. This practice will change in the future, in the meantime,
8315 however this means that projects containing file names more than 99
8316 characters long will not be able to use @GNUTAR{} @value{VERSION} and
8317 Automake prior to 1.9.
8320 Archive format defined by @acronym{POSIX.1-1988} specification. It stores
8321 symbolic ownership information. It is also able to store
8322 special files. However, it imposes several restrictions as well:
8325 @item The maximum length of a file name is limited to 256 characters,
8326 provided that the file name can be split at a directory separator in
8327 two parts, first of them being at most 155 bytes long. So, in most
8328 cases the maximum file name length will be shorter than 256
8330 @item The maximum length of a symbolic link name is limited to
8332 @item Maximum size of a file the archive is able to accommodate
8334 @item Maximum value of UID/GID is 2097151.
8335 @item Maximum number of bits in device major and minor numbers is 21.
8339 Format used by J@"org Schilling @command{star}
8340 implementation. @GNUTAR{} is able to read @samp{star} archives but
8341 currently does not produce them.
8344 Archive format defined by @acronym{POSIX.1-2001} specification. This is the
8345 most flexible and feature-rich format. It does not impose any
8346 restrictions on file sizes or file name lengths. This format is quite
8347 recent, so not all tar implementations are able to handle it properly.
8348 However, this format is designed in such a way that any tar
8349 implementation able to read @samp{ustar} archives will be able to read
8350 most @samp{posix} archives as well, with the only exception that any
8351 additional information (such as long file names etc.) will in such
8352 case be extracted as plain text files along with the files it refers to.
8354 This archive format will be the default format for future versions
8359 The following table summarizes the limitations of each of these
8362 @multitable @columnfractions .10 .20 .20 .20 .20
8363 @headitem Format @tab UID @tab File Size @tab File Name @tab Devn
8364 @item gnu @tab 1.8e19 @tab Unlimited @tab Unlimited @tab 63
8365 @item oldgnu @tab 1.8e19 @tab Unlimited @tab Unlimited @tab 63
8366 @item v7 @tab 2097151 @tab 8GB @tab 99 @tab n/a
8367 @item ustar @tab 2097151 @tab 8GB @tab 256 @tab 21
8368 @item posix @tab Unlimited @tab Unlimited @tab Unlimited @tab Unlimited
8371 The default format for @GNUTAR{} is defined at compilation
8372 time. You may check it by running @command{tar --help}, and examining
8373 the last lines of its output. Usually, @GNUTAR{} is configured
8374 to create archives in @samp{gnu} format, however, future version will
8375 switch to @samp{posix}.
8378 * Compression:: Using Less Space through Compression
8379 * Attributes:: Handling File Attributes
8380 * Portability:: Making @command{tar} Archives More Portable
8381 * cpio:: Comparison of @command{tar} and @command{cpio}
8385 @section Using Less Space through Compression
8388 * gzip:: Creating and Reading Compressed Archives
8389 * sparse:: Archiving Sparse Files
8393 @subsection Creating and Reading Compressed Archives
8394 @cindex Compressed archives
8395 @cindex Storing archives in compressed format
8402 @GNUTAR{} is able to create and read compressed archives. It supports
8403 @command{gzip}, @command{bzip2}, @command{lzma} and @command{lzop} compression
8404 programs. For backward compatibility, it also supports
8405 @command{compress} command, although we strongly recommend against
8406 using it, because it is by far less effective than other compression
8407 programs@footnote{It also had patent problems in the past.}.
8409 Creating a compressed archive is simple: you just specify a
8410 @dfn{compression option} along with the usual archive creation
8411 commands. The compression option is @option{-z} (@option{--gzip}) to
8412 create a @command{gzip} compressed archive, @option{-j}
8413 (@option{--bzip2}) to create a @command{bzip2} compressed archive,
8414 @option{-J} (@option{--xz}) to create an @asis{XZ} archive,
8415 @option{--lzma} to create an @asis{LZMA} compressed
8416 archive, @option{--lzop} to create an @asis{LSOP} archive, and
8417 @option{-Z} (@option{--compress}) to use @command{compress} program.
8421 $ @kbd{tar cfz archive.tar.gz .}
8424 You can also let @GNUTAR{} select the compression program basing on
8425 the suffix of the archive file name. This is done using
8426 @option{--auto-compress} (@option{-a}) command line option. For
8427 example, the following invocation will use @command{bzip2} for
8431 $ @kbd{tar cfa archive.tar.bz2 .}
8435 whereas the following one will use @command{lzma}:
8438 $ @kbd{tar cfa archive.tar.lzma .}
8441 For a complete list of file name suffixes recognized by @GNUTAR{},
8442 @ref{auto-compress}.
8444 Reading compressed archive is even simpler: you don't need to specify
8445 any additional options as @GNUTAR{} recognizes its format
8446 automatically. Thus, the following commands will list and extract the
8447 archive created in previous example:
8450 # List the compressed archive
8451 $ @kbd{tar tf archive.tar.gz}
8452 # Extract the compressed archive
8453 $ @kbd{tar xf archive.tar.gz}
8456 The format recognition algorithm is based on @dfn{signatures}, a
8457 special byte sequences in the beginning of file, that are specific for
8458 certain compression formats. If this approach fails, @command{tar}
8459 falls back to using archive name suffix to determine its format
8460 (@xref{auto-compress}, for a list of recognized suffixes).
8462 The only case when you have to specify a decompression option while
8463 reading the archive is when reading from a pipe or from a tape drive
8464 that does not support random access. However, in this case @GNUTAR{}
8465 will indicate which option you should use. For example:
8468 $ @kbd{cat archive.tar.gz | tar tf -}
8469 tar: Archive is compressed. Use -z option
8470 tar: Error is not recoverable: exiting now
8473 If you see such diagnostics, just add the suggested option to the
8474 invocation of @GNUTAR{}:
8477 $ @kbd{cat archive.tar.gz | tar tfz -}
8480 Notice also, that there are several restrictions on operations on
8481 compressed archives. First of all, compressed archives cannot be
8482 modified, i.e., you cannot update (@option{--update} (@option{-u}))
8483 them or delete (@option{--delete}) members from them or
8484 add (@option{--append} (@option{-r})) members to them. Likewise, you
8485 cannot append another @command{tar} archive to a compressed archive using
8486 @option{--concatenate} (@option{-A})). Secondly, multi-volume
8487 archives cannot be compressed.
8489 The following table summarizes compression options used by @GNUTAR{}.
8492 @anchor{auto-compress}
8493 @opindex auto-compress
8494 @item --auto-compress
8496 Select a compression program to use by the archive file name
8497 suffix. The following suffixes are recognized:
8499 @multitable @columnfractions 0.3 0.6
8500 @headitem Suffix @tab Compression program
8501 @item @samp{.gz} @tab @command{gzip}
8502 @item @samp{.tgz} @tab @command{gzip}
8503 @item @samp{.taz} @tab @command{gzip}
8504 @item @samp{.Z} @tab @command{compress}
8505 @item @samp{.taZ} @tab @command{compress}
8506 @item @samp{.bz2} @tab @command{bzip2}
8507 @item @samp{.tz2} @tab @command{bzip2}
8508 @item @samp{.tbz2} @tab @command{bzip2}
8509 @item @samp{.tbz} @tab @command{bzip2}
8510 @item @samp{.lzma} @tab @command{lzma}
8511 @item @samp{.tlz} @tab @command{lzma}
8512 @item @samp{.lzo} @tab @command{lzop}
8513 @item @samp{.xz} @tab @command{xz}
8521 Filter the archive through @command{gzip}.
8523 You can use @option{--gzip} and @option{--gunzip} on physical devices
8524 (tape drives, etc.) and remote files as well as on normal files; data
8525 to or from such devices or remote files is reblocked by another copy
8526 of the @command{tar} program to enforce the specified (or default) record
8527 size. The default compression parameters are used; if you need to
8528 override them, set @env{GZIP} environment variable, e.g.:
8531 $ @kbd{GZIP=--best tar cfz archive.tar.gz subdir}
8535 Another way would be to avoid the @option{--gzip} (@option{--gunzip}, @option{--ungzip}, @option{-z}) option and run
8536 @command{gzip} explicitly:
8539 $ @kbd{tar cf - subdir | gzip --best -c - > archive.tar.gz}
8542 @cindex corrupted archives
8543 About corrupted compressed archives: @command{gzip}'ed files have no
8544 redundancy, for maximum compression. The adaptive nature of the
8545 compression scheme means that the compression tables are implicitly
8546 spread all over the archive. If you lose a few blocks, the dynamic
8547 construction of the compression tables becomes unsynchronized, and there
8548 is little chance that you could recover later in the archive.
8550 There are pending suggestions for having a per-volume or per-file
8551 compression in @GNUTAR{}. This would allow for viewing the
8552 contents without decompression, and for resynchronizing decompression at
8553 every volume or file, in case of corrupted archives. Doing so, we might
8554 lose some compressibility. But this would have make recovering easier.
8555 So, there are pros and cons. We'll see!
8560 Filter the archive through @code{xz}. Otherwise like
8565 Filter the archive through @code{bzip2}. Otherwise like @option{--gzip}.
8569 Filter the archive through @command{lzma}. Otherwise like @option{--gzip}.
8573 Filter the archive through @command{lzop}. Otherwise like
8581 Filter the archive through @command{compress}. Otherwise like @option{--gzip}.
8583 @opindex use-compress-program
8584 @item --use-compress-program=@var{prog}
8585 @itemx -I=@var{prog}
8586 Use external compression program @var{prog}. Use this option if you
8587 have a compression program that @GNUTAR{} does not support. There
8588 are two requirements to which @var{prog} should comply:
8590 First, when called without options, it should read data from standard
8591 input, compress it and output it on standard output.
8593 Secondly, if called with @option{-d} argument, it should do exactly
8594 the opposite, i.e., read the compressed data from the standard input
8595 and produce uncompressed data on the standard output.
8598 @cindex gpg, using with tar
8599 @cindex gnupg, using with tar
8600 @cindex Using encrypted archives
8601 The @option{--use-compress-program} option, in particular, lets you
8602 implement your own filters, not necessarily dealing with
8603 compression/decompression. For example, suppose you wish to implement
8604 PGP encryption on top of compression, using @command{gpg} (@pxref{Top,
8605 gpg, gpg ---- encryption and signing tool, gpg, GNU Privacy Guard
8606 Manual}). The following script does that:
8612 -d) gpg --decrypt - | gzip -d -c;;
8613 '') gzip -c | gpg -s ;;
8614 *) echo "Unknown option $1">&2; exit 1;;
8619 Suppose you name it @file{gpgz} and save it somewhere in your
8620 @env{PATH}. Then the following command will create a compressed
8621 archive signed with your private key:
8624 $ @kbd{tar -cf foo.tar.gpgz -Igpgz .}
8628 Likewise, the command below will list its contents:
8631 $ @kbd{tar -tf foo.tar.gpgz -Igpgz .}
8635 The above is based on the following discussion:
8637 I have one question, or maybe it's a suggestion if there isn't a way
8638 to do it now. I would like to use @option{--gzip}, but I'd also like
8639 the output to be fed through a program like @acronym{GNU}
8640 @command{ecc} (actually, right now that's @samp{exactly} what I'd like
8641 to use :-)), basically adding ECC protection on top of compression.
8642 It seems as if this should be quite easy to do, but I can't work out
8643 exactly how to go about it. Of course, I can pipe the standard output
8644 of @command{tar} through @command{ecc}, but then I lose (though I
8645 haven't started using it yet, I confess) the ability to have
8646 @command{tar} use @command{rmt} for it's I/O (I think).
8648 I think the most straightforward thing would be to let me specify a
8649 general set of filters outboard of compression (preferably ordered,
8650 so the order can be automatically reversed on input operations, and
8651 with the options they require specifiable), but beggars shouldn't be
8652 choosers and anything you decide on would be fine with me.
8654 By the way, I like @command{ecc} but if (as the comments say) it can't
8655 deal with loss of block sync, I'm tempted to throw some time at adding
8656 that capability. Supposing I were to actually do such a thing and
8657 get it (apparently) working, do you accept contributed changes to
8658 utilities like that? (Leigh Clayton @file{loc@@soliton.com}, May 1995).
8660 Isn't that exactly the role of the
8661 @option{--use-compress-prog=@var{program}} option?
8662 I never tried it myself, but I suspect you may want to write a
8663 @var{prog} script or program able to filter stdin to stdout to
8664 way you want. It should recognize the @option{-d} option, for when
8665 extraction is needed rather than creation.
8667 It has been reported that if one writes compressed data (through the
8668 @option{--gzip} or @option{--compress} options) to a DLT and tries to use
8669 the DLT compression mode, the data will actually get bigger and one will
8670 end up with less space on the tape.
8674 @subsection Archiving Sparse Files
8675 @cindex Sparse Files
8677 Files in the file system occasionally have @dfn{holes}. A @dfn{hole}
8678 in a file is a section of the file's contents which was never written.
8679 The contents of a hole reads as all zeros. On many operating systems,
8680 actual disk storage is not allocated for holes, but they are counted
8681 in the length of the file. If you archive such a file, @command{tar}
8682 could create an archive longer than the original. To have @command{tar}
8683 attempt to recognize the holes in a file, use @option{--sparse}
8684 (@option{-S}). When you use this option, then, for any file using
8685 less disk space than would be expected from its length, @command{tar}
8686 searches the file for consecutive stretches of zeros. It then records
8687 in the archive for the file where the consecutive stretches of zeros
8688 are, and only archives the ``real contents'' of the file. On
8689 extraction (using @option{--sparse} is not needed on extraction) any
8690 such files have holes created wherever the continuous stretches of zeros
8691 were found. Thus, if you use @option{--sparse}, @command{tar} archives
8692 won't take more space than the original.
8698 This option instructs @command{tar} to test each file for sparseness
8699 before attempting to archive it. If the file is found to be sparse it
8700 is treated specially, thus allowing to decrease the amount of space
8701 used by its image in the archive.
8703 This option is meaningful only when creating or updating archives. It
8704 has no effect on extraction.
8707 Consider using @option{--sparse} when performing file system backups,
8708 to avoid archiving the expanded forms of files stored sparsely in the
8711 Even if your system has no sparse files currently, some may be
8712 created in the future. If you use @option{--sparse} while making file
8713 system backups as a matter of course, you can be assured the archive
8714 will never take more space on the media than the files take on disk
8715 (otherwise, archiving a disk filled with sparse files might take
8716 hundreds of tapes). @xref{Incremental Dumps}.
8718 However, be aware that @option{--sparse} option presents a serious
8719 drawback. Namely, in order to determine if the file is sparse
8720 @command{tar} has to read it before trying to archive it, so in total
8721 the file is read @strong{twice}. So, always bear in mind that the
8722 time needed to process all files with this option is roughly twice
8723 the time needed to archive them without it.
8724 @FIXME{A technical note:
8726 Programs like @command{dump} do not have to read the entire file; by
8727 examining the file system directly, they can determine in advance
8728 exactly where the holes are and thus avoid reading through them. The
8729 only data it need read are the actual allocated data blocks.
8730 @GNUTAR{} uses a more portable and straightforward
8731 archiving approach, it would be fairly difficult that it does
8732 otherwise. Elizabeth Zwicky writes to @file{comp.unix.internals}, on
8736 What I did say is that you cannot tell the difference between a hole and an
8737 equivalent number of nulls without reading raw blocks. @code{st_blocks} at
8738 best tells you how many holes there are; it doesn't tell you @emph{where}.
