Does this work with the tar installed on macOS?

The output targets GNU tar. macOS commonly ships a different tar implementation; check support for every generated option or use GNU tar. The generated commands assume a POSIX shell, not PowerShell or cmd.exe.

Is the archive path relative to the source base directory?

No. A relative --file path is resolved from the terminal's working directory. --directory changes the base for source paths during creation or the destination during extraction.

Does refusing overwrites make extracting an unknown archive safe?

No. --keep-old-files refuses existing files but is not a security audit or a sandbox. Inspect the listing and extract without root privileges into an existing empty directory; other archive risks still apply.

Does the tool save paths or upload files?

No. It only generates command text in the browser and does not save the input. It cannot inspect local files, check available compression programs, or verify an archive.

tar Command Builder

Runs locally; inputs are not uploaded or saved. Generates commands for GNU tar on a POSIX shell. No files are read, archived, or extracted by this page.

Operation Archive filename (relative to terminal directory, or absolute) Source base directory Compression for creation (filename is not changed automatically)

Relative source paths (one literal path per line; . means the entire base)

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GNU tar exclude patterns (optional, one per line)

Verbose filenames

Base/destination directories must start with / or ./ and cannot contain .. segments or wildcards. Paths are literal: no tilde, variable, or shell-glob expansion. Excludes accept GNU tar patterns. Compression programs must be installed separately.

Command

Generated GNU tar command

Learn

tar Command Builder Guide

About this tool

Generate GNU tar commands for creating, listing, and extracting archive files. Creation supports gzip, bzip2, xz, zstd, and no compression, with relative source paths and exclude patterns. Extraction defaults to refusing existing files and provides a separate listing command. The browser does not process archives or run commands.

Questions

Does this work with the tar installed on macOS?: The output targets GNU tar. macOS commonly ships a different tar implementation; check support for every generated option or use GNU tar. The generated commands assume a POSIX shell, not PowerShell or cmd.exe.
Is the archive path relative to the source base directory?: No. A relative –file path is resolved from the terminal’s working directory. –directory changes the base for source paths during creation or the destination during extraction.
Does refusing overwrites make extracting an unknown archive safe?: No. –keep-old-files refuses existing files but is not a security audit or a sandbox. Inspect the listing and extract without root privileges into an existing empty directory; other archive risks still apply.
Does the tool save paths or upload files?: No. It only generates command text in the browser and does not save the input. It cannot inspect local files, check available compression programs, or verify an archive.