GNU Info

(tar.info)Top

---

Next: Introduction Up: (dir)

---

Enter node , (file) or (file)node

GNU tar: an archiver tool
*************************

   GNU `tar' creates and extracts files from archives.

   This manual documents version 1.13.24 of GNU `tar'.

   The first part of this master menu lists the major nodes in this Info
document.  The rest of the menu lists all the lower level nodes.

Introduction

Tutorial

tar invocation

operations

Backups

Choosing

Date input formats

Formats

Media

Free Software Needs Free Documentation

Copying This Manual

Index

 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---

Introduction

Book Contents

What this Book Contains

Definitions

Some Definitions

What tar Does

What `tar' Does

Naming tar Archives

How `tar' Archives are Named

posix compliance

Authors

GNU `tar' Authors

Reports

Reporting bugs or suggestions

Tutorial Introduction to `tar'

assumptions

stylistic conventions

basic tar options

Basic `tar' Operations and Options

frequent operations

Two Frequent Options

create

How to Create Archives

list

How to List Archives

extract

How to Extract Members from an Archive

going further

Two Frequently Used Options

file tutorial

verbose tutorial

help tutorial

How to Create Archives

prepare for examples

Creating the archive

create verbose

short create

create dir

How to List Archives

list dir

How to Extract Members from an Archive

extracting archives

extracting files

extract dir

failing commands

Invoking GNU `tar'

Synopsis

using tar options

Styles

All Options

help

verbose

interactive

The Three Option Styles

Mnemonic Options

Mnemonic Option Style

Short Options

Short Option Style

Old Options

Old Option Style

Mixing

Mixing Option Styles

All `tar' Options

Operation Summary

Option Summary

Short Option Summary

GNU `tar' Operations

Basic tar

Advanced tar

create options

extract options

backup

Applications

looking ahead

Advanced GNU `tar' Operations

Operations

current state

append

update

concatenate

delete

compare

How to Add Files to Existing Archives: `--append'

appending files

Appending Files to an Archive

multiple

Updating an Archive

how to update

Options Used by `--create'

Ignore Failed Read

Options Used by `--extract'

Reading

Options to Help Read Archives

Writing

Changing How `tar' Writes Files

Scarce

Coping with Scarce Resources

Options to Help Read Archives

read full records

Ignore Zeros

Changing How `tar' Writes Files

Dealing with Old Files

Overwrite Old Files

Keep Old Files

Unlink First

Recursive Unlink

Modification Times

Setting Access Permissions

Writing to Standard Output

remove files

Coping with Scarce Resources

Starting File

Same Order

Performing Backups and Restoring Files

Full Dumps

Using `tar' to Perform Full Dumps

Inc Dumps

Using `tar' to Perform Incremental Dumps

incremental and listed-incremental

The Incremental Options

Backup Levels

Levels of Backups

Backup Parameters

Setting Parameters for Backups and Restoration

Scripted Backups

Using the Backup Scripts

Scripted Restoration

Using the Restore Script

Setting Parameters for Backups and Restoration

backup-specs example

An Example Text of `Backup-specs'

Script Syntax

Syntax for `Backup-specs'

Choosing Files and Names for `tar'

file

Choosing the Archive's Name

Selecting Archive Members

files

Reading Names from a File

exclude

Excluding Some Files

Wildcards

after

Operating Only on New Files

recurse

Descending into Directories

one

Crossing Filesystem Boundaries

Reading Names from a File

nul

Excluding Some Files

controlling pattern-patching with exclude

problems with exclude

Crossing Filesystem Boundaries

directory

Changing Directory

absolute

Absolute File Names

Date input formats

General date syntax

Common rules.

Calendar date items

19 Dec 1994.

Time of day items

9:20pm.

Time zone items

EST, PDT, GMT, ...

Day of week items

Monday and others.

Relative items in date strings

next tuesday, 2 years ago.

Pure numbers in date strings

19931219, 1440.

Authors of getdate

Bellovin, Eggert, Salz, Berets, et al.

Controlling the Archive Format

Portability

Making `tar' Archives More Portable

Compression

Using Less Space through Compression

Attributes

Handling File Attributes

Standard

The Standard Format

Extensions

GNU Extensions to the Archive Format

cpio

Comparison of `tar' and `cpio'

Making `tar' Archives More Portable

Portable Names

Portable Names

dereference

Symbolic Links

old

Old V7 Archives

posix

POSIX archives

Checksumming

Checksumming Problems

Large or Negative Values

Large files, negative time stamps, etc.

Using Less Space through Compression

gzip

Creating and Reading Compressed Archives

sparse

Archiving Sparse Files

Tapes and Other Archive Media

Device

Device selection and switching

Remote Tape Server

Common Problems and Solutions

Blocking

Blocking

Many

Many archives on one tape

Using Multiple Tapes

Using Multiple Tapes

label

Including a Label in the Archive

verify

Write Protection

Blocking

Format Variations

Format Variations

Blocking Factor

The Blocking Factor of an Archive

Many Archives on One Tape

Tape Positioning

Tape Positions and Tape Marks

mt

The `mt' Utility

Using Multiple Tapes

Multi-Volume Archives

Archives Longer than One Tape or Disk

Tape Files

Tape Files

Copying This Manual

GNU Free Documentation License

License for copying this manual