8739 Just as programs may, conceivably, care what @code{st_blocks} is (care
8740 to name one that does?), they may also care where the holes are (I have
8741 no examples of this one either, but it's equally imaginable).
8743 I conclude from this that good archivers are not portable. One can
8744 arguably conclude that if you want a portable program, you can in good
8745 conscience restore files with as many holes as possible, since you can't
8750 @cindex sparse formats, defined
8751 When using @samp{POSIX} archive format, @GNUTAR{} is able to store
8752 sparse files using in three distinct ways, called @dfn{sparse
8753 formats}. A sparse format is identified by its @dfn{number},
8754 consisting, as usual of two decimal numbers, delimited by a dot. By
8755 default, format @samp{1.0} is used. If, for some reason, you wish to
8756 use an earlier format, you can select it using
8757 @option{--sparse-version} option.
8760 @opindex sparse-version
8761 @item --sparse-version=@var{version}
8763 Select the format to store sparse files in. Valid @var{version} values
8764 are: @samp{0.0}, @samp{0.1} and @samp{1.0}. @xref{Sparse Formats},
8765 for a detailed description of each format.
8768 Using @option{--sparse-format} option implies @option{--sparse}.
8771 @section Handling File Attributes
8774 When @command{tar} reads files, it updates their access times. To
8775 avoid this, use the @option{--atime-preserve[=METHOD]} option, which can either
8776 reset the access time retroactively or avoid changing it in the first
8779 Handling of file attributes
8782 @opindex atime-preserve
8783 @item --atime-preserve
8784 @itemx --atime-preserve=replace
8785 @itemx --atime-preserve=system
8786 Preserve the access times of files that are read. This works only for
8787 files that you own, unless you have superuser privileges.
8789 @option{--atime-preserve=replace} works on most systems, but it also
8790 restores the data modification time and updates the status change
8791 time. Hence it doesn't interact with incremental dumps nicely
8792 (@pxref{Incremental Dumps}), and it can set access or data modification times
8793 incorrectly if other programs access the file while @command{tar} is
8796 @option{--atime-preserve=system} avoids changing the access time in
8797 the first place, if the operating system supports this.
8798 Unfortunately, this may or may not work on any given operating system
8799 or file system. If @command{tar} knows for sure it won't work, it
8800 complains right away.
8802 Currently @option{--atime-preserve} with no operand defaults to
8803 @option{--atime-preserve=replace}, but this is intended to change to
8804 @option{--atime-preserve=system} when the latter is better-supported.
8809 Do not extract data modification time.
8811 When this option is used, @command{tar} leaves the data modification times
8812 of the files it extracts as the times when the files were extracted,
8813 instead of setting it to the times recorded in the archive.
8815 This option is meaningless with @option{--list} (@option{-t}).
8819 Create extracted files with the same ownership they have in the
8822 This is the default behavior for the superuser,
8823 so this option is meaningful only for non-root users, when @command{tar}
8824 is executed on those systems able to give files away. This is
8825 considered as a security flaw by many people, at least because it
8826 makes quite difficult to correctly account users for the disk space
8827 they occupy. Also, the @code{suid} or @code{sgid} attributes of
8828 files are easily and silently lost when files are given away.
8830 When writing an archive, @command{tar} writes the user @acronym{ID} and user name
8831 separately. If it can't find a user name (because the user @acronym{ID} is not
8832 in @file{/etc/passwd}), then it does not write one. When restoring,
8833 it tries to look the name (if one was written) up in
8834 @file{/etc/passwd}. If it fails, then it uses the user @acronym{ID} stored in
8835 the archive instead.
8837 @opindex no-same-owner
8838 @item --no-same-owner
8840 Do not attempt to restore ownership when extracting. This is the
8841 default behavior for ordinary users, so this option has an effect
8842 only for the superuser.
8844 @opindex numeric-owner
8845 @item --numeric-owner
8846 The @option{--numeric-owner} option allows (ANSI) archives to be written
8847 without user/group name information or such information to be ignored
8848 when extracting. It effectively disables the generation and/or use
8849 of user/group name information. This option forces extraction using
8850 the numeric ids from the archive, ignoring the names.
8852 This is useful in certain circumstances, when restoring a backup from
8853 an emergency floppy with different passwd/group files for example.
8854 It is otherwise impossible to extract files with the right ownerships
8855 if the password file in use during the extraction does not match the
8856 one belonging to the file system(s) being extracted. This occurs,
8857 for example, if you are restoring your files after a major crash and
8858 had booted from an emergency floppy with no password file or put your
8859 disk into another machine to do the restore.
8861 The numeric ids are @emph{always} saved into @command{tar} archives.
8862 The identifying names are added at create time when provided by the
8863 system, unless @option{--old-archive} (@option{-o}) is used. Numeric ids could be
8864 used when moving archives between a collection of machines using
8865 a centralized management for attribution of numeric ids to users
8866 and groups. This is often made through using the NIS capabilities.
8868 When making a @command{tar} file for distribution to other sites, it
8869 is sometimes cleaner to use a single owner for all files in the
8870 distribution, and nicer to specify the write permission bits of the
8871 files as stored in the archive independently of their actual value on
8872 the file system. The way to prepare a clean distribution is usually
8873 to have some Makefile rule creating a directory, copying all needed
8874 files in that directory, then setting ownership and permissions as
8875 wanted (there are a lot of possible schemes), and only then making a
8876 @command{tar} archive out of this directory, before cleaning
8877 everything out. Of course, we could add a lot of options to
8878 @GNUTAR{} for fine tuning permissions and ownership.
8879 This is not the good way, I think. @GNUTAR{} is
8880 already crowded with options and moreover, the approach just explained
8881 gives you a great deal of control already.
8883 @xopindex{same-permissions, short description}
8884 @xopindex{preserve-permissions, short description}
8886 @itemx --same-permissions
8887 @itemx --preserve-permissions
8888 Extract all protection information.
8890 This option causes @command{tar} to set the modes (access permissions) of
8891 extracted files exactly as recorded in the archive. If this option
8892 is not used, the current @code{umask} setting limits the permissions
8893 on extracted files. This option is by default enabled when
8894 @command{tar} is executed by a superuser.
8897 This option is meaningless with @option{--list} (@option{-t}).
8901 Same as both @option{--same-permissions} and @option{--same-order}.
8903 This option is deprecated, and will be removed in @GNUTAR{} version 1.23.
8908 @section Making @command{tar} Archives More Portable
8910 Creating a @command{tar} archive on a particular system that is meant to be
8911 useful later on many other machines and with other versions of @command{tar}
8912 is more challenging than you might think. @command{tar} archive formats
8913 have been evolving since the first versions of Unix. Many such formats
8914 are around, and are not always compatible with each other. This section
8915 discusses a few problems, and gives some advice about making @command{tar}
8916 archives more portable.
8918 One golden rule is simplicity. For example, limit your @command{tar}
8919 archives to contain only regular files and directories, avoiding
8920 other kind of special files. Do not attempt to save sparse files or
8921 contiguous files as such. Let's discuss a few more problems, in turn.
8923 @FIXME{Discuss GNU extensions (incremental backups, multi-volume
8924 archives and archive labels) in GNU and PAX formats.}
8927 * Portable Names:: Portable Names
8928 * dereference:: Symbolic Links
8929 * hard links:: Hard Links
8930 * old:: Old V7 Archives
8931 * ustar:: Ustar Archives
8932 * gnu:: GNU and old GNU format archives.
8933 * posix:: @acronym{POSIX} archives
8934 * Checksumming:: Checksumming Problems
8935 * Large or Negative Values:: Large files, negative time stamps, etc.
8936 * Other Tars:: How to Extract GNU-Specific Data Using
8937 Other @command{tar} Implementations
8940 @node Portable Names
8941 @subsection Portable Names
8943 Use portable file and member names. A name is portable if it contains
8944 only @acronym{ASCII} letters and digits, @samp{/}, @samp{.}, @samp{_}, and
8945 @samp{-}; it cannot be empty, start with @samp{-} or @samp{//}, or
8946 contain @samp{/-}. Avoid deep directory nesting. For portability to
8947 old Unix hosts, limit your file name components to 14 characters or
8950 If you intend to have your @command{tar} archives to be read under
8951 MSDOS, you should not rely on case distinction for file names, and you
8952 might use the @acronym{GNU} @command{doschk} program for helping you
8953 further diagnosing illegal MSDOS names, which are even more limited
8957 @subsection Symbolic Links
8958 @cindex File names, using symbolic links
8959 @cindex Symbolic link as file name
8961 @opindex dereference
8962 Normally, when @command{tar} archives a symbolic link, it writes a
8963 block to the archive naming the target of the link. In that way, the
8964 @command{tar} archive is a faithful record of the file system contents.
8965 @option{--dereference} (@option{-h}) is used with @option{--create} (@option{-c}), and causes
8966 @command{tar} to archive the files symbolic links point to, instead of
8967 the links themselves. When this option is used, when @command{tar}
8968 encounters a symbolic link, it will archive the linked-to file,
8969 instead of simply recording the presence of a symbolic link.
8971 The name under which the file is stored in the file system is not
8972 recorded in the archive. To record both the symbolic link name and
8973 the file name in the system, archive the file under both names. If
8974 all links were recorded automatically by @command{tar}, an extracted file
8975 might be linked to a file name that no longer exists in the file
8978 If a linked-to file is encountered again by @command{tar} while creating
8979 the same archive, an entire second copy of it will be stored. (This
8980 @emph{might} be considered a bug.)
8982 So, for portable archives, do not archive symbolic links as such,
8983 and use @option{--dereference} (@option{-h}): many systems do not support
8984 symbolic links, and moreover, your distribution might be unusable if
8985 it contains unresolved symbolic links.
8988 @subsection Hard Links
8990 @cindex File names, using hard links
8991 @cindex hard links, dereferencing
8992 @cindex dereferencing hard links
8994 Normally, when @command{tar} archives a hard link, it writes a
8995 block to the archive naming the target of the link (a @samp{1} type
8996 block). In that way, the actual file contents is stored in file only
8997 once. For example, consider the following two files:
9002 -rw-r--r-- 2 gray staff 4 2007-10-30 15:11 one
9003 -rw-r--r-- 2 gray staff 4 2007-10-30 15:11 jeden
9007 Here, @file{jeden} is a link to @file{one}. When archiving this
9008 directory with a verbose level 2, you will get an output similar to
9012 $ tar cfvv ../archive.tar .
9013 drwxr-xr-x gray/staff 0 2007-10-30 15:13 ./
9014 -rw-r--r-- gray/staff 4 2007-10-30 15:11 ./jeden
9015 hrw-r--r-- gray/staff 0 2007-10-30 15:11 ./one link to ./jeden
9018 The last line shows that, instead of storing two copies of the file,
9019 @command{tar} stored it only once, under the name @file{jeden}, and
9020 stored file @file{one} as a hard link to this file.
9022 It may be important to know that all hard links to the given file are
9023 stored in the archive. For example, this may be necessary for exact
9024 reproduction of the file system. The following option does that:
9027 @xopindex{check-links, described}
9030 Check the number of links dumped for each processed file. If this
9031 number does not match the total number of hard links for the file, print
9035 For example, trying to archive only file @file{jeden} with this option
9036 produces the following diagnostics:
9039 $ tar -c -f ../archive.tar jeden
9040 tar: Missing links to `jeden'.
9043 Although creating special records for hard links helps keep a faithful
9044 record of the file system contents and makes archives more compact, it
9045 may present some difficulties when extracting individual members from
9046 the archive. For example, trying to extract file @file{one} from the
9047 archive created in previous examples produces, in the absense of file
9051 $ tar xf archive.tar ./one
9052 tar: ./one: Cannot hard link to `./jeden': No such file or directory
9053 tar: Error exit delayed from previous errors
9056 The reason for this behavior is that @command{tar} cannot seek back in
9057 the archive to the previous member (in this case, @file{one}), to
9058 extract it@footnote{There are plans to fix this in future releases.}.
9059 If you wish to avoid such problems at the cost of a bigger archive,
9060 use the following option:
9063 @xopindex{hard-dereference, described}
9064 @item --hard-dereference
9065 Dereference hard links and store the files they refer to.
9068 For example, trying this option on our two sample files, we get two
9069 copies in the archive, each of which can then be extracted
9070 independently of the other:
9074 $ tar -c -vv -f ../archive.tar --hard-dereference .
9075 drwxr-xr-x gray/staff 0 2007-10-30 15:13 ./
9076 -rw-r--r-- gray/staff 4 2007-10-30 15:11 ./jeden
9077 -rw-r--r-- gray/staff 4 2007-10-30 15:11 ./one
9082 @subsection Old V7 Archives
9083 @cindex Format, old style
9084 @cindex Old style format
9085 @cindex Old style archives
9086 @cindex v7 archive format
9088 Certain old versions of @command{tar} cannot handle additional
9089 information recorded by newer @command{tar} programs. To create an
9090 archive in V7 format (not ANSI), which can be read by these old
9091 versions, specify the @option{--format=v7} option in
9092 conjunction with the @option{--create} (@option{-c}) (@command{tar} also
9093 accepts @option{--portability} or @option{--old-archive} for this
9094 option). When you specify it,
9095 @command{tar} leaves out information about directories, pipes, fifos,
9096 contiguous files, and device files, and specifies file ownership by
9097 group and user IDs instead of group and user names.
9099 When updating an archive, do not use @option{--format=v7}
9100 unless the archive was created using this option.
9102 In most cases, a @emph{new} format archive can be read by an @emph{old}
9103 @command{tar} program without serious trouble, so this option should
9104 seldom be needed. On the other hand, most modern @command{tar}s are
9105 able to read old format archives, so it might be safer for you to
9106 always use @option{--format=v7} for your distributions. Notice,
9107 however, that @samp{ustar} format is a better alternative, as it is
9108 free from many of @samp{v7}'s drawbacks.
9111 @subsection Ustar Archive Format
9113 @cindex ustar archive format
9114 Archive format defined by @acronym{POSIX}.1-1988 specification is called
9115 @code{ustar}. Although it is more flexible than the V7 format, it
9116 still has many restrictions (@xref{Formats,ustar}, for the detailed
9117 description of @code{ustar} format). Along with V7 format,
9118 @code{ustar} format is a good choice for archives intended to be read
9119 with other implementations of @command{tar}.
9121 To create archive in @code{ustar} format, use @option{--format=ustar}
9122 option in conjunction with the @option{--create} (@option{-c}).
9125 @subsection @acronym{GNU} and old @GNUTAR{} format
9127 @cindex GNU archive format
9128 @cindex Old GNU archive format
9129 @GNUTAR{} was based on an early draft of the
9130 @acronym{POSIX} 1003.1 @code{ustar} standard. @acronym{GNU} extensions to
9131 @command{tar}, such as the support for file names longer than 100
9132 characters, use portions of the @command{tar} header record which were
9133 specified in that @acronym{POSIX} draft as unused. Subsequent changes in
9134 @acronym{POSIX} have allocated the same parts of the header record for
9135 other purposes. As a result, @GNUTAR{} format is
9136 incompatible with the current @acronym{POSIX} specification, and with
9137 @command{tar} programs that follow it.
9139 In the majority of cases, @command{tar} will be configured to create
9140 this format by default. This will change in future releases, since
9141 we plan to make @samp{POSIX} format the default.
9143 To force creation a @GNUTAR{} archive, use option
9144 @option{--format=gnu}.
