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Benno Schulenberg 204b414d11 Add missing option to manpage and remove duplicate operation 
* doc/tar.1: Add needed option -f after operation -A, sort operation -t
  alphabetically, add --file after --concatenate, consistently use long
  option --file in the GNU-style section, and delete duplicate --update.
* doc/tar.texi: Add small missing word, and lowercase a letter.
2023-05-01 20:31:47 +03:00

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\input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
@comment %**start of header
@setfilename tar.info
@include version.texi
@settitle GNU tar @value{VERSION}
@setchapternewpage odd
@documentencoding UTF-8
@c These two commands require Texinfo 5.0; for now use the older
@c equivalent @set commands supported in Texinfo 4.11 and later.
@ignore
@codequotebacktick on
@codequoteundirected on
@end ignore
@set txicodequoteundirected
@set txicodequotebacktick
@finalout
@smallbook
@c %**end of header
@c Maintenance notes:
@c 1. Pay attention to @FIXME{}s and @UNREVISED{}s
@c 2. Before creating final variant:
@c 2.1. Run 'make check-options' to make sure all options are properly
@c documented;
@c 2.2. Run 'make master-menu' (see comment before the master menu).
@include rendition.texi
@include value.texi
@defcodeindex op
@defcodeindex kw
@c Put everything in one index (arbitrarily chosen to be the concept index).
@syncodeindex fn cp
@syncodeindex ky cp
@syncodeindex pg cp
@syncodeindex vr cp
@syncodeindex kw cp
@copying
This manual is for @acronym{GNU} @command{tar} (version
@value{VERSION}, @value{UPDATED}), which creates and extracts files
from archives.
Copyright @copyright{} 1992, 1994--1997, 1999--2001, 2003--2017,
2021--2023 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@quotation
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
Invariant Sections being ``GNU General Public License'', with the
Front-Cover Texts being ``A GNU Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts
as in (a) below. A copy of the license is included in the section
entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have the freedom to
copy and modify this GNU manual.''
@end quotation
@end copying
@dircategory Archiving
@direntry
* Tar: (tar). Making tape (or disk) archives.
@end direntry
@dircategory Individual utilities
@direntry
* tar: (tar)tar invocation. Invoking @GNUTAR{}.
@end direntry
@shorttitlepage @acronym{GNU} @command{tar}
@titlepage
@title @acronym{GNU} tar: an archiver tool
@subtitle @value{RENDITION} @value{VERSION}, @value{UPDATED}
@author John Gilmore, Jay Fenlason et al.
@page
@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
@insertcopying
@end titlepage
@ifnottex
@node Top
@top @acronym{GNU} tar: an archiver tool
@insertcopying
@cindex file archival
@cindex archiving files
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.
@end ifnottex
@c The master menu goes here.
@c
@c NOTE: To update it from within Emacs, make sure mastermenu.el is
@c loaded and run texinfo-master-menu.
@c To update it from the command line, run
@c
@c make master-menu
@menu
* Introduction::
* Tutorial::
* tar invocation::
* operations::
* Backups::
* Choosing::
* Date input formats::
* Formats::
* Media::
* Reliability and security::
Appendices
* Changes::
* Recipes:: Frequently used tar recipes
* Configuring Help Summary::
* Fixing Snapshot Files::
* Tar Internals::
* Genfile::
* GNU Free Documentation License::
* Index of Command Line Options::
* Index::
@detailmenu
--- The Detailed Node Listing ---
Introduction
* Book Contents:: What this Book Contains
* Definitions:: Some Definitions
* What tar Does:: What @command{tar} Does
* Naming tar Archives:: How @command{tar} Archives are Named
* Authors:: @GNUTAR{} Authors
* Reports:: Reporting bugs or suggestions
Tutorial Introduction to @command{tar}
* assumptions::
* stylistic conventions::
* basic tar options:: Basic @command{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::
* extracting untrusted archives::
* failing commands::
Invoking @GNUTAR{}
* Synopsis::
* using tar options::
* Styles::
* All Options:: All @command{tar} Options.
* help:: Where to Get Help.
* defaults:: What are the Default Values.
* verbose:: Checking @command{tar} progress.
* checkpoints:: Checkpoints.
* warnings:: Controlling Warning Messages.
* interactive:: Asking for Confirmation During Operations.
* external:: Running External Commands.
