tar -czf: create a .tar.gz archive of a directory

updated 2026-10-23

tool: tar
versions: GNU tar 1.30+, bsdtar 3.x
os: linux, macos, windows

tar -czf archive.tar.gz folder/ creates a gzip-compressed archive of folder and everything inside it. The letters mean create, compress with gzip, and file name follows, so -f must be last in the group and directly before the archive name. List several paths to put them all in one archive, add -v to print each file as it is added, and use -C DIR to archive a directory without its parent path.

Example

bash

mkdir -p project/src project/docs
printf 'console.log(1)\n' > project/src/index.js
printf '# Demo\n' > project/docs/README.md
tar -czf project.tar.gz project
tar -tzf project.tar.gz | sort
echo ===
tar -czf docs-only.tar.gz -C project docs
tar -tzf docs-only.tar.gz | sort

Output

project/
project/docs/
project/docs/README.md
project/src/
project/src/index.js
===
docs/
docs/README.md

The first archive contains the project/ directory with its full tree. The second uses -C project to change into project first, so the members start at docs/. tar -tzf lists the members without extracting, which is the quickest check that the archive holds what you expected.

Options

Option	Meaning
-c	Create a new archive (overwrites an existing file with the same name)
-z	Compress with gzip; -j bzip2, -J xz, --zstd zstd
-f FILE	Archive file name; - means standard output
-v	Print each file name as it is added
-C DIR	Change to DIR before adding the following paths
--exclude=PATTERN	Skip matching files; put it before the paths
-a	Pick the compressor from the archive suffix (.tar.gz, .tar.xz)
-h	Archive the files symlinks point to, not the links
--remove-files	Delete the original files after adding them (GNU; use with care)

Other formats and targets

Command	Creates
tar -cf out.tar dir	Uncompressed tar
tar -cjf out.tar.bz2 dir	bzip2-compressed tar
tar -cJf out.tar.xz dir	xz-compressed tar (small, slow)
tar --zstd -cf out.tar.zst dir	zstd-compressed tar (GNU tar 1.31+, needs zstd)
tar -caf out.tar.xz dir	Compressor chosen from the suffix
tar -czf - dir \| ssh host "cat > dir.tar.gz"	Stream the archive to another machine
tar -czf backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz dir	Date in the file name, for example backup-2026-10-23.tar.gz

Pitfalls

-f in the wrong place. In tar -cfz out.tar.gz dir the archive name becomes z, so tar writes an uncompressed archive called z and fails with out.tar.gz: Cannot stat: No such file or directory, because it treats out.tar.gz as an input file. Keep f last: -czf.
Absolute paths. tar -czf etc.tar.gz /etc prints Removing leading '/' from member names and stores etc/.... That is intended; use -C / and a relative path to avoid the message.
No input. tar -czf out.tar.gz with no paths fails with Cowardly refusing to create an empty archive.
Archive inside the source. For an uncompressed archive, GNU tar 1.35 skips it with archive cannot contain itself; not dumped. When the output goes through a compressor tar cannot always tell, so write the archive outside the directory you archive.
Windows. Git Bash ships GNU tar; Windows 10 and later also ship tar.exe (bsdtar) in C:\Windows\System32, which accepts the same -czf form.

Confirm it worked

tar -tzf archive.tar.gz | head lists the first members, and gzip -t archive.tar.gz && echo ok tests the compressed data. A file that is not gzip data fails with gzip: FILE: not in gzip format from gzip -t and gzip: stdin: not in gzip format from tar -tzf.

FAQ

How do I create the archive without the parent folder inside it?

Use -C to change into the directory first and archive its contents, tar -czf site.tar.gz -C /var/www/site . The members then start with ./ instead of var/www/site/.

Is .tgz the same as .tar.gz?

Yes. Both names mean a tar archive compressed with gzip; tar reads them the same way. .tgz is a short form from systems that limited file name extensions.

How do I make a smaller archive?

Use a stronger compressor, -J for xz (.tar.xz) or --zstd for zstd (.tar.zst, GNU tar 1.31+), or set the gzip level with GZIP=-9 or -I 'gzip -9'. xz is the smallest and the slowest; zstd is fast with good ratios.

Sources

commands · tartar -xzf: extract a .tar.gz archiveExtract a .tar.gz archive with tar -xzf archive.tar.gz. Use -C to choose the target directory, -t to list contents first and -v to print each extracted file.commands · tartar --exclude: leave files and directories out of an archivetar --exclude=node_modules --exclude='*.log' leaves files out of an archive. Put excludes before the paths in GNU tar 1.35, pattern rules, and exclude files.errors · tartar: Removing leading `/' from member namesGNU tar prints Removing leading / from member names when archiving an absolute path. The archive is fine; use -C to store relative paths, or -P to keep them.errors · tartar: Cowardly refusing to create an empty archiveGNU tar was asked to create an archive without any file names. Add the files or the directory after the archive name, and keep -f right before the archive.