9147 @subsection @GNUTAR{} and @acronym{POSIX} @command{tar}
9149 @cindex POSIX archive format
9150 @cindex PAX archive format
9151 Starting from version 1.14 @GNUTAR{} features full support for
9152 @acronym{POSIX.1-2001} archives.
9154 A @acronym{POSIX} conformant archive will be created if @command{tar}
9155 was given @option{--format=posix} (@option{--format=pax}) option. No
9156 special option is required to read and extract from a @acronym{POSIX}
9160 * PAX keywords:: Controlling Extended Header Keywords.
9164 @subsubsection Controlling Extended Header Keywords
9168 @item --pax-option=@var{keyword-list}
9169 Handle keywords in @acronym{PAX} extended headers. This option is
9170 equivalent to @option{-o} option of the @command{pax} utility.
9173 @var{Keyword-list} is a comma-separated
9174 list of keyword options, each keyword option taking one of
9175 the following forms:
9178 @item delete=@var{pattern}
9179 When used with one of archive-creation commands,
9180 this option instructs @command{tar} to omit from extended header records
9181 that it produces any keywords matching the string @var{pattern}.
9183 When used in extract or list mode, this option instructs tar
9184 to ignore any keywords matching the given @var{pattern} in the extended
9185 header records. In both cases, matching is performed using the pattern
9186 matching notation described in @acronym{POSIX 1003.2}, 3.13
9187 (@pxref{wildcards}). For example:
9190 --pax-option delete=security.*
9193 would suppress security-related information.
9195 @item exthdr.name=@var{string}
9197 This keyword allows user control over the name that is written into the
9198 ustar header blocks for the extended headers. The name is obtained
9199 from @var{string} after making the following substitutions:
9201 @multitable @columnfractions .25 .55
9202 @headitem Meta-character @tab Replaced By
9203 @item %d @tab The directory name of the file, equivalent to the
9204 result of the @command{dirname} utility on the translated file name.
9205 @item %f @tab The name of the file with the directory information
9206 stripped, equivalent to the result of the @command{basename} utility
9207 on the translated file name.
9208 @item %p @tab The process @acronym{ID} of the @command{tar} process.
9209 @item %% @tab A @samp{%} character.
9212 Any other @samp{%} characters in @var{string} produce undefined
9215 If no option @samp{exthdr.name=string} is specified, @command{tar}
9216 will use the following default value:
9222 @item globexthdr.name=@var{string}
9223 This keyword allows user control over the name that is written into
9224 the ustar header blocks for global extended header records. The name
9225 is obtained from the contents of @var{string}, after making
9226 the following substitutions:
9228 @multitable @columnfractions .25 .55
9229 @headitem Meta-character @tab Replaced By
9230 @item %n @tab An integer that represents the
9231 sequence number of the global extended header record in the archive,
9233 @item %p @tab The process @acronym{ID} of the @command{tar} process.
9234 @item %% @tab A @samp{%} character.
9237 Any other @samp{%} characters in @var{string} produce undefined results.
9239 If no option @samp{globexthdr.name=string} is specified, @command{tar}
9240 will use the following default value:
9243 $TMPDIR/GlobalHead.%p.%n
9247 where @samp{$TMPDIR} represents the value of the @var{TMPDIR}
9248 environment variable. If @var{TMPDIR} is not set, @command{tar}
9251 @item @var{keyword}=@var{value}
9252 When used with one of archive-creation commands, these keyword/value pairs
9253 will be included at the beginning of the archive in a global extended
9254 header record. When used with one of archive-reading commands,
9255 @command{tar} will behave as if it has encountered these keyword/value
9256 pairs at the beginning of the archive in a global extended header
9259 @item @var{keyword}:=@var{value}
9260 When used with one of archive-creation commands, these keyword/value pairs
9261 will be included as records at the beginning of an extended header for
9262 each file. This is effectively equivalent to @var{keyword}=@var{value}
9263 form except that it creates no global extended header records.
9265 When used with one of archive-reading commands, @command{tar} will
9266 behave as if these keyword/value pairs were included as records at the
9267 end of each extended header; thus, they will override any global or
9268 file-specific extended header record keywords of the same names.
9269 For example, in the command:
9272 tar --format=posix --create \
9273 --file archive --pax-option gname:=user .
9276 the group name will be forced to a new value for all files
9277 stored in the archive.
9281 @subsection Checksumming Problems
9283 SunOS and HP-UX @command{tar} fail to accept archives created using
9284 @GNUTAR{} and containing non-@acronym{ASCII} file names, that
9285 is, file names having characters with the eight bit set, because they
9286 use signed checksums, while @GNUTAR{} uses unsigned
9287 checksums while creating archives, as per @acronym{POSIX} standards. On
9288 reading, @GNUTAR{} computes both checksums and
9289 accept any. It is somewhat worrying that a lot of people may go
9290 around doing backup of their files using faulty (or at least
9291 non-standard) software, not learning about it until it's time to
9292 restore their missing files with an incompatible file extractor, or
9295 @GNUTAR{} compute checksums both ways, and accept
9296 any on read, so @acronym{GNU} tar can read Sun tapes even with their
9297 wrong checksums. @GNUTAR{} produces the standard
9298 checksum, however, raising incompatibilities with Sun. That is to
9299 say, @GNUTAR{} has not been modified to
9300 @emph{produce} incorrect archives to be read by buggy @command{tar}'s.
9301 I've been told that more recent Sun @command{tar} now read standard
9302 archives, so maybe Sun did a similar patch, after all?
9304 The story seems to be that when Sun first imported @command{tar}
9305 sources on their system, they recompiled it without realizing that
9306 the checksums were computed differently, because of a change in
9307 the default signing of @code{char}'s in their compiler. So they
9308 started computing checksums wrongly. When they later realized their
9309 mistake, they merely decided to stay compatible with it, and with
9310 themselves afterwards. Presumably, but I do not really know, HP-UX
9311 has chosen that their @command{tar} archives to be compatible with Sun's.
9312 The current standards do not favor Sun @command{tar} format. In any
9313 case, it now falls on the shoulders of SunOS and HP-UX users to get
9314 a @command{tar} able to read the good archives they receive.
9316 @node Large or Negative Values
9317 @subsection Large or Negative Values
9318 @cindex large values
9319 @cindex future time stamps
9320 @cindex negative time stamps
9323 The above sections suggest to use @samp{oldest possible} archive
9324 format if in doubt. However, sometimes it is not possible. If you
9325 attempt to archive a file whose metadata cannot be represented using
9326 required format, @GNUTAR{} will print error message and ignore such a
9327 file. You will than have to switch to a format that is able to
9328 handle such values. The format summary table (@pxref{Formats}) will
9331 In particular, when trying to archive files larger than 8GB or with
9332 timestamps not in the range 1970-01-01 00:00:00 through 2242-03-16
9333 12:56:31 @sc{utc}, you will have to chose between @acronym{GNU} and
9334 @acronym{POSIX} archive formats. When considering which format to
9335 choose, bear in mind that the @acronym{GNU} format uses
9336 two's-complement base-256 notation to store values that do not fit
9337 into standard @acronym{ustar} range. Such archives can generally be
9338 read only by a @GNUTAR{} implementation. Moreover, they sometimes
9339 cannot be correctly restored on another hosts even by @GNUTAR{}. For
9340 example, using two's complement representation for negative time
9341 stamps that assumes a signed 32-bit @code{time_t} generates archives
9342 that are not portable to hosts with differing @code{time_t}
9345 On the other hand, @acronym{POSIX} archives, generally speaking, can
9346 be extracted by any tar implementation that understands older
9347 @acronym{ustar} format. The only exception are files larger than 8GB.
9349 @FIXME{Describe how @acronym{POSIX} archives are extracted by non
9353 @subsection How to Extract GNU-Specific Data Using Other @command{tar} Implementations
9355 In previous sections you became acquainted with various quirks
9356 necessary to make your archives portable. Sometimes you may need to
9357 extract archives containing GNU-specific members using some
9358 third-party @command{tar} implementation or an older version of
9359 @GNUTAR{}. Of course your best bet is to have @GNUTAR{} installed,
9360 but if it is for some reason impossible, this section will explain
9361 how to cope without it.
9363 When we speak about @dfn{GNU-specific} members we mean two classes of
9364 them: members split between the volumes of a multi-volume archive and
9365 sparse members. You will be able to always recover such members if
9366 the archive is in PAX format. In addition split members can be
9367 recovered from archives in old GNU format. The following subsections
9368 describe the required procedures in detail.
9371 * Split Recovery:: Members Split Between Volumes
9372 * Sparse Recovery:: Sparse Members
9375 @node Split Recovery
9376 @subsubsection Extracting Members Split Between Volumes
9378 @cindex Mutli-volume archives, extracting using non-GNU tars
9379 If a member is split between several volumes of an old GNU format archive
9380 most third party @command{tar} implementation will fail to extract
9381 it. To extract it, use @command{tarcat} program (@pxref{Tarcat}).
9382 This program is available from
9383 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/@/software/@/tar/@/utils/@/tarcat.html, @GNUTAR{}
9384 home page}. It concatenates several archive volumes into a single
9385 valid archive. For example, if you have three volumes named from
9386 @file{vol-1.tar} to @file{vol-3.tar}, you can do the following to
9387 extract them using a third-party @command{tar}:
9390 $ @kbd{tarcat vol-1.tar vol-2.tar vol-3.tar | tar xf -}
9393 @cindex Mutli-volume archives in PAX format, extracting using non-GNU tars
9394 You could use this approach for most (although not all) PAX
9395 format archives as well. However, extracting split members from a PAX
9396 archive is a much easier task, because PAX volumes are constructed in
9397 such a way that each part of a split member is extracted to a
9398 different file by @command{tar} implementations that are not aware of
9399 GNU extensions. More specifically, the very first part retains its
9400 original name, and all subsequent parts are named using the pattern:
9403 %d/GNUFileParts.%p/%f.%n
9407 where symbols preceeded by @samp{%} are @dfn{macro characters} that
9408 have the following meaning:
9410 @multitable @columnfractions .25 .55
9411 @headitem Meta-character @tab Replaced By
9412 @item %d @tab The directory name of the file, equivalent to the
9413 result of the @command{dirname} utility on its full name.
9414 @item %f @tab The file name of the file, equivalent to the result
9415 of the @command{basename} utility on its full name.
9416 @item %p @tab The process @acronym{ID} of the @command{tar} process that
9417 created the archive.
9418 @item %n @tab Ordinal number of this particular part.
9421 For example, if the file @file{var/longfile} was split during archive
9422 creation between three volumes, and the creator @command{tar} process
9423 had process @acronym{ID} @samp{27962}, then the member names will be:
9427 var/GNUFileParts.27962/longfile.1
9428 var/GNUFileParts.27962/longfile.2
9431 When you extract your archive using a third-party @command{tar}, these
9432 files will be created on your disk, and the only thing you will need
9433 to do to restore your file in its original form is concatenate them in
9434 the proper order, for example:
9439 $ @kbd{cat GNUFileParts.27962/longfile.1 \
9440 GNUFileParts.27962/longfile.2 >> longfile}
9441 $ rm -f GNUFileParts.27962
9445 Notice, that if the @command{tar} implementation you use supports PAX
9446 format archives, it will probably emit warnings about unknown keywords
9447 during extraction. They will look like this:
9452 Unknown extended header keyword 'GNU.volume.filename' ignored.
9453 Unknown extended header keyword 'GNU.volume.size' ignored.
9454 Unknown extended header keyword 'GNU.volume.offset' ignored.
9459 You can safely ignore these warnings.
9461 If your @command{tar} implementation is not PAX-aware, you will get
9462 more warnings and more files generated on your disk, e.g.:
9466 $ @kbd{tar xf vol-1.tar}
9467 var/PaxHeaders.27962/longfile: Unknown file type 'x', extracted as
9469 Unexpected EOF in archive
9470 $ @kbd{tar xf vol-2.tar}
9471 tmp/GlobalHead.27962.1: Unknown file type 'g', extracted as normal file
9472 GNUFileParts.27962/PaxHeaders.27962/sparsefile.1: Unknown file type
9473 'x', extracted as normal file
9477 Ignore these warnings. The @file{PaxHeaders.*} directories created
9478 will contain files with @dfn{extended header keywords} describing the
9479 extracted files. You can delete them, unless they describe sparse
9480 members. Read further to learn more about them.
9482 @node Sparse Recovery
9483 @subsubsection Extracting Sparse Members
9485 @cindex sparse files, extracting with non-GNU tars
9486 Any @command{tar} implementation will be able to extract sparse members from a
9487 PAX archive. However, the extracted files will be @dfn{condensed},
9488 i.e., any zero blocks will be removed from them. When we restore such
9489 a condensed file to its original form, by adding zero blocks (or
9490 @dfn{holes}) back to their original locations, we call this process
9491 @dfn{expanding} a compressed sparse file.
9494 To expand a file, you will need a simple auxiliary program called
9495 @command{xsparse}. It is available in source form from
9496 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/@/software/@/tar/@/utils/@/xsparse.html, @GNUTAR{}
9499 @cindex sparse files v.1.0, extracting with non-GNU tars
9500 Let's begin with archive members in @dfn{sparse format
9501 version 1.0}@footnote{@xref{PAX 1}.}, which are the easiest to expand.
9502 The condensed file will contain both file map and file data, so no
9503 additional data will be needed to restore it. If the original file
9504 name was @file{@var{dir}/@var{name}}, then the condensed file will be
9505 named @file{@var{dir}/@/GNUSparseFile.@var{n}/@/@var{name}}, where
9506 @var{n} is a decimal number@footnote{technically speaking, @var{n} is a
9507 @dfn{process @acronym{ID}} of the @command{tar} process which created the
9508 archive (@pxref{PAX keywords}).}.
9510 To expand a version 1.0 file, run @command{xsparse} as follows:
9513 $ @kbd{xsparse @file{cond-file}}
9517 where @file{cond-file} is the name of the condensed file. The utility
9518 will deduce the name for the resulting expanded file using the
9519 following algorithm:
9522 @item If @file{cond-file} does not contain any directories,
9523 @file{../cond-file} will be used;
9525 @item If @file{cond-file} has the form
9526 @file{@var{dir}/@var{t}/@var{name}}, where both @var{t} and @var{name}
9527 are simple names, with no @samp{/} characters in them, the output file
9528 name will be @file{@var{dir}/@var{name}}.
9530 @item Otherwise, if @file{cond-file} has the form
9531 @file{@var{dir}/@var{name}}, the output file name will be
9535 In the unlikely case when this algorithm does not suit your needs,
9536 you can explicitly specify output file name as a second argument to
9540 $ @kbd{xsparse @file{cond-file} @file{out-file}}
9543 It is often a good idea to run @command{xsparse} in @dfn{dry run} mode
9544 first. In this mode, the command does not actually expand the file,
9545 but verbosely lists all actions it would be taking to do so. The dry
9546 run mode is enabled by @option{-n} command line argument:
9550 $ @kbd{xsparse -n /home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile}
9551 Reading v.1.0 sparse map
9552 Expanding file `/home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile' to
9553 `/home/gray/sparsefile'
9558 To actually expand the file, you would run:
9561 $ @kbd{xsparse /home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile}
9565 The program behaves the same way all UNIX utilities do: it will keep
9566 quiet unless it has simething important to tell you (e.g. an error
9567 condition or something). If you wish it to produce verbose output,
9568 similar to that from the dry run mode, use @option{-v} option:
9572 $ @kbd{xsparse -v /home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile}
9573 Reading v.1.0 sparse map
9574 Expanding file `/home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile' to
9575 `/home/gray/sparsefile'
9580 Additionally, if your @command{tar} implementation has extracted the
9581 @dfn{extended headers} for this file, you can instruct @command{xstar}
9582 to use them in order to verify the integrity of the expanded file.