The Three Option Styles
* Long Options:: Long Option Style
* Short Options:: Short Option Style
* Old Options:: Old Option Style
* Mixing:: Mixing Option Styles
All @command{tar} Options
* Operation Summary::
* Option Summary::
* Short Option Summary::
* Position-Sensitive Options::
Controlling Warning Messages
* General Warnings:: Keywords applicable for @command{tar --create}.
* Archive Creation Warnings:: Keywords applicable for @command{tar --create}.
* Archive Extraction Warnings:: Keywords applicable for @command{tar --extract}.
* Incremental Extraction Warnings:: Keywords controlling incremental extraction.
* Warning Classes:: Convenience keywords control multiple warnings.
* Warning Defaults:: Default settings for warnings.
@GNUTAR{} Operations
* Basic tar::
* Advanced tar::
* create options::
* extract options::
* backup::
* looking ahead::
Advanced @GNUTAR{} Operations
* Operations::
* append::
* update::
* concatenate::
* delete::
* compare::
How to Add Files to Existing Archives: @option{--append}
* appending files:: Appending Files to an Archive
* multiple::
Updating an Archive
* how to update::
Options Used by @option{--create}
* override:: Overriding File Metadata.
* Extended File Attributes::
* Ignore Failed Read::
Options Used by @option{--extract}
* Reading:: Options to Help Read Archives
* Writing:: Changing How @command{tar} Writes Files
* Scarce:: Coping with Scarce Resources
Options to Help Read Archives
* read full records::
* Ignore Zeros::
Changing How @command{tar} Writes Files
* Dealing with Old Files::
* Overwrite Old Files::
* Keep Old Files::
* Keep Newer Files::
* Unlink First::
* Recursive Unlink::
* Data Modification Times::
* Setting Access Permissions::
* Directory Modification Times and Permissions::
* Writing to Standard Output::
* Writing to an External Program::
* remove files::
Coping with Scarce Resources
* Starting File::
* Same Order::
Performing Backups and Restoring Files
* Full Dumps:: Using @command{tar} to Perform Full Dumps
* Incremental Dumps:: Using @command{tar} to Perform Incremental Dumps
* 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
* General-Purpose Variables::
* Magnetic Tape Control::
* User Hooks::
* backup-specs example:: An Example Text of @file{Backup-specs}
Choosing Files and Names for @command{tar}
* file:: Choosing the Archive's Name
* Selecting Archive Members::
* files:: Reading Names from a File
* exclude:: Excluding Some Files
* wildcards:: Wildcards Patterns and Matching
* quoting styles:: Ways of Quoting Special Characters in Names
* transform:: Modifying File and Member Names
* after:: Operating Only on New Files
* recurse:: Descending into Directories
* one:: Crossing File System Boundaries
Reading Names from a File
* nul::
Excluding Some Files
* problems with exclude::
Wildcards Patterns and Matching
* controlling pattern-matching::
Crossing File System Boundaries
* directory:: Changing Directory
* absolute:: Absolute File Names
Date input formats
* General date syntax:: Common rules
* Calendar date items:: 21 Jul 2020
* Time of day items:: 9:20pm
* Time zone items:: UTC, -0700, +0900, @dots{}
* Combined date and time of day items:: 2020-07-21T20:02:00,000000-0400
* Day of week items:: Monday and others
* Relative items in date strings:: next tuesday, 2 years ago
* Pure numbers in date strings:: 20200721, 1440
* Seconds since the Epoch:: @@1595289600
* Specifying time zone rules:: TZ="America/New_York", TZ="UTC0"
* Authors of parse_datetime:: Bellovin, Eggert, Salz, Berets, et al.
Controlling the Archive Format
* Compression:: Using Less Space through Compression
* Attributes:: Handling File Attributes
* Portability:: Making @command{tar} Archives More Portable
* cpio:: Comparison of @command{tar} and @command{cpio}
Using Less Space through Compression
* gzip:: Creating and Reading Compressed Archives
* sparse:: Archiving Sparse Files
Creating and Reading Compressed Archives
* lbzip2:: Using lbzip2 with @GNUTAR{}.
Making @command{tar} Archives More Portable
* Portable Names:: Portable Names
* dereference:: Symbolic Links
* hard links:: Hard Links
* old:: Old V7 Archives
* ustar:: Ustar Archives
* gnu:: GNU and old GNU format archives.
* posix:: @acronym{POSIX} archives
* Checksumming:: Checksumming Problems
* Large or Negative Values:: Large files, negative time stamps, etc.
* Other Tars:: How to Extract GNU-Specific Data Using
Other @command{tar} Implementations
@GNUTAR{} and @acronym{POSIX} @command{tar}
* PAX keywords:: Controlling Extended Header Keywords.
