tar -xzvf file.txt.gz # extracts file.txt Or using gzip -d if available via third-party tools. .tgz is just a shorthand for .tar.gz . All commands above work identically:
On Linux and macOS, tar (Tape ARchiver) and gzip (GNU Zip) are standard command-line tools for creating compressed archive files ( .tar.gz , .tgz ). For decades, Windows users needed third-party tools like 7-Zip, WinRAR, or PeaZip to handle these formats. windows tar gzip
tar -xzvf archive.tgz tar -czvf archive.tgz myfolder\ PowerShell handles tar identically to Command Prompt because it's a native executable. However, PowerShell offers extra convenience: Extract using pipeline (advanced) Get-ChildItem -Path .\*.tar.gz | ForEach-Object tar -xzvf $_.FullName Create with timestamp $date = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd" tar -czvf "backup-$date.tar.gz" C:\ImportantData 8. Third-Party Windows Tools (No Command Line) If you prefer GUI or need compatibility with older Windows: tar -xzvf file
| Tool | Purpose | File Extension | Compression | Speed | |------|---------|----------------|--------------|-------| | tar | Archives multiple files into one (no compression) | .tar | None | Instant | | gzip | Compresses a single file | .gz | Good | Fast | | tar + gzip | Archive + compress together | .tar.gz or .tgz | Good | Fast | For decades, Windows users needed third-party tools like
| Tool | Supports .tar.gz | Free | Notes | |------|----------------|------|-------| | | ✅ | Yes | Can create/extract .tar.gz (right-click → 7-Zip → Add to archive → choose tar → then gzip) | | WinRAR | ✅ | Trial (nagware) | Handles .tar.gz natively | | PeaZip | ✅ | Yes | Open source, many formats | | Bandizip | ✅ | Free (basic) | Fast and clean UI |