9583 The option @option{-x} sets the name of the extended header file to
9584 use. Continuing our example:
9588 $ @kbd{xsparse -v -x /home/gray/PaxHeaders.6058/sparsefile \
9589 /home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile}
9590 Reading extended header file
9591 Found variable GNU.sparse.major = 1
9592 Found variable GNU.sparse.minor = 0
9593 Found variable GNU.sparse.name = sparsefile
9594 Found variable GNU.sparse.realsize = 217481216
9595 Reading v.1.0 sparse map
9596 Expanding file `/home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile' to
9597 `/home/gray/sparsefile'
9602 @anchor{extracting sparse v.0.x}
9603 @cindex sparse files v.0.1, extracting with non-GNU tars
9604 @cindex sparse files v.0.0, extracting with non-GNU tars
9605 An @dfn{extended header} is a special @command{tar} archive header
9606 that precedes an archive member and contains a set of
9607 @dfn{variables}, describing the member properties that cannot be
9608 stored in the standard @code{ustar} header. While optional for
9609 expanding sparse version 1.0 members, the use of extended headers is
9610 mandatory when expanding sparse members in older sparse formats: v.0.0
9611 and v.0.1 (The sparse formats are described in detail in @ref{Sparse
9612 Formats}.) So, for these formats, the question is: how to obtain
9613 extended headers from the archive?
9615 If you use a @command{tar} implementation that does not support PAX
9616 format, extended headers for each member will be extracted as a
9617 separate file. If we represent the member name as
9618 @file{@var{dir}/@var{name}}, then the extended header file will be
9619 named @file{@var{dir}/@/PaxHeaders.@var{n}/@/@var{name}}, where
9620 @var{n} is an integer number.
9622 Things become more difficult if your @command{tar} implementation
9623 does support PAX headers, because in this case you will have to
9624 manually extract the headers. We recommend the following algorithm:
9628 Consult the documentation of your @command{tar} implementation for an
9629 option that prints @dfn{block numbers} along with the archive
9630 listing (analogous to @GNUTAR{}'s @option{-R} option). For example,
9631 @command{star} has @option{-block-number}.
9634 Obtain verbose listing using the @samp{block number} option, and
9635 find block numbers of the sparse member in question and the member
9636 immediately following it. For example, running @command{star} on our
9641 $ @kbd{star -t -v -block-number -f arc.tar}
9643 star: Unknown extended header keyword 'GNU.sparse.size' ignored.
9644 star: Unknown extended header keyword 'GNU.sparse.numblocks' ignored.
9645 star: Unknown extended header keyword 'GNU.sparse.name' ignored.
9646 star: Unknown extended header keyword 'GNU.sparse.map' ignored.
9647 block 56: 425984 -rw-r--r-- gray/users Jun 25 14:46 2006 GNUSparseFile.28124/sparsefile
9648 block 897: 65391 -rw-r--r-- gray/users Jun 24 20:06 2006 README
9654 (as usual, ignore the warnings about unknown keywords.)
9657 Let @var{size} be the size of the sparse member, @var{Bs} be its block number
9658 and @var{Bn} be the block number of the next member.
9662 @var{N} = @var{Bs} - @var{Bn} - @var{size}/512 - 2
9666 This number gives the size of the extended header part in tar @dfn{blocks}.
9667 In our example, this formula gives: @code{897 - 56 - 425984 / 512 - 2
9671 Use @command{dd} to extract the headers:
9674 @kbd{dd if=@var{archive} of=@var{hname} bs=512 skip=@var{Bs} count=@var{N}}
9678 where @var{archive} is the archive name, @var{hname} is a name of the
9679 file to store the extended header in, @var{Bs} and @var{N} are
9680 computed in previous steps.
9682 In our example, this command will be
9685 $ @kbd{dd if=arc.tar of=xhdr bs=512 skip=56 count=7}
9689 Finally, you can expand the condensed file, using the obtained header:
9693 $ @kbd{xsparse -v -x xhdr GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile}
9694 Reading extended header file
9695 Found variable GNU.sparse.size = 217481216
9696 Found variable GNU.sparse.numblocks = 208
9697 Found variable GNU.sparse.name = sparsefile
9698 Found variable GNU.sparse.map = 0,2048,1050624,2048,@dots{}
9699 Expanding file `GNUSparseFile.28124/sparsefile' to `sparsefile'
9705 @section Comparison of @command{tar} and @command{cpio}
9708 @FIXME{Reorganize the following material}
9710 The @command{cpio} archive formats, like @command{tar}, do have maximum
9711 file name lengths. The binary and old @acronym{ASCII} formats have a maximum file
9712 length of 256, and the new @acronym{ASCII} and @acronym{CRC ASCII} formats have a max
9713 file length of 1024. @acronym{GNU} @command{cpio} can read and write archives
9714 with arbitrary file name lengths, but other @command{cpio} implementations
9715 may crash unexplainedly trying to read them.
9717 @command{tar} handles symbolic links in the form in which it comes in @acronym{BSD};
9718 @command{cpio} doesn't handle symbolic links in the form in which it comes
9719 in System V prior to SVR4, and some vendors may have added symlinks
9720 to their system without enhancing @command{cpio} to know about them.
9721 Others may have enhanced it in a way other than the way I did it
9722 at Sun, and which was adopted by AT&T (and which is, I think, also
9723 present in the @command{cpio} that Berkeley picked up from AT&T and put
9724 into a later @acronym{BSD} release---I think I gave them my changes).
9726 (SVR4 does some funny stuff with @command{tar}; basically, its @command{cpio}
9727 can handle @command{tar} format input, and write it on output, and it
9728 probably handles symbolic links. They may not have bothered doing
9729 anything to enhance @command{tar} as a result.)
9731 @command{cpio} handles special files; traditional @command{tar} doesn't.
9733 @command{tar} comes with V7, System III, System V, and @acronym{BSD} source;
9734 @command{cpio} comes only with System III, System V, and later @acronym{BSD}
9735 (4.3-tahoe and later).
9737 @command{tar}'s way of handling multiple hard links to a file can handle
9738 file systems that support 32-bit inumbers (e.g., the @acronym{BSD} file system);
9739 @command{cpio}s way requires you to play some games (in its ``binary''
9740 format, i-numbers are only 16 bits, and in its ``portable @acronym{ASCII}'' format,
9741 they're 18 bits---it would have to play games with the "file system @acronym{ID}"
9742 field of the header to make sure that the file system @acronym{ID}/i-number pairs
9743 of different files were always different), and I don't know which
9744 @command{cpio}s, if any, play those games. Those that don't might get
9745 confused and think two files are the same file when they're not, and
9746 make hard links between them.
9748 @command{tar}s way of handling multiple hard links to a file places only
9749 one copy of the link on the tape, but the name attached to that copy
9750 is the @emph{only} one you can use to retrieve the file; @command{cpio}s
9751 way puts one copy for every link, but you can retrieve it using any
9755 What type of check sum (if any) is used, and how is this calculated.
9758 See the attached manual pages for @command{tar} and @command{cpio} format.
9759 @command{tar} uses a checksum which is the sum of all the bytes in the
9760 @command{tar} header for a file; @command{cpio} uses no checksum.
9763 If anyone knows why @command{cpio} was made when @command{tar} was present
9767 It wasn't. @command{cpio} first showed up in PWB/UNIX 1.0; no
9768 generally-available version of UNIX had @command{tar} at the time. I don't
9769 know whether any version that was generally available @emph{within AT&T}
9770 had @command{tar}, or, if so, whether the people within AT&T who did
9771 @command{cpio} knew about it.
9773 On restore, if there is a corruption on a tape @command{tar} will stop at
9774 that point, while @command{cpio} will skip over it and try to restore the
9777 The main difference is just in the command syntax and header format.
9779 @command{tar} is a little more tape-oriented in that everything is blocked
9780 to start on a record boundary.
9783 Is there any differences between the ability to recover crashed
9784 archives between the two of them. (Is there any chance of recovering
9785 crashed archives at all.)
9788 Theoretically it should be easier under @command{tar} since the blocking
9789 lets you find a header with some variation of @samp{dd skip=@var{nn}}.
9790 However, modern @command{cpio}'s and variations have an option to just
9791 search for the next file header after an error with a reasonable chance
9792 of resyncing. However, lots of tape driver software won't allow you to
9793 continue past a media error which should be the only reason for getting
9794 out of sync unless a file changed sizes while you were writing the
9798 If anyone knows why @command{cpio} was made when @command{tar} was present
9799 at the unix scene, please tell me about this too.
9802 Probably because it is more media efficient (by not blocking everything
9803 and using only the space needed for the headers where @command{tar}
9804 always uses 512 bytes per file header) and it knows how to archive
9807 You might want to look at the freely available alternatives. The
9808 major ones are @command{afio}, @GNUTAR{}, and
9809 @command{pax}, each of which have their own extensions with some
9810 backwards compatibility.
9812 Sparse files were @command{tar}red as sparse files (which you can
9813 easily test, because the resulting archive gets smaller, and
9814 @acronym{GNU} @command{cpio} can no longer read it).
9817 @chapter Tapes and Other Archive Media
9820 A few special cases about tape handling warrant more detailed
9821 description. These special cases are discussed below.
9823 Many complexities surround the use of @command{tar} on tape drives. Since
9824 the creation and manipulation of archives located on magnetic tape was
9825 the original purpose of @command{tar}, it contains many features making
9826 such manipulation easier.
9828 Archives are usually written on dismountable media---tape cartridges,
9829 mag tapes, or floppy disks.
9831 The amount of data a tape or disk holds depends not only on its size,
9832 but also on how it is formatted. A 2400 foot long reel of mag tape
9833 holds 40 megabytes of data when formatted at 1600 bits per inch. The
9834 physically smaller EXABYTE tape cartridge holds 2.3 gigabytes.
9836 Magnetic media are re-usable---once the archive on a tape is no longer
9837 needed, the archive can be erased and the tape or disk used over.
9838 Media quality does deteriorate with use, however. Most tapes or disks
9839 should be discarded when they begin to produce data errors. EXABYTE
9840 tape cartridges should be discarded when they generate an @dfn{error
9841 count} (number of non-usable bits) of more than 10k.
9843 Magnetic media are written and erased using magnetic fields, and
9844 should be protected from such fields to avoid damage to stored data.
9845 Sticking a floppy disk to a filing cabinet using a magnet is probably
9849 * Device:: Device selection and switching
9850 * Remote Tape Server::
9851 * Common Problems and Solutions::
9852 * Blocking:: Blocking
9853 * Many:: Many archives on one tape
9854 * Using Multiple Tapes:: Using Multiple Tapes
9855 * label:: Including a Label in the Archive
9857 * Write Protection::
9861 @section Device Selection and Switching
9865 @item -f [@var{hostname}:]@var{file}
9866 @itemx --file=[@var{hostname}:]@var{file}
9867 Use archive file or device @var{file} on @var{hostname}.
9870 This option is used to specify the file name of the archive @command{tar}
9873 If the file name is @samp{-}, @command{tar} reads the archive from standard
9874 input (when listing or extracting), or writes it to standard output
9875 (when creating). If the @samp{-} file name is given when updating an
9876 archive, @command{tar} will read the original archive from its standard
9877 input, and will write the entire new archive to its standard output.
9879 If the file name contains a @samp{:}, it is interpreted as
9880 @samp{hostname:file name}. If the @var{hostname} contains an @dfn{at}
9881 sign (@samp{@@}), it is treated as @samp{user@@hostname:file name}. In
9882 either case, @command{tar} will invoke the command @command{rsh} (or
9883 @command{remsh}) to start up an @command{/usr/libexec/rmt} on the remote
9884 machine. If you give an alternate login name, it will be given to the
9886 Naturally, the remote machine must have an executable
9887 @command{/usr/libexec/rmt}. This program is free software from the
9888 University of California, and a copy of the source code can be found
9889 with the sources for @command{tar}; it's compiled and installed by default.
9890 The exact path to this utility is determined when configuring the package.
9891 It is @file{@var{prefix}/libexec/rmt}, where @var{prefix} stands for
9892 your installation prefix. This location may also be overridden at
9893 runtime by using @option{rmt-command=@var{command}} option (@xref{Option Summary,
9894 ---rmt-command}, for detailed description of this option. @xref{Remote
9895 Tape Server}, for the description of @command{rmt} command).
9897 If this option is not given, but the environment variable @env{TAPE}
9898 is set, its value is used; otherwise, old versions of @command{tar}
9899 used a default archive name (which was picked when @command{tar} was
9900 compiled). The default is normally set up to be the @dfn{first} tape
9901 drive or other transportable I/O medium on the system.
9903 Starting with version 1.11.5, @GNUTAR{} uses
9904 standard input and standard output as the default device, and I will
9905 not try anymore supporting automatic device detection at installation
9906 time. This was failing really in too many cases, it was hopeless.
9907 This is now completely left to the installer to override standard
9908 input and standard output for default device, if this seems
9909 preferable. Further, I think @emph{most} actual usages of
9910 @command{tar} are done with pipes or disks, not really tapes,
9911 cartridges or diskettes.
9913 Some users think that using standard input and output is running
9914 after trouble. This could lead to a nasty surprise on your screen if
9915 you forget to specify an output file name---especially if you are going
9916 through a network or terminal server capable of buffering large amounts
9917 of output. We had so many bug reports in that area of configuring
9918 default tapes automatically, and so many contradicting requests, that
9919 we finally consider the problem to be portably intractable. We could
9920 of course use something like @samp{/dev/tape} as a default, but this
9921 is @emph{also} running after various kind of trouble, going from hung
9922 processes to accidental destruction of real tapes. After having seen
9923 all this mess, using standard input and output as a default really
9924 sounds like the only clean choice left, and a very useful one too.
9926 @GNUTAR{} reads and writes archive in records, I
9927 suspect this is the main reason why block devices are preferred over
9928 character devices. Most probably, block devices are more efficient
9929 too. The installer could also check for @samp{DEFTAPE} in
9930 @file{<sys/mtio.h>}.
9933 @xopindex{force-local, short description}
9935 Archive file is local even if it contains a colon.
9937 @opindex rsh-command
9938 @item --rsh-command=@var{command}
9939 Use remote @var{command} instead of @command{rsh}. This option exists
9940 so that people who use something other than the standard @command{rsh}
9941 (e.g., a Kerberized @command{rsh}) can access a remote device.
9943 When this command is not used, the shell command found when
9944 the @command{tar} program was installed is used instead. This is
9945 the first found of @file{/usr/ucb/rsh}, @file{/usr/bin/remsh},
9946 @file{/usr/bin/rsh}, @file{/usr/bsd/rsh} or @file{/usr/bin/nsh}.
9947 The installer may have overridden this by defining the environment
9948 variable @env{RSH} @emph{at installation time}.
9951 Specify drive and density.
9953 @xopindex{multi-volume, short description}
9955 @itemx --multi-volume
9956 Create/list/extract multi-volume archive.
9958 This option causes @command{tar} to write a @dfn{multi-volume} archive---one
9959 that may be larger than will fit on the medium used to hold it.
9960 @xref{Multi-Volume Archives}.