How to Extract GNU-Specific Data Using Other @command{tar} Implementations
* Split Recovery:: Members Split Between Volumes
* Sparse Recovery:: Sparse Members
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 @command{mt} Utility
Using Multiple Tapes
* Multi-Volume Archives:: Archives Longer than One Tape or Disk
* Tape Files:: Tape Files
* Tarcat:: Concatenate Volumes into a Single Archive
Reliability and Security
* Reliability::
* Security::
Reliability
* Permissions problems::
* Data corruption and repair::
* Race conditions::
Security
* Privacy::
* Integrity::
* Live untrusted data::
* Security rules of thumb::
Recipes
* copy directory hierarchy::
* intermediate directories::
Tar Internals
* Standard:: Basic Tar Format
* Extensions:: @acronym{GNU} Extensions to the Archive Format
* Sparse Formats:: Storing Sparse Files
* Snapshot Files::
* Dumpdir::
Storing Sparse Files
* Old GNU Format::
* PAX 0:: PAX Format, Versions 0.0 and 0.1
* PAX 1:: PAX Format, Version 1.0
Genfile
* Generate Mode:: File Generation Mode.
* Status Mode:: File Status Mode.
* Exec Mode:: Synchronous Execution mode.
Copying This Manual
* GNU Free Documentation License:: License for copying this manual.
@end detailmenu
@end menu
@node Introduction
@chapter Introduction
@GNUTAR{} creates
and manipulates @dfn{archives} which are actually collections of
many other files; the program provides users with an organized and
systematic method for controlling a large amount of data.
The name ``tar'' originally came from the phrase ``Tape ARchive'', but
archives need not (and these days, typically do not) reside on tapes.
@menu
* Book Contents:: What this Book Contains
* Definitions:: Some Definitions
* What tar Does:: What @command{tar} Does
* Naming tar Archives:: How @command{tar} Archives are Named
* Authors:: @GNUTAR{} Authors
* Reports:: Reporting bugs or suggestions
@end menu
@node Book Contents
@section What this Book Contains
The first part of this chapter introduces you to various terms that will
recur throughout the book. It also tells you who has worked on @GNUTAR{}
and its documentation, and where you should send bug reports
or comments.
The second chapter is a tutorial (@pxref{Tutorial}) which provides a
gentle introduction for people who are new to using @command{tar}. It is
meant to be self-contained, not requiring any reading from subsequent
chapters to make sense. It moves from topic to topic in a logical,
progressive order, building on information already explained.
Although the tutorial is paced and structured to allow beginners to
learn how to use @command{tar}, it is not intended solely for beginners.
The tutorial explains how to use the three most frequently used
operations (@samp{create}, @samp{list}, and @samp{extract}) as well as
two frequently used options (@samp{file} and @samp{verbose}). The other
chapters do not refer to the tutorial frequently; however, if a section
discusses something which is a complex variant of a basic concept, there
may be a cross-reference to that basic concept. (The entire book,
including the tutorial, assumes that the reader understands some basic
concepts of using a Unix-type operating system; @pxref{Tutorial}.)
The third chapter presents the remaining five operations, and
information about using @command{tar} options and option syntax.
The other chapters are meant to be used as a reference. Each chapter
presents everything that needs to be said about a specific topic.
One of the chapters (@pxref{Date input formats}) exists in its
entirety in other @acronym{GNU} manuals, and is mostly self-contained.
In addition, one section of this manual (@pxref{Standard}) contains a
big quote which is taken directly from @command{tar} sources.
In general, we give both long and short (abbreviated) option names
at least once in each section where the relevant option is covered, so
that novice readers will become familiar with both styles. (A few
options have no short versions, and the relevant sections will
indicate this.)
@node Definitions
@section Some Definitions
@cindex archive
@cindex tar archive
The @command{tar} program is used to create and manipulate @command{tar}
archives. An @dfn{archive} is a single file which contains the contents
of many files, while still identifying the names of the files, their
owner(s), and so forth. (In addition, archives record access
permissions, user and group, size in bytes, and data modification time.
Some archives also record the file names in each archived directory, as
well as other file and directory information.) You can use @command{tar}
to @dfn{create} a new archive in a specified directory.
