The built-in support in modern Windows makes .tar.gz almost as easy as ZIP, removing the need for most third-party tools for basic tasks. # Extract tar -xvzf file.tar.gz Extract to folder tar -xvzf file.tar.gz -C "target_folder" Create tar -czvf archive.tar.gz folder1 folder2 file.txt List tar -tzvf file.tar.gz
Note: On Windows PowerShell, tar works the same. On Command Prompt, avoid using curly braces {} for options grouping. This write-up gives you both the practical steps and the deeper understanding needed to work confidently with .tar.gz files on Windows. tar gz on windows
| Tool | Key Features | Cost | |------|--------------|------| | | High compression ratio, right-click integration, supports many formats | Free (open source) | | WinRAR | Fast, reliable, supports RAR/zip/tar | Trial (40 days) | | PeaZip | Portable version available, strong encryption | Free | | Bandizip | Modern UI, fast extraction | Free for basic use | The built-in support in modern Windows makes
# Inside WSL (Ubuntu, Debian, etc.) tar -xvzf /mnt/c/Users/YourName/archive.tar.gz -C /home/username/ This is the if you need to preserve Unix permissions or exchange archives with Linux servers. Final Recommendation | Scenario | Best Approach | |----------|----------------| | Casual extraction on Windows 10/11 | Native tar in Command Prompt or PowerShell | | One-click GUI extraction | Right-click → Extract All (Windows 11) or 7-Zip | | Creating .tar.gz on Windows | Native tar (command line) or 7-Zip | | Working with Linux permissions / symlinks | Use WSL and native Linux tar | | Older Windows (7/8) | Install 7-Zip | This write-up gives you both the practical steps