9962 @xopindex{tape-length, short description}
9964 @itemx --tape-length=@var{num}
9965 Change tape after writing @var{num} x 1024 bytes.
9967 This option might be useful when your tape drivers do not properly
9968 detect end of physical tapes. By being slightly conservative on the
9969 maximum tape length, you might avoid the problem entirely.
9971 @xopindex{info-script, short description}
9972 @xopindex{new-volume-script, short description}
9974 @itemx --info-script=@var{file}
9975 @itemx --new-volume-script=@var{file}
9976 Execute @file{file} at end of each tape. This implies
9977 @option{--multi-volume} (@option{-M}). @xref{info-script}, for a detailed
9978 description of this option.
9981 @node Remote Tape Server
9982 @section The Remote Tape Server
9984 @cindex remote tape drive
9986 In order to access the tape drive on a remote machine, @command{tar}
9987 uses the remote tape server written at the University of California at
9988 Berkeley. The remote tape server must be installed as
9989 @file{@var{prefix}/libexec/rmt} on any machine whose tape drive you
9990 want to use. @command{tar} calls @command{rmt} by running an
9991 @command{rsh} or @command{remsh} to the remote machine, optionally
9992 using a different login name if one is supplied.
9994 A copy of the source for the remote tape server is provided. It is
9995 Copyright @copyright{} 1983 by the Regents of the University of
9996 California, but can be freely distributed. It is compiled and
9997 installed by default.
9999 @cindex absolute file names
10000 Unless you use the @option{--absolute-names} (@option{-P}) option,
10001 @GNUTAR{} will not allow you to create an archive that contains
10002 absolute file names (a file name beginning with @samp{/}.) If you try,
10003 @command{tar} will automatically remove the leading @samp{/} from the
10004 file names it stores in the archive. It will also type a warning
10005 message telling you what it is doing.
10007 When reading an archive that was created with a different
10008 @command{tar} program, @GNUTAR{} automatically
10009 extracts entries in the archive which have absolute file names as if
10010 the file names were not absolute. This is an important feature. A
10011 visitor here once gave a @command{tar} tape to an operator to restore;
10012 the operator used Sun @command{tar} instead of @GNUTAR{},
10013 and the result was that it replaced large portions of
10014 our @file{/bin} and friends with versions from the tape; needless to
10015 say, we were unhappy about having to recover the file system from
10018 For example, if the archive contained a file @file{/usr/bin/computoy},
10019 @GNUTAR{} would extract the file to @file{usr/bin/computoy},
10020 relative to the current directory. If you want to extract the files in
10021 an archive to the same absolute names that they had when the archive
10022 was created, you should do a @samp{cd /} before extracting the files
10023 from the archive, or you should either use the @option{--absolute-names}
10024 option, or use the command @samp{tar -C / @dots{}}.
10026 @cindex Ultrix 3.1 and write failure
10027 Some versions of Unix (Ultrix 3.1 is known to have this problem),
10028 can claim that a short write near the end of a tape succeeded,
10029 when it actually failed. This will result in the -M option not
10030 working correctly. The best workaround at the moment is to use a
10031 significantly larger blocking factor than the default 20.
10033 In order to update an archive, @command{tar} must be able to backspace the
10034 archive in order to reread or rewrite a record that was just read (or
10035 written). This is currently possible only on two kinds of files: normal
10036 disk files (or any other file that can be backspaced with @samp{lseek}),
10037 and industry-standard 9-track magnetic tape (or any other kind of tape
10038 that can be backspaced with the @code{MTIOCTOP} @code{ioctl}.
10040 This means that the @option{--append}, @option{--concatenate}, and
10041 @option{--delete} commands will not work on any other kind of file.
10042 Some media simply cannot be backspaced, which means these commands and
10043 options will never be able to work on them. These non-backspacing
10044 media include pipes and cartridge tape drives.
10046 Some other media can be backspaced, and @command{tar} will work on them
10047 once @command{tar} is modified to do so.
10049 Archives created with the @option{--multi-volume}, @option{--label}, and
10050 @option{--incremental} (@option{-G}) options may not be readable by other version
10051 of @command{tar}. In particular, restoring a file that was split over
10052 a volume boundary will require some careful work with @command{dd}, if
10053 it can be done at all. Other versions of @command{tar} may also create
10054 an empty file whose name is that of the volume header. Some versions
10055 of @command{tar} may create normal files instead of directories archived
10056 with the @option{--incremental} (@option{-G}) option.
10058 @node Common Problems and Solutions
10059 @section Some Common Problems and their Solutions
10064 errors from system:
10066 no such file or directory
10069 errors from @command{tar}:
10070 directory checksum error
10071 header format error
10073 errors from media/system:
10084 @dfn{Block} and @dfn{record} terminology is rather confused, and it
10085 is also confusing to the expert reader. On the other hand, readers
10086 who are new to the field have a fresh mind, and they may safely skip
10087 the next two paragraphs, as the remainder of this manual uses those
10088 two terms in a quite consistent way.
10090 John Gilmore, the writer of the public domain @command{tar} from which
10091 @GNUTAR{} was originally derived, wrote (June 1995):
10094 The nomenclature of tape drives comes from IBM, where I believe
10095 they were invented for the IBM 650 or so. On IBM mainframes, what
10096 is recorded on tape are tape blocks. The logical organization of
10097 data is into records. There are various ways of putting records into
10098 blocks, including @code{F} (fixed sized records), @code{V} (variable
10099 sized records), @code{FB} (fixed blocked: fixed size records, @var{n}
10100 to a block), @code{VB} (variable size records, @var{n} to a block),
10101 @code{VSB} (variable spanned blocked: variable sized records that can
10102 occupy more than one block), etc. The @code{JCL} @samp{DD RECFORM=}
10103 parameter specified this to the operating system.
10105 The Unix man page on @command{tar} was totally confused about this.
10106 When I wrote @code{PD TAR}, I used the historically correct terminology
10107 (@command{tar} writes data records, which are grouped into blocks).
10108 It appears that the bogus terminology made it into @acronym{POSIX} (no surprise
10109 here), and now Fran@,{c}ois has migrated that terminology back
10110 into the source code too.
10113 The term @dfn{physical block} means the basic transfer chunk from or
10114 to a device, after which reading or writing may stop without anything
10115 being lost. In this manual, the term @dfn{block} usually refers to
10116 a disk physical block, @emph{assuming} that each disk block is 512
10117 bytes in length. It is true that some disk devices have different
10118 physical blocks, but @command{tar} ignore these differences in its own
10119 format, which is meant to be portable, so a @command{tar} block is always
10120 512 bytes in length, and @dfn{block} always mean a @command{tar} block.
10121 The term @dfn{logical block} often represents the basic chunk of
10122 allocation of many disk blocks as a single entity, which the operating
10123 system treats somewhat atomically; this concept is only barely used
10126 The term @dfn{physical record} is another way to speak of a physical
10127 block, those two terms are somewhat interchangeable. In this manual,
10128 the term @dfn{record} usually refers to a tape physical block,
10129 @emph{assuming} that the @command{tar} archive is kept on magnetic tape.
10130 It is true that archives may be put on disk or used with pipes,
10131 but nevertheless, @command{tar} tries to read and write the archive one
10132 @dfn{record} at a time, whatever the medium in use. One record is made
10133 up of an integral number of blocks, and this operation of putting many
10134 disk blocks into a single tape block is called @dfn{reblocking}, or
10135 more simply, @dfn{blocking}. The term @dfn{logical record} refers to
10136 the logical organization of many characters into something meaningful
10137 to the application. The term @dfn{unit record} describes a small set
10138 of characters which are transmitted whole to or by the application,
10139 and often refers to a line of text. Those two last terms are unrelated
10140 to what we call a @dfn{record} in @GNUTAR{}.
10142 When writing to tapes, @command{tar} writes the contents of the archive
10143 in chunks known as @dfn{records}. To change the default blocking
10144 factor, use the @option{--blocking-factor=@var{512-size}} (@option{-b
10145 @var{512-size}}) option. Each record will then be composed of
10146 @var{512-size} blocks. (Each @command{tar} block is 512 bytes.
10147 @xref{Standard}.) Each file written to the archive uses at least one
10148 full record. As a result, using a larger record size can result in
10149 more wasted space for small files. On the other hand, a larger record
10150 size can often be read and written much more efficiently.
10152 Further complicating the problem is that some tape drives ignore the
10153 blocking entirely. For these, a larger record size can still improve
10154 performance (because the software layers above the tape drive still
10155 honor the blocking), but not as dramatically as on tape drives that
10158 When reading an archive, @command{tar} can usually figure out the
10159 record size on itself. When this is the case, and a non-standard
10160 record size was used when the archive was created, @command{tar} will
10161 print a message about a non-standard blocking factor, and then operate
10162 normally. On some tape devices, however, @command{tar} cannot figure
10163 out the record size itself. On most of those, you can specify a
10164 blocking factor (with @option{--blocking-factor}) larger than the
10165 actual blocking factor, and then use the @option{--read-full-records}
10166 (@option{-B}) option. (If you specify a blocking factor with
10167 @option{--blocking-factor} and don't use the
10168 @option{--read-full-records} option, then @command{tar} will not
10169 attempt to figure out the recording size itself.) On some devices,
10170 you must always specify the record size exactly with
10171 @option{--blocking-factor} when reading, because @command{tar} cannot
10172 figure it out. In any case, use @option{--list} (@option{-t}) before
10173 doing any extractions to see whether @command{tar} is reading the archive
10176 @command{tar} blocks are all fixed size (512 bytes), and its scheme for
10177 putting them into records is to put a whole number of them (one or
10178 more) into each record. @command{tar} records are all the same size;
10179 at the end of the file there's a block containing all zeros, which
10180 is how you tell that the remainder of the last record(s) are garbage.
10182 In a standard @command{tar} file (no options), the block size is 512
10183 and the record size is 10240, for a blocking factor of 20. What the
10184 @option{--blocking-factor} option does is sets the blocking factor,
10185 changing the record size while leaving the block size at 512 bytes.
10186 20 was fine for ancient 800 or 1600 bpi reel-to-reel tape drives;
10187 most tape drives these days prefer much bigger records in order to
10188 stream and not waste tape. When writing tapes for myself, some tend
10189 to use a factor of the order of 2048, say, giving a record size of
10190 around one megabyte.
10192 If you use a blocking factor larger than 20, older @command{tar}
10193 programs might not be able to read the archive, so we recommend this
10194 as a limit to use in practice. @GNUTAR{}, however,
10195 will support arbitrarily large record sizes, limited only by the
10196 amount of virtual memory or the physical characteristics of the tape
10200 * Format Variations:: Format Variations
10201 * Blocking Factor:: The Blocking Factor of an Archive
10204 @node Format Variations
10205 @subsection Format Variations
10206 @cindex Format Parameters
10207 @cindex Format Options
10208 @cindex Options, archive format specifying
10209 @cindex Options, format specifying
10212 Format parameters specify how an archive is written on the archive
10213 media. The best choice of format parameters will vary depending on
10214 the type and number of files being archived, and on the media used to
10217 To specify format parameters when accessing or creating an archive,
10218 you can use the options described in the following sections.
10219 If you do not specify any format parameters, @command{tar} uses
10220 default parameters. You cannot modify a compressed archive.
10221 If you create an archive with the @option{--blocking-factor} option
10222 specified (@pxref{Blocking Factor}), you must specify that
10223 blocking-factor when operating on the archive. @xref{Formats}, for other
10224 examples of format parameter considerations.
10226 @node Blocking Factor
10227 @subsection The Blocking Factor of an Archive
10228 @cindex Blocking Factor
10229 @cindex Record Size
10230 @cindex Number of blocks per record
10231 @cindex Number of bytes per record
10232 @cindex Bytes per record
10233 @cindex Blocks per record
10236 @opindex blocking-factor
10237 The data in an archive is grouped into blocks, which are 512 bytes.
10238 Blocks are read and written in whole number multiples called
10239 @dfn{records}. The number of blocks in a record (i.e., the size of a
10240 record in units of 512 bytes) is called the @dfn{blocking factor}.
10241 The @option{--blocking-factor=@var{512-size}} (@option{-b
10242 @var{512-size}}) option specifies the blocking factor of an archive.
10243 The default blocking factor is typically 20 (i.e., 10240 bytes), but
10244 can be specified at installation. To find out the blocking factor of
10245 an existing archive, use @samp{tar --list --file=@var{archive-name}}.
10246 This may not work on some devices.
10248 Records are separated by gaps, which waste space on the archive media.
10249 If you are archiving on magnetic tape, using a larger blocking factor
10250 (and therefore larger records) provides faster throughput and allows you
10251 to fit more data on a tape (because there are fewer gaps). If you are
10252 archiving on cartridge, a very large blocking factor (say 126 or more)
10253 greatly increases performance. A smaller blocking factor, on the other
10254 hand, may be useful when archiving small files, to avoid archiving lots
10255 of nulls as @command{tar} fills out the archive to the end of the record.
10256 In general, the ideal record size depends on the size of the
10257 inter-record gaps on the tape you are using, and the average size of the
10258 files you are archiving. @xref{create}, for information on
10261 @FIXME{Need example of using a cartridge with blocking factor=126 or more.}
10263 Archives with blocking factors larger than 20 cannot be read
10264 by very old versions of @command{tar}, or by some newer versions
10265 of @command{tar} running on old machines with small address spaces.
10266 With @GNUTAR{}, the blocking factor of an archive is limited
10267 only by the maximum record size of the device containing the archive,
10268 or by the amount of available virtual memory.
10270 Also, on some systems, not using adequate blocking factors, as sometimes
10271 imposed by the device drivers, may yield unexpected diagnostics. For
10272 example, this has been reported:
10275 Cannot write to /dev/dlt: Invalid argument
10279 In such cases, it sometimes happen that the @command{tar} bundled by
10280 the system is aware of block size idiosyncrasies, while @GNUTAR{}
10281 requires an explicit specification for the block size,
10282 which it cannot guess. This yields some people to consider
10283 @GNUTAR{} is misbehaving, because by comparison,
10284 @cite{the bundle @command{tar} works OK}. Adding @w{@kbd{-b 256}},
10285 for example, might resolve the problem.
10287 If you use a non-default blocking factor when you create an archive, you
10288 must specify the same blocking factor when you modify that archive. Some
10289 archive devices will also require you to specify the blocking factor when
10290 reading that archive, however this is not typically the case. Usually, you
10291 can use @option{--list} (@option{-t}) without specifying a blocking factor---@command{tar}
10292 reports a non-default record size and then lists the archive members as
10293 it would normally. To extract files from an archive with a non-standard
10294 blocking factor (particularly if you're not sure what the blocking factor
10295 is), you can usually use the @option{--read-full-records} (@option{-B}) option while
10296 specifying a blocking factor larger then the blocking factor of the archive
10297 (i.e., @samp{tar --extract --read-full-records --blocking-factor=300}.
10298 @xref{list}, for more information on the @option{--list} (@option{-t})
10299 operation. @xref{Reading}, for a more detailed explanation of that option.
10302 @item --blocking-factor=@var{number}
10303 @itemx -b @var{number}
10304 Specifies the blocking factor of an archive. Can be used with any
10305 operation, but is usually not necessary with @option{--list} (@option{-t}).
10311 @item -b @var{blocks}
10312 @itemx --blocking-factor=@var{blocks}
10313 Set record size to @math{@var{blocks} * 512} bytes.
10315 This option is used to specify a @dfn{blocking factor} for the archive.
10316 When reading or writing the archive, @command{tar}, will do reads and writes
10317 of the archive in records of @math{@var{block}*512} bytes. This is true
10318 even when the archive is compressed. Some devices requires that all
10319 write operations be a multiple of a certain size, and so, @command{tar}
10320 pads the archive out to the next record boundary.