@cindex member
@cindex archive member
@cindex file name
@cindex member name
The files inside an archive are called @dfn{members}. Within this
manual, we use the term @dfn{file} to refer only to files accessible in
the normal ways (by @command{ls}, @command{cat}, and so forth), and the term
@dfn{member} to refer only to the members of an archive. Similarly, a
@dfn{file name} is the name of a file, as it resides in the file system,
and a @dfn{member name} is the name of an archive member within the
archive.
@cindex extraction
@cindex unpacking
The term @dfn{extraction} refers to the process of copying an archive
member (or multiple members) into a file in the file system. Extracting
all the members of an archive is often called @dfn{extracting the
archive}. The term @dfn{unpack} can also be used to refer to the
extraction of many or all the members of an archive. Extracting an
archive does not destroy the archive's structure, just as creating an
archive does not destroy the copies of the files that exist outside of
the archive. You may also @dfn{list} the members in a given archive
(this is often thought of as ``printing'' them to the standard output,
or the command line), or @dfn{append} members to a pre-existing archive.
All of these operations can be performed using @command{tar}.
@node What tar Does
@section What @command{tar} Does
@cindex tar
The @command{tar} program provides the ability to create @command{tar}
archives, as well as various other kinds of manipulation. For example,
you can use @command{tar} on previously created archives to extract files,
to store additional files, or to update or list files which were already
stored.
Initially, @command{tar} archives were used to store files conveniently on
magnetic tape. The name @command{tar} comes from this use; it stands for
@code{t}ape @code{ar}chiver. Despite the utility's name, @command{tar} can
direct its output to available devices, files, or other programs (using
pipes). @command{tar} may even access remote devices or files (as archives).
You can use @command{tar} archives in many ways. We want to stress a few
of them: storage, backup, and transportation.
@FIXME{the following table entries need a bit of work.}
@table @asis
@item Storage
Often, @command{tar} archives are used to store related files for
convenient file transfer over a network. For example, the
@acronym{GNU} Project distributes its software bundled into
@command{tar} archives, so that all the files relating to a particular
program (or set of related programs) can be transferred as a single
unit.
A magnetic tape can store several files in sequence. However, the tape
has no names for these files; it only knows their relative position on
the tape. One way to store several files on one tape and retain their
names is by creating a @command{tar} archive. Even when the basic transfer
mechanism can keep track of names, as FTP can, the nuisance of handling
multiple files, directories, and multiple links makes @command{tar}
archives useful.
Archive files are also used for long-term storage. You can think of
this as transportation from the present into the future. (It is a
science-fiction idiom that you can move through time as well as in
space; the idea here is that @command{tar} can be used to move archives in
all dimensions, even time!)
@item Backup
Because the archive created by @command{tar} is capable of preserving
file information and directory structure, @command{tar} is commonly
used for performing full and incremental backups of disks. A backup
puts a collection of files (possibly pertaining to many users and
projects) together on a disk or a tape. This guards against
accidental destruction of the information in those files.
@GNUTAR{} has special features that allow it to be
used to make incremental and full dumps of all the files in a
file system.
@item Transportation
You can create an archive on one system, transfer it to another system,
and extract the contents there. This allows you to transport a group of
files from one system to another.
@end table
@node Naming tar Archives
@section How @command{tar} Archives are Named
Conventionally, @command{tar} archives are given names ending with
@samp{.tar}. This is not necessary for @command{tar} to operate properly,
but this manual follows that convention in order to accustom readers to
it and to make examples more clear.
@cindex tar file
@cindex entry
@cindex tar entry
Often, people refer to @command{tar} archives as ``@command{tar} files,'' and
archive members as ``files'' or ``entries''. For people familiar with
the operation of @command{tar}, this causes no difficulty. However, in
this manual, we consistently refer to ``archives'' and ``archive
members'' to make learning to use @command{tar} easier for novice users.
@node Authors
@section @GNUTAR{} Authors
@GNUTAR{} was originally written by John Gilmore,
and modified by many people. The @acronym{GNU} enhancements were
written by Jay Fenlason, then Joy Kendall, and the whole package has
been further maintained by Thomas Bushnell, n/BSG, Fran@,{c}ois
Pinard, Paul Eggert, and finally Sergey Poznyakoff with the help of
numerous and kind users.
We wish to stress that @command{tar} is a collective work, and owes much to
all those people who reported problems, offered solutions and other
insights, or shared their thoughts and suggestions. An impressive, yet
partial list of those contributors can be found in the @file{THANKS}
file from the @GNUTAR{} distribution.
@FIXME{i want all of these names mentioned, Absolutely. BUT, i'm not
sure i want to spell out the history in this detail, at least not for
