Open a TAR or TAR.GZ file
Unpack the archives that come out of Linux and macOS without opening a terminal. TAR, TAR.GZ, TGZ and plain GZ are all read here, on your own device.
- Processed on your device
- No upload, no waiting
- No signup, no watermark
How it works
Add your archive
TAR, TAR.GZ, TGZ or a single gzipped file. Compressed ones are decompressed first, automatically.
Look inside
Every file is listed with its size and folder. Links are shown as links rather than followed.
Take what you want
Download one file, or all of them together as a ZIP that opens anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between .tar and .tar.gz?
A .tar is not compressed at all — it just glues files together into one, keeping their names and folders. A .tar.gz is that same bundle with gzip wrapped around the whole thing. Gluing first and compressing second is why .tar.gz is often SMALLER than a ZIP of the same files: gzip sees every file as one continuous stream and can spot repetition across the boundaries between them, where a ZIP compresses each file separately and starts afresh every time.
Is my archive uploaded?
No. The archive is opened on your own device, by code that runs inside this page. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and it works with the Wi-Fi switched off once the page has loaded. That matters more for archives than for most files — a zip of your tax returns or a backup of a folder is exactly the kind of thing that should not be handed to a stranger's server.
Do long file names work?
Yes. The original tar format could not store a name longer than 100 characters, and two incompatible extensions grew to fix that — GNU's and POSIX pax. Both are read here, so an archive from any real system unpacks with its names intact.
What happens to symbolic links?
They are listed, with what they point at, but never followed. Following a link inside an archive is one of the classic ways an extractor gets talked into writing somewhere it should not, so it is simply not done.
Is there a size limit?
Your device's memory, rather than a server's upload cap. Very large archives are opened a file at a time where the format allows it, so a big ZIP lists instantly and only the file you ask for is unpacked.
Is it safe to open a TAR from someone I do not know?
Archives are the one kind of file whose CONTENTS can be hostile, so two old attacks are handled before you see anything. A file inside an archive can be named "../../something" to try to escape the folder it is unpacked into — those names are clamped and you are told which ones were changed. And an archive can be a few kilobytes that unpacks to terabytes, which would take the browser tab down with it; that is measured and refused rather than attempted.