10322 The default blocking factor is set when @command{tar} is compiled, and is
10323 typically 20. Blocking factors larger than 20 cannot be read by very
10324 old versions of @command{tar}, or by some newer versions of @command{tar}
10325 running on old machines with small address spaces.
10327 With a magnetic tape, larger records give faster throughput and fit
10328 more data on a tape (because there are fewer inter-record gaps).
10329 If the archive is in a disk file or a pipe, you may want to specify
10330 a smaller blocking factor, since a large one will result in a large
10331 number of null bytes at the end of the archive.
10333 When writing cartridge or other streaming tapes, a much larger
10334 blocking factor (say 126 or more) will greatly increase performance.
10335 However, you must specify the same blocking factor when reading or
10336 updating the archive.
10338 Apparently, Exabyte drives have a physical block size of 8K bytes.
10339 If we choose our blocksize as a multiple of 8k bytes, then the problem
10340 seems to disappear. Id est, we are using block size of 112 right
10341 now, and we haven't had the problem since we switched@dots{}
10343 With @GNUTAR{} the blocking factor is limited only
10344 by the maximum record size of the device containing the archive, or by
10345 the amount of available virtual memory.
10347 However, deblocking or reblocking is virtually avoided in a special
10348 case which often occurs in practice, but which requires all the
10349 following conditions to be simultaneously true:
10352 the archive is subject to a compression option,
10354 the archive is not handled through standard input or output, nor
10355 redirected nor piped,
10357 the archive is directly handled to a local disk, instead of any special
10360 @option{--blocking-factor} is not explicitly specified on the @command{tar}
10364 If the output goes directly to a local disk, and not through
10365 stdout, then the last write is not extended to a full record size.
10366 Otherwise, reblocking occurs. Here are a few other remarks on this
10372 @command{gzip} will complain about trailing garbage if asked to
10373 uncompress a compressed archive on tape, there is an option to turn
10374 the message off, but it breaks the regularity of simply having to use
10375 @samp{@var{prog} -d} for decompression. It would be nice if gzip was
10376 silently ignoring any number of trailing zeros. I'll ask Jean-loup
10377 Gailly, by sending a copy of this message to him.
10380 @command{compress} does not show this problem, but as Jean-loup pointed
10381 out to Michael, @samp{compress -d} silently adds garbage after
10382 the result of decompression, which tar ignores because it already
10383 recognized its end-of-file indicator. So this bug may be safely
10387 @samp{gzip -d -q} will be silent about the trailing zeros indeed,
10388 but will still return an exit status of 2 which tar reports in turn.
10389 @command{tar} might ignore the exit status returned, but I hate doing
10390 that, as it weakens the protection @command{tar} offers users against
10391 other possible problems at decompression time. If @command{gzip} was
10392 silently skipping trailing zeros @emph{and} also avoiding setting the
10393 exit status in this innocuous case, that would solve this situation.
10396 @command{tar} should become more solid at not stopping to read a pipe at
10397 the first null block encountered. This inelegantly breaks the pipe.
10398 @command{tar} should rather drain the pipe out before exiting itself.
10401 @xopindex{ignore-zeros, short description}
10403 @itemx --ignore-zeros
10404 Ignore blocks of zeros in archive (means EOF).
10406 The @option{--ignore-zeros} (@option{-i}) option causes @command{tar} to ignore blocks
10407 of zeros in the archive. Normally a block of zeros indicates the
10408 end of the archive, but when reading a damaged archive, or one which
10409 was created by concatenating several archives together, this option
10410 allows @command{tar} to read the entire archive. This option is not on
10411 by default because many versions of @command{tar} write garbage after
10414 Note that this option causes @command{tar} to read to the end of the
10415 archive file, which may sometimes avoid problems when multiple files
10416 are stored on a single physical tape.
10418 @xopindex{read-full-records, short description}
10420 @itemx --read-full-records
10421 Reblock as we read (for reading 4.2@acronym{BSD} pipes).
10423 If @option{--read-full-records} is used, @command{tar}
10424 will not panic if an attempt to read a record from the archive does
10425 not return a full record. Instead, @command{tar} will keep reading
10426 until it has obtained a full
10429 This option is turned on by default when @command{tar} is reading
10430 an archive from standard input, or from a remote machine. This is
10431 because on @acronym{BSD} Unix systems, a read of a pipe will return however
10432 much happens to be in the pipe, even if it is less than @command{tar}
10433 requested. If this option was not used, @command{tar} would fail as
10434 soon as it read an incomplete record from the pipe.
10436 This option is also useful with the commands for updating an archive.
10442 @FIXME{Appropriate options should be moved here from elsewhere.}
10444 @cindex blocking factor
10445 @cindex tape blocking
10447 When handling various tapes or cartridges, you have to take care of
10448 selecting a proper blocking, that is, the number of disk blocks you
10449 put together as a single tape block on the tape, without intervening
10450 tape gaps. A @dfn{tape gap} is a small landing area on the tape
10451 with no information on it, used for decelerating the tape to a
10452 full stop, and for later regaining the reading or writing speed.
10453 When the tape driver starts reading a record, the record has to
10454 be read whole without stopping, as a tape gap is needed to stop the
10455 tape motion without loosing information.
10457 @cindex Exabyte blocking
10458 @cindex DAT blocking
10459 Using higher blocking (putting more disk blocks per tape block) will use
10460 the tape more efficiently as there will be less tape gaps. But reading
10461 such tapes may be more difficult for the system, as more memory will be
10462 required to receive at once the whole record. Further, if there is a
10463 reading error on a huge record, this is less likely that the system will
10464 succeed in recovering the information. So, blocking should not be too
10465 low, nor it should be too high. @command{tar} uses by default a blocking of
10466 20 for historical reasons, and it does not really matter when reading or
10467 writing to disk. Current tape technology would easily accommodate higher
10468 blockings. Sun recommends a blocking of 126 for Exabytes and 96 for DATs.
10469 We were told that for some DLT drives, the blocking should be a multiple
10470 of 4Kb, preferably 64Kb (@w{@kbd{-b 128}}) or 256 for decent performance.
10471 Other manufacturers may use different recommendations for the same tapes.
10472 This might also depends of the buffering techniques used inside modern
10473 tape controllers. Some imposes a minimum blocking, or a maximum blocking.
10474 Others request blocking to be some exponent of two.
10476 So, there is no fixed rule for blocking. But blocking at read time
10477 should ideally be the same as blocking used at write time. At one place
10478 I know, with a wide variety of equipment, they found it best to use a
10479 blocking of 32 to guarantee that their tapes are fully interchangeable.
10481 I was also told that, for recycled tapes, prior erasure (by the same
10482 drive unit that will be used to create the archives) sometimes lowers
10483 the error rates observed at rewriting time.
10485 I might also use @option{--number-blocks} instead of
10486 @option{--block-number}, so @option{--block} will then expand to
10487 @option{--blocking-factor} unambiguously.
10490 @section Many Archives on One Tape
10492 @FIXME{Appropriate options should be moved here from elsewhere.}
10494 @findex ntape @r{device}
10495 Most tape devices have two entries in the @file{/dev} directory, or
10496 entries that come in pairs, which differ only in the minor number for
10497 this device. Let's take for example @file{/dev/tape}, which often
10498 points to the only or usual tape device of a given system. There might
10499 be a corresponding @file{/dev/nrtape} or @file{/dev/ntape}. The simpler
10500 name is the @emph{rewinding} version of the device, while the name
10501 having @samp{nr} in it is the @emph{no rewinding} version of the same
10504 A rewinding tape device will bring back the tape to its beginning point
10505 automatically when this device is opened or closed. Since @command{tar}
10506 opens the archive file before using it and closes it afterwards, this
10507 means that a simple:
10510 $ @kbd{tar cf /dev/tape @var{directory}}
10514 will reposition the tape to its beginning both prior and after saving
10515 @var{directory} contents to it, thus erasing prior tape contents and
10516 making it so that any subsequent write operation will destroy what has
10519 @cindex tape positioning
10520 So, a rewinding device is normally meant to hold one and only one file.
10521 If you want to put more than one @command{tar} archive on a given tape, you
10522 will need to avoid using the rewinding version of the tape device. You
10523 will also have to pay special attention to tape positioning. Errors in
10524 positioning may overwrite the valuable data already on your tape. Many
10525 people, burnt by past experiences, will only use rewinding devices and
10526 limit themselves to one file per tape, precisely to avoid the risk of
10527 such errors. Be fully aware that writing at the wrong position on a
10528 tape loses all information past this point and most probably until the
10529 end of the tape, and this destroyed information @emph{cannot} be
10532 To save @var{directory-1} as a first archive at the beginning of a
10533 tape, and leave that tape ready for a second archive, you should use:
10536 $ @kbd{mt -f /dev/nrtape rewind}
10537 $ @kbd{tar cf /dev/nrtape @var{directory-1}}
10541 @dfn{Tape marks} are special magnetic patterns written on the tape
10542 media, which are later recognizable by the reading hardware. These
10543 marks are used after each file, when there are many on a single tape.
10544 An empty file (that is to say, two tape marks in a row) signal the
10545 logical end of the tape, after which no file exist. Usually,
10546 non-rewinding tape device drivers will react to the close request issued
10547 by @command{tar} by first writing two tape marks after your archive, and by
10548 backspacing over one of these. So, if you remove the tape at that time
10549 from the tape drive, it is properly terminated. But if you write
10550 another file at the current position, the second tape mark will be
10551 erased by the new information, leaving only one tape mark between files.
10553 So, you may now save @var{directory-2} as a second archive after the
10554 first on the same tape by issuing the command:
10557 $ @kbd{tar cf /dev/nrtape @var{directory-2}}
10561 and so on for all the archives you want to put on the same tape.
10563 Another usual case is that you do not write all the archives the same
10564 day, and you need to remove and store the tape between two archive
10565 sessions. In general, you must remember how many files are already
10566 saved on your tape. Suppose your tape already has 16 files on it, and
10567 that you are ready to write the 17th. You have to take care of skipping
10568 the first 16 tape marks before saving @var{directory-17}, say, by using
10572 $ @kbd{mt -f /dev/nrtape rewind}
10573 $ @kbd{mt -f /dev/nrtape fsf 16}
10574 $ @kbd{tar cf /dev/nrtape @var{directory-17}}
10577 In all the previous examples, we put aside blocking considerations, but
10578 you should do the proper things for that as well. @xref{Blocking}.
10581 * Tape Positioning:: Tape Positions and Tape Marks
10582 * mt:: The @command{mt} Utility
10585 @node Tape Positioning
10586 @subsection Tape Positions and Tape Marks
10589 Just as archives can store more than one file from the file system,
10590 tapes can store more than one archive file. To keep track of where
10591 archive files (or any other type of file stored on tape) begin and
10592 end, tape archive devices write magnetic @dfn{tape marks} on the
10593 archive media. Tape drives write one tape mark between files,
10594 two at the end of all the file entries.
10596 If you think of data as a series of records "rrrr"'s, and tape marks as
10597 "*"'s, a tape might look like the following:
10600 rrrr*rrrrrr*rrrrr*rr*rrrrr**-------------------------
10603 Tape devices read and write tapes using a read/write @dfn{tape
10604 head}---a physical part of the device which can only access one
10605 point on the tape at a time. When you use @command{tar} to read or
10606 write archive data from a tape device, the device will begin reading
10607 or writing from wherever on the tape the tape head happens to be,
10608 regardless of which archive or what part of the archive the tape
10609 head is on. Before writing an archive, you should make sure that no
10610 data on the tape will be overwritten (unless it is no longer needed).
10611 Before reading an archive, you should make sure the tape head is at
10612 the beginning of the archive you want to read. You can do it manually
10613 via @code{mt} utility (@pxref{mt}). The @code{restore} script does
10614 that automatically (@pxref{Scripted Restoration}).
10616 If you want to add new archive file entries to a tape, you should
10617 advance the tape to the end of the existing file entries, backspace
10618 over the last tape mark, and write the new archive file. If you were
10619 to add two archives to the example above, the tape might look like the
10623 rrrr*rrrrrr*rrrrr*rr*rrrrr*rrr*rrrr**----------------
10627 @subsection The @command{mt} Utility
10630 @FIXME{Is it true that this only works on non-block devices?
10631 should explain the difference, (fixed or variable).}
10632 @xref{Blocking Factor}.
10634 You can use the @command{mt} utility to advance or rewind a tape past a
10635 specified number of archive files on the tape. This will allow you
10636 to move to the beginning of an archive before extracting or reading
10637 it, or to the end of all the archives before writing a new one.
10638 @FIXME{Why isn't there an "advance 'til you find two tape marks
10641 The syntax of the @command{mt} command is:
10644 @kbd{mt [-f @var{tapename}] @var{operation} [@var{number}]}
10647 where @var{tapename} is the name of the tape device, @var{number} is
10648 the number of times an operation is performed (with a default of one),
10649 and @var{operation} is one of the following:
10651 @FIXME{is there any use for record operations?}
10656 Writes @var{number} tape marks at the current position on the tape.
10659 Moves tape position forward @var{number} files.
10662 Moves tape position back @var{number} files.
10665 Rewinds the tape. (Ignores @var{number}).
10669 Rewinds the tape and takes the tape device off-line. (Ignores @var{number}).
10672 Prints status information about the tape unit.
10676 @FIXME{Is there a better way to frob the spacing on the list?}
10678 If you don't specify a @var{tapename}, @command{mt} uses the environment
10679 variable @env{TAPE}; if @env{TAPE} is not set, @command{mt} will use
10680 the default device specified in your @file{sys/mtio.h} file
10681 (@code{DEFTAPE} variable). If this is not defined, the program will
10682 display a descriptive error message and exit with code 1.
10684 @command{mt} returns a 0 exit status when the operation(s) were
10685 successful, 1 if the command was unrecognized, and 2 if an operation
10688 @node Using Multiple Tapes
10689 @section Using Multiple Tapes
10691 Often you might want to write a large archive, one larger than will fit
10692 on the actual tape you are using. In such a case, you can run multiple
10693 @command{tar} commands, but this can be inconvenient, particularly if you
10694 are using options like @option{--exclude=@var{pattern}} or dumping entire file systems.
10695 Therefore, @command{tar} provides a special mode for creating
10696 multi-volume archives.
10698 @dfn{Multi-volume} archive is a single @command{tar} archive, stored
10699 on several media volumes of fixed size. Although in this section we will
10700 often call @samp{volume} a @dfn{tape}, there is absolutely no
10701 requirement for multi-volume archives to be stored on tapes. Instead,
10702 they can use whatever media type the user finds convenient, they can
10703 even be located on files.
10705 When creating a multi-volume archive, @GNUTAR{} continues to fill
10706 current volume until it runs out of space, then it switches to
10707 next volume (usually the operator is queried to replace the tape on
10708 this point), and continues working on the new volume. This operation
10709 continues until all requested files are dumped. If @GNUTAR{} detects
10710 end of media while dumping a file, such a file is archived in split
10711 form. Some very big files can even be split across several volumes.
10713 Each volume is itself a valid @GNUTAR{} archive, so it can be read
10714 without any special options. Consequently any file member residing
10715 entirely on one volume can be extracted or otherwise operated upon
10716 without needing the other volume. Sure enough, to extract a split
10717 member you would need all volumes its parts reside on.
10719 Multi-volume archives suffer from several limitations. In particular,
10720 they cannot be compressed.
