| Extension | TAR |
| Full Name | TAR |
| Type | Archive |
| Mime Type | application/octet-stream |
| Format | Binary |
A TAR file, short for Tape Archive, is a type of computer file format used for archiving and bundling multiple files together into a single file. It is often used in Unix and Unix-like operating systems but can be found and used on other platforms as well. The TAR format does not perform compression by itself; it simply collects multiple files and directories into one unit, maintaining their individual properties such as file permissions, timestamps, and ownership information. Because of this, TAR files are commonly used as a container for transferring and storing files while preserving their original attributes.
When creating a TAR file, all the specified files and directories are gathered and stored sequentially in the archive, which is later used for distribution, backup, or transportation. The TAR format is particularly useful for creating backups, as it enables easy preservation of directory structures and metadata. However, since TAR files are not compressed, they tend to be larger than their compressed counterparts like ZIP or GZIP archives. As a result, it is common to combine TAR files with compression algorithms (like GZIP or BZIP2) to create compressed TAR archives (e.g., .tar.gz or .tar.bz2) that reduce file size while maintaining the original structure and information.
TAR Converter Capabilities
Currently our TAR converter can only convert from TAR files, our developers are working to allow converting to TAR files in future versions of our tools.