10722 @GNUTAR{} is able to create multi-volume archives of two formats
10723 (@pxref{Formats}): @samp{GNU} and @samp{POSIX}.
10726 * Multi-Volume Archives:: Archives Longer than One Tape or Disk
10727 * Tape Files:: Tape Files
10728 * Tarcat:: Concatenate Volumes into a Single Archive
10732 @node Multi-Volume Archives
10733 @subsection Archives Longer than One Tape or Disk
10734 @cindex Multi-volume archives
10736 @opindex multi-volume
10737 To create an archive that is larger than will fit on a single unit of
10738 the media, use the @option{--multi-volume} (@option{-M}) option in conjunction with
10739 the @option{--create} option (@pxref{create}). A @dfn{multi-volume}
10740 archive can be manipulated like any other archive (provided the
10741 @option{--multi-volume} option is specified), but is stored on more
10742 than one tape or disk.
10744 When you specify @option{--multi-volume}, @command{tar} does not report an
10745 error when it comes to the end of an archive volume (when reading), or
10746 the end of the media (when writing). Instead, it prompts you to load
10747 a new storage volume. If the archive is on a magnetic tape, you
10748 should change tapes when you see the prompt; if the archive is on a
10749 floppy disk, you should change disks; etc.
10752 @item --multi-volume
10754 Creates a multi-volume archive, when used in conjunction with
10755 @option{--create} (@option{-c}). To perform any other operation on a multi-volume
10756 archive, specify @option{--multi-volume} in conjunction with that
10761 $ @kbd{tar --create --multi-volume --file=/dev/tape @var{files}}
10765 The method @command{tar} uses to detect end of tape is not perfect, and
10766 fails on some operating systems or on some devices. If @command{tar}
10767 cannot detect the end of the tape itself, you can use
10768 @option{--tape-length} option to inform it about the capacity of the
10771 @anchor{tape-length}
10773 @opindex tape-length
10774 @item --tape-length=@var{size}
10775 @itemx -L @var{size}
10776 Set maximum length of a volume. The @var{size} argument should then
10777 be the usable size of the tape in units of 1024 bytes. This option
10778 selects @option{--multi-volume} automatically. For example:
10781 $ @kbd{tar --create --tape-length=41943040 --file=/dev/tape @var{files}}
10785 @anchor{change volume prompt}
10786 When @GNUTAR{} comes to the end of a storage media, it asks you to
10787 change the volume. The built-in prompt for POSIX locale
10788 is@footnote{If you run @GNUTAR{} under a different locale, the
10789 translation to the locale's language will be used.}:
10792 Prepare volume #@var{n} for `@var{archive}' and hit return:
10796 where @var{n} is the ordinal number of the volume to be created and
10797 @var{archive} is archive file or device name.
10799 When prompting for a new tape, @command{tar} accepts any of the following
10804 Request @command{tar} to explain possible responses
10806 Request @command{tar} to exit immediately.
10807 @item n @var{file-name}
10808 Request @command{tar} to write the next volume on the file @var{file-name}.
10810 Request @command{tar} to run a subshell. This option can be disabled
10811 by giving @option{--restrict} command line option to
10812 @command{tar}@footnote{@xref{--restrict}, for more information about
10815 Request @command{tar} to begin writing the next volume.
10818 (You should only type @samp{y} after you have changed the tape;
10819 otherwise @command{tar} will write over the volume it just finished.)
10821 @cindex Volume number file
10823 @anchor{volno-file}
10824 @opindex volno-file
10825 The volume number used by @command{tar} in its tape-changing prompt
10826 can be changed; if you give the
10827 @option{--volno-file=@var{file-of-number}} option, then
10828 @var{file-of-number} should be an non-existing file to be created, or
10829 else, a file already containing a decimal number. That number will be
10830 used as the volume number of the first volume written. When
10831 @command{tar} is finished, it will rewrite the file with the
10832 now-current volume number. (This does not change the volume number
10833 written on a tape label, as per @ref{label}, it @emph{only} affects
10834 the number used in the prompt.)
10836 @cindex End-of-archive info script
10837 @cindex Info script
10838 @anchor{info-script}
10839 @opindex info-script
10840 @opindex new-volume-script
10841 If you want more elaborate behavior than this, you can write a special
10842 @dfn{new volume script}, that will be responsible for changing the
10843 volume, and instruct @command{tar} to use it instead of its normal
10844 prompting procedure:
10847 @item --info-script=@var{script-name}
10848 @itemx --new-volume-script=@var{script-name}
10849 @itemx -F @var{script-name}
10850 Specify the full name of the volume script to use. The script can be
10851 used to eject cassettes, or to broadcast messages such as
10852 @samp{Someone please come change my tape} when performing unattended
10856 The @var{script-name} is executed without any command line
10857 arguments. It inherits @command{tar}'s shell environment.
10858 Additional data is passed to it via the following
10859 environment variables:
10862 @vrindex TAR_VERSION, info script environment variable
10864 @GNUTAR{} version number.
10866 @vrindex TAR_ARCHIVE, info script environment variable
10868 The name of the archive @command{tar} is processing.
10870 @vrindex TAR_BLOCKING_FACTOR, info script environment variable
10871 @item TAR_BLOCKING_FACTOR
10872 Current blocking factor (@pxref{Blocking}.
10874 @vrindex TAR_VOLUME, info script environment variable
10876 Ordinal number of the volume @command{tar} is about to start.
10878 @vrindex TAR_SUBCOMMAND, info script environment variable
10879 @item TAR_SUBCOMMAND
10880 A short option describing the operation @command{tar} is executing
10881 @xref{Operations}, for a complete list of subcommand options.
10883 @vrindex TAR_FORMAT, info script environment variable
10885 Format of the archive being processed. @xref{Formats}, for a complete
10886 list of archive format names.
10888 @vrindex TAR_FD, info script environment variable
10890 File descriptor which can be used to communicate the new volume
10891 name to @command{tar}.
10894 The volume script can instruct @command{tar} to use new archive name,
10895 by writing in to file descriptor @env{$TAR_FD} (see below for an example).
10897 If the info script fails, @command{tar} exits; otherwise, it begins
10898 writing the next volume.
10900 If you want @command{tar} to cycle through a series of files or tape
10901 drives, there are three approaches to choose from. First of all, you
10902 can give @command{tar} multiple @option{--file} options. In this case
10903 the specified files will be used, in sequence, as the successive
10904 volumes of the archive. Only when the first one in the sequence needs
10905 to be used again will @command{tar} prompt for a tape change (or run
10906 the info script). For example, suppose someone has two tape drives on
10907 a system named @file{/dev/tape0} and @file{/dev/tape1}. For having
10908 @GNUTAR{} to switch to the second drive when it needs to write the
10909 second tape, and then back to the first tape, etc., just do either of:
10912 $ @kbd{tar --create --multi-volume --file=/dev/tape0 --file=/dev/tape1 @var{files}}
10913 $ @kbd{tar cMff /dev/tape0 /dev/tape1 @var{files}}
10916 The second method is to use the @samp{n} response to the tape-change
10919 Finally, the most flexible approach is to use a volume script, that
10920 writes new archive name to the file descriptor @env{$TAR_FD}. For example, the
10921 following volume script will create a series of archive files, named
10922 @file{@var{archive}-@var{vol}}, where @var{archive} is the name of the
10923 archive being created (as given by @option{--file} option) and
10924 @var{vol} is the ordinal number of the archive being created:
10929 echo Preparing volume $TAR_VOLUME of $TAR_ARCHIVE.
10931 name=`expr $TAR_ARCHIVE : '\(.*\)-.*'`
10932 case $TAR_SUBCOMMAND in
10934 -d|-x|-t) test -r $@{name:-$TAR_ARCHIVE@}-$TAR_VOLUME || exit 1
10939 echo $@{name:-$TAR_ARCHIVE@}-$TAR_VOLUME >&$TAR_FD
10943 The same script can be used while listing, comparing or extracting
10944 from the created archive. For example:
10948 # @r{Create a multi-volume archive:}
10949 $ @kbd{tar -c -L1024 -f archive.tar -F new-volume .}
10950 # @r{Extract from the created archive:}
10951 $ @kbd{tar -x -f archive.tar -F new-volume .}
10956 Notice, that the first command had to use @option{-L} option, since
10957 otherwise @GNUTAR{} will end up writing everything to file
10958 @file{archive.tar}.
10960 You can read each individual volume of a multi-volume archive as if it
10961 were an archive by itself. For example, to list the contents of one
10962 volume, use @option{--list}, without @option{--multi-volume} specified.
10963 To extract an archive member from one volume (assuming it is described
10964 that volume), use @option{--extract}, again without
10965 @option{--multi-volume}.
10967 If an archive member is split across volumes (i.e., its entry begins on
10968 one volume of the media and ends on another), you need to specify
10969 @option{--multi-volume} to extract it successfully. In this case, you
10970 should load the volume where the archive member starts, and use
10971 @samp{tar --extract --multi-volume}---@command{tar} will prompt for later
10972 volumes as it needs them. @xref{extracting archives}, for more
10973 information about extracting archives.
10975 Multi-volume archives can be modified like any other archive. To add
10976 files to a multi-volume archive, you need to only mount the last
10977 volume of the archive media (and new volumes, if needed). For all
10978 other operations, you need to use the entire archive.
10980 If a multi-volume archive was labeled using
10981 @option{--label=@var{archive-label}} (@pxref{label}) when it was
10982 created, @command{tar} will not automatically label volumes which are
10983 added later. To label subsequent volumes, specify
10984 @option{--label=@var{archive-label}} again in conjunction with the
10985 @option{--append}, @option{--update} or @option{--concatenate} operation.
10987 Notice that multi-volume support is a GNU extension and the archives
10988 created in this mode should be read only using @GNUTAR{}. If you
10989 absolutely have to process such archives using a third-party @command{tar}
10990 implementation, read @ref{Split Recovery}.
10993 @subsection Tape Files
10996 To give the archive a name which will be recorded in it, use the
10997 @option{--label=@var{volume-label}} (@option{-V @var{volume-label}})
10998 option. This will write a special block identifying
10999 @var{volume-label} as the name of the archive to the front of the
11000 archive which will be displayed when the archive is listed with
11001 @option{--list}. If you are creating a multi-volume archive with
11002 @option{--multi-volume} (@pxref{Using Multiple Tapes}), then the
11003 volume label will have @samp{Volume @var{nnn}} appended to the name
11004 you give, where @var{nnn} is the number of the volume of the archive.
11005 (If you use the @option{--label=@var{volume-label}}) option when
11006 reading an archive, it checks to make sure the label on the tape
11007 matches the one you give. @xref{label}.
11009 When @command{tar} writes an archive to tape, it creates a single
11010 tape file. If multiple archives are written to the same tape, one
11011 after the other, they each get written as separate tape files. When
11012 extracting, it is necessary to position the tape at the right place
11013 before running @command{tar}. To do this, use the @command{mt} command.
11014 For more information on the @command{mt} command and on the organization
11015 of tapes into a sequence of tape files, see @ref{mt}.
11017 People seem to often do:
11020 @kbd{--label="@var{some-prefix} `date +@var{some-format}`"}
11023 or such, for pushing a common date in all volumes or an archive set.
11026 @subsection Concatenate Volumes into a Single Archive
11029 Sometimes it is necessary to convert existing @GNUTAR{} multi-volume
11030 archive to a single @command{tar} archive. Simply concatenating all
11031 volumes into one will not work, since each volume carries an additional
11032 information at the beginning. @GNUTAR{} is shipped with the shell
11033 script @command{tarcat} designed for this purpose.
11035 The script takes a list of files comprising a multi-volume archive
11036 and creates the resulting archive at the standard output. For example:
11039 @kbd{tarcat vol.1 vol.2 vol.3 | tar tf -}
11042 The script implements a simple heuristics to determine the format of
11043 the first volume file and to decide how to process the rest of the
11044 files. However, it makes no attempt to verify whether the files are
11045 given in order or even if they are valid @command{tar} archives.
11046 It uses @command{dd} and does not filter its standard error, so you
11047 will usually see lots of spurious messages.
11049 @FIXME{The script is not installed. Should we install it?}
11052 @section Including a Label in the Archive
11053 @cindex Labeling an archive
11054 @cindex Labels on the archive media
11055 @cindex Labeling multi-volume archives
11059 To avoid problems caused by misplaced paper labels on the archive
11060 media, you can include a @dfn{label} entry---an archive member which
11061 contains the name of the archive---in the archive itself. Use the
11062 @option{--label=@var{archive-label}} (@option{-V @var{archive-label}})
11063 option in conjunction with the @option{--create} operation to include
11064 a label entry in the archive as it is being created.
11067 @item --label=@var{archive-label}
11068 @itemx -V @var{archive-label}
11069 Includes an @dfn{archive-label} at the beginning of the archive when
11070 the archive is being created, when used in conjunction with the
11071 @option{--create} operation. Checks to make sure the archive label
11072 matches the one specified (when used in conjunction with any other
11076 If you create an archive using both
11077 @option{--label=@var{archive-label}} (@option{-V @var{archive-label}})
11078 and @option{--multi-volume} (@option{-M}), each volume of the archive
11079 will have an archive label of the form @samp{@var{archive-label}
11080 Volume @var{n}}, where @var{n} is 1 for the first volume, 2 for the
11081 next, and so on. @xref{Using Multiple Tapes}, for information on
11082 creating multiple volume archives.
11084 @cindex Volume label, listing
11085 @cindex Listing volume label
11086 The volume label will be displayed by @option{--list} along with
11087 the file contents. If verbose display is requested, it will also be
11088 explicitly marked as in the example below:
11092 $ @kbd{tar --verbose --list --file=iamanarchive}
11093 V--------- 0 0 0 1992-03-07 12:01 iamalabel--Volume Header--
11094 -rw-r--r-- ringo user 40 1990-05-21 13:30 iamafilename
11098 @opindex test-label
11099 @anchor{--test-label option}
11100 However, @option{--list} option will cause listing entire
11101 contents of the archive, which may be undesirable (for example, if the
11102 archive is stored on a tape). You can request checking only the volume
11103 by specifying @option{--test-label} option. This option reads only the
11104 first block of an archive, so it can be used with slow storage
11105 devices. For example:
11109 $ @kbd{tar --test-label --file=iamanarchive}
11114 If @option{--test-label} is used with a single command line
11115 argument, @command{tar} compares the volume label with the
11116 argument. It exits with code 0 if the two strings match, and with code
11117 2 otherwise. In this case no output is displayed. For example:
11121 $ @kbd{tar --test-label --file=iamanarchive 'iamalable'}
11123 $ @kbd{tar --test-label --file=iamanarchive 'iamalable' alabel}
11128 If you request any operation, other than @option{--create}, along
11129 with using @option{--label} option, @command{tar} will first check if
11130 the archive label matches the one specified and will refuse to proceed
11131 if it does not. Use this as a safety precaution to avoid accidentally
11132 overwriting existing archives. For example, if you wish to add files
11133 to @file{archive}, presumably labeled with string @samp{My volume},
11138 $ @kbd{tar -rf archive --label 'My volume' .}
11139 tar: Archive not labeled to match `My volume'
11144 in case its label does not match. This will work even if
11145 @file{archive} is not labeled at all.
11147 Similarly, @command{tar} will refuse to list or extract the
11148 archive if its label doesn't match the @var{archive-label}
11149 specified. In those cases, @var{archive-label} argument is interpreted
11150 as a globbing-style pattern which must match the actual magnetic
11151 volume label. @xref{exclude}, for a precise description of how match
11152 is attempted@footnote{Previous versions of @command{tar} used full
11153 regular expression matching, or before that, only exact string
11154 matching, instead of wildcard matchers. We decided for the sake of
11155 simplicity to use a uniform matching device through
11156 @command{tar}.}. If the switch @option{--multi-volume} (@option{-M}) is being used,
11157 the volume label matcher will also suffix @var{archive-label} by
11158 @w{@samp{ Volume [1-9]*}} if the initial match fails, before giving
11159 up. Since the volume numbering is automatically added in labels at
11160 creation time, it sounded logical to equally help the user taking care
11161 of it when the archive is being read.
11163 The @option{--label} was once called @option{--volume}, but is not
11164 available under that name anymore.
11166 You can also use @option{--label} to get a common information on
11167 all tapes of a series. For having this information different in each
11168 series created through a single script used on a regular basis, just
11169 manage to get some date string as part of the label. For example:
11173 $ @kbd{tar cfMV /dev/tape "Daily backup for `date +%Y-%m-%d`"}
11174 $ @kbd{tar --create --file=/dev/tape --multi-volume \
11175 --volume="Daily backup for `date +%Y-%m-%d`"}
11179 Also note that each label has its own date and time, which corresponds
11180 to when @GNUTAR{} initially attempted to write it,
11181 often soon after the operator launches @command{tar} or types the
11182 carriage return telling that the next tape is ready. Comparing date
11183 labels does give an idea of tape throughput only if the delays for
11184 rewinding tapes and the operator switching them were negligible, which
11185 is usually not the case.
11188 @section Verifying Data as It is Stored
11189 @cindex Verifying a write operation
11190 @cindex Double-checking a write operation
11195 @opindex verify, short description
11196 Attempt to verify the archive after writing.
11199 This option causes @command{tar} to verify the archive after writing it.
11200 Each volume is checked after it is written, and any discrepancies
11201 are recorded on the standard error output.
11203 Verification requires that the archive be on a back-space-able medium.
11204 This means pipes, some cartridge tape drives, and some other devices
11205 cannot be verified.
11207 You can insure the accuracy of an archive by comparing files in the
11208 system with archive members. @command{tar} can compare an archive to the
11209 file system as the archive is being written, to verify a write
11210 operation, or can compare a previously written archive, to insure that
11213 @xopindex{verify, using with @option{--create}}
11214 @xopindex{create, using with @option{--verify}}
11215 To check for discrepancies in an archive immediately after it is
11216 written, use the @option{--verify} (@option{-W}) option in conjunction with
11217 the @option{--create} operation. When this option is
11218 specified, @command{tar} checks archive members against their counterparts
11219 in the file system, and reports discrepancies on the standard error.
11221 To verify an archive, you must be able to read it from before the end
11222 of the last written entry. This option is useful for detecting data
11223 errors on some tapes. Archives written to pipes, some cartridge tape
11224 drives, and some other devices cannot be verified.
11226 One can explicitly compare an already made archive with the file
11227 system by using the @option{--compare} (@option{--diff}, @option{-d})
11228 option, instead of using the more automatic @option{--verify} option.
11231 Note that these two options have a slightly different intent. The
11232 @option{--compare} option checks how identical are the logical contents of some
11233 archive with what is on your disks, while the @option{--verify} option is
11234 really for checking if the physical contents agree and if the recording
11235 media itself is of dependable quality. So, for the @option{--verify}
11236 operation, @command{tar} tries to defeat all in-memory cache pertaining to
11237 the archive, while it lets the speed optimization undisturbed for the
11238 @option{--compare} option. If you nevertheless use @option{--compare} for
11239 media verification, you may have to defeat the in-memory cache yourself,
11240 maybe by opening and reclosing the door latch of your recording unit,
11241 forcing some doubt in your operating system about the fact this is really
11242 the same volume as the one just written or read.
11244 The @option{--verify} option would not be necessary if drivers were indeed
11245 able to detect dependably all write failures. This sometimes require many
11246 magnetic heads, some able to read after the writes occurred. One would
11247 not say that drivers unable to detect all cases are necessarily flawed,
11248 as long as programming is concerned.
11250 The @option{--verify} (@option{-W}) option will not work in
11251 conjunction with the @option{--multi-volume} (@option{-M}) option or
11252 the @option{--append} (@option{-r}), @option{--update} (@option{-u})
11253 and @option{--delete} operations. @xref{Operations}, for more
11254 information on these operations.
11256 Also, since @command{tar} normally strips leading @samp{/} from file
11257 names (@pxref{absolute}), a command like @samp{tar --verify -cf
11258 /tmp/foo.tar /etc} will work as desired only if the working directory is
11259 @file{/}, as @command{tar} uses the archive's relative member names
11260 (e.g., @file{etc/motd}) when verifying the archive.
11262 @node Write Protection
11263 @section Write Protection
11265 Almost all tapes and diskettes, and in a few rare cases, even disks can
11266 be @dfn{write protected}, to protect data on them from being changed.
11267 Once an archive is written, you should write protect the media to prevent
11268 the archive from being accidentally overwritten or deleted. (This will
11269 protect the archive from being changed with a tape or floppy drive---it
11270 will not protect it from magnet fields or other physical hazards).
11272 The write protection device itself is usually an integral part of the
11273 physical media, and can be a two position (write enabled/write
11274 disabled) switch, a notch which can be popped out or covered, a ring
11275 which can be removed from the center of a tape reel, or some other
11276 changeable feature.
11281 This appendix lists some important user-visible changes between
11282 version @GNUTAR{} @value{VERSION} and previous versions. An up-to-date
11283 version of this document is available at
11284 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/@/software/@/tar/manual/changes.html,the
11285 @GNUTAR{} documentation page}.
11288 @item Use of globbing patterns when listing and extracting.
11290 Previous versions of GNU tar assumed shell-style globbing when
11291 extracting from or listing an archive. For example:
11294 $ @kbd{tar xf foo.tar '*.c'}
11297 would extract all files whose names end in @samp{.c}. This behavior
11298 was not documented and was incompatible with traditional tar
11299 implementations. Therefore, starting from version 1.15.91, GNU tar
11300 no longer uses globbing by default. For example, the above invocation
11301 is now interpreted as a request to extract from the archive the file
11304 To facilitate transition to the new behavior for those users who got
11305 used to the previous incorrect one, @command{tar} will print a warning
11306 if it finds out that a requested member was not found in the archive
11307 and its name looks like a globbing pattern. For example:
11310 $ @kbd{tar xf foo.tar '*.c'}
11311 tar: Pattern matching characters used in file names. Please,
11312 tar: use --wildcards to enable pattern matching, or --no-wildcards to
11313 tar: suppress this warning.
11314 tar: *.c: Not found in archive
11315 tar: Error exit delayed from previous errors
11318 To treat member names as globbing patterns, use --wildcards option.
11319 If you want to tar to mimic the behavior of versions prior to 1.15.91,
11320 add this option to your @env{TAR_OPTIONS} variable.
11322 @xref{wildcards}, for the detailed discussion of the use of globbing
11323 patterns by @GNUTAR{}.
11325 @item Use of short option @option{-o}.
11327 Earlier versions of @GNUTAR{} understood @option{-o} command line
11328 option as a synonym for @option{--old-archive}.
11330 @GNUTAR{} starting from version 1.13.90 understands this option as
11331 a synonym for @option{--no-same-owner}. This is compatible with
11332 UNIX98 @command{tar} implementations.
11334 However, to facilitate transition, @option{-o} option retains its
11335 old semantics when it is used with one of archive-creation commands.
11336 Users are encouraged to use @option{--format=oldgnu} instead.
11338 It is especially important, since versions of @acronym{GNU} Automake
11339 up to and including 1.8.4 invoke tar with this option to produce
11340 distribution tarballs. @xref{Formats,v7}, for the detailed discussion
11341 of this issue and its implications.
11343 @FIXME{Change the first argument to tar-formats when the new Automake is
11344 out. The proposition to add @anchor{} to the appropriate place of its
11345 docs was accepted by Automake people --Sergey 2006-05-25}.
11346 @xref{Options, tar-v7, Changing Automake's Behavior,
11347 automake, GNU Automake}, for a description on how to use various
11348 archive formats with @command{automake}.
11350 Future versions of @GNUTAR{} will understand @option{-o} only as a
11351 synonym for @option{--no-same-owner}.
11353 @item Use of short option @option{-l}
11355 Earlier versions of @GNUTAR{} understood @option{-l} option as a
11356 synonym for @option{--one-file-system}. Since such usage contradicted
11357 to UNIX98 specification and harmed compatibility with other
11358 implementation, it was declared deprecated in version 1.14. However,
11359 to facilitate transition to its new semantics, it was supported by
11360 versions 1.15 and 1.15.90. The present use of @option{-l} as a short
11361 variant of @option{--check-links} was introduced in version 1.15.91.
11363 @item Use of options @option{--portability} and @option{--old-archive}
11365 These options are deprecated. Please use @option{--format=v7} instead.
11367 @item Use of option @option{--posix}
11369 This option is deprecated. Please use @option{--format=posix} instead.
11372 @node Configuring Help Summary
11373 @appendix Configuring Help Summary
11375 Running @kbd{tar --help} displays the short @command{tar} option
11376 summary (@pxref{help}). This summary is organized by @dfn{groups} of
11377 semantically close options. The options within each group are printed
11378 in the following order: a short option, eventually followed by a list
11379 of corresponding long option names, followed by a short description of
11380 the option. For example, here is an excerpt from the actual @kbd{tar
11384 Main operation mode:
11386 -A, --catenate, --concatenate append tar files to an archive
11387 -c, --create create a new archive
11388 -d, --diff, --compare find differences between archive and
11390 --delete delete from the archive
11393 @vrindex ARGP_HELP_FMT, environment variable
11394 The exact visual representation of the help output is configurable via
11395 @env{ARGP_HELP_FMT} environment variable. The value of this variable
11396 is a comma-separated list of @dfn{format variable} assignments. There
11397 are two kinds of format variables. An @dfn{offset variable} keeps the
11398 offset of some part of help output text from the leftmost column on
11399 the screen. A @dfn{boolean} variable is a flag that toggles some
11400 output feature on or off. Depending on the type of the corresponding
11401 variable, there are two kinds of assignments:
11404 @item Offset assignment
11406 The assignment to an offset variable has the following syntax:
11409 @var{variable}=@var{value}
11413 where @var{variable} is the variable name, and @var{value} is a
11414 numeric value to be assigned to the variable.
11416 @item Boolean assignment
11418 To assign @code{true} value to a variable, simply put this variable name. To
11419 assign @code{false} value, prefix the variable name with @samp{no-}. For
11424 # Assign @code{true} value:
11426 # Assign @code{false} value:
11432 Following variables are declared:
11434 @deftypevr {Help Output} boolean dup-args
11435 If true, arguments for an option are shown with both short and long
11436 options, even when a given option has both forms, for example:
11439 -f ARCHIVE, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
11442 If false, then if an option has both short and long forms, the
11443 argument is only shown with the long one, for example:
11446 -f, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
11450 and a message indicating that the argument is applicable to both
11451 forms is printed below the options. This message can be disabled
11452 using @code{dup-args-note} (see below).
11454 The default is false.
11457 @deftypevr {Help Output} boolean dup-args-note
11458 If this variable is true, which is the default, the following notice
11459 is displayed at the end of the help output:
11462 Mandatory or optional arguments to long options are also mandatory or
11463 optional for any corresponding short options.
11466 Setting @code{no-dup-args-note} inhibits this message. Normally, only one of
11467 variables @code{dup-args} or @code{dup-args-note} should be set.
11470 @deftypevr {Help Output} offset short-opt-col
11471 Column in which short options start. Default is 2.
11475 $ @kbd{tar --help|grep ARCHIVE}
11476 -f, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
11477 $ @kbd{ARGP_HELP_FMT=short-opt-col=6 tar --help|grep ARCHIVE}
11478 -f, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
11483 @deftypevr {Help Output} offset long-opt-col
11484 Column in which long options start. Default is 6. For example:
11488 $ @kbd{tar --help|grep ARCHIVE}
11489 -f, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
11490 $ @kbd{ARGP_HELP_FMT=long-opt-col=16 tar --help|grep ARCHIVE}
11491 -f, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
11496 @deftypevr {Help Output} offset doc-opt-col
11497 Column in which @dfn{doc options} start. A doc option isn't actually
11498 an option, but rather an arbitrary piece of documentation that is
11499 displayed in much the same manner as the options. For example, in
11500 the description of @option{--format} option:
11504 -H, --format=FORMAT create archive of the given format.
11506 FORMAT is one of the following:
11508 gnu GNU tar 1.13.x format
11509 oldgnu GNU format as per tar <= 1.12
11510 pax POSIX 1003.1-2001 (pax) format
11512 ustar POSIX 1003.1-1988 (ustar) format
11513 v7 old V7 tar format
11518 the format names are doc options. Thus, if you set
11519 @kbd{ARGP_HELP_FMT=doc-opt-col=6} the above part of the help output
11520 will look as follows:
11524 -H, --format=FORMAT create archive of the given format.
11526 FORMAT is one of the following:
11528 gnu GNU tar 1.13.x format
11529 oldgnu GNU format as per tar <= 1.12
11530 pax POSIX 1003.1-2001 (pax) format
11532 ustar POSIX 1003.1-1988 (ustar) format
11533 v7 old V7 tar format
11538 @deftypevr {Help Output} offset opt-doc-col
11539 Column in which option description starts. Default is 29.
11543 $ @kbd{tar --help|grep ARCHIVE}
11544 -f, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
11545 $ @kbd{ARGP_HELP_FMT=opt-doc-col=19 tar --help|grep ARCHIVE}
11546 -f, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
11547 $ @kbd{ARGP_HELP_FMT=opt-doc-col=9 tar --help|grep ARCHIVE}
11549 use archive file or device ARCHIVE
11554 Notice, that the description starts on a separate line if
11555 @code{opt-doc-col} value is too small.
11558 @deftypevr {Help Output} offset header-col
11559 Column in which @dfn{group headers} are printed. A group header is a
11560 descriptive text preceding an option group. For example, in the
11564 Main operation mode:
11566 -A, --catenate, --concatenate append tar files to
11568 -c, --create create a new archive
11571 @samp{Main operation mode:} is the group header.
11573 The default value is 1.
11576 @deftypevr {Help Output} offset usage-indent
11577 Indentation of wrapped usage lines. Affects @option{--usage}
11578 output. Default is 12.
11581 @deftypevr {Help Output} offset rmargin
11582 Right margin of the text output. Used for wrapping.
11585 @node Fixing Snapshot Files
11586 @appendix Fixing Snapshot Files
11587 @include tar-snapshot-edit.texi
11589 @node Tar Internals
11590 @appendix Tar Internals
11591 @include intern.texi
11595 @include genfile.texi
11597 @node Free Software Needs Free Documentation
11598 @appendix Free Software Needs Free Documentation
11599 @include freemanuals.texi
11601 @node Copying This Manual
11602 @appendix Copying This Manual
11605 * GNU Free Documentation License:: License for copying this manual
11610 @node Index of Command Line Options
11611 @appendix Index of Command Line Options
11613 This appendix contains an index of all @GNUTAR{} long command line
11614 options. The options are listed without the preceding double-dash.
11615 For a cross-reference of short command line options, @ref{Short Option Summary}.
11628 @c Local variables:
11629 @c texinfo-column-for-description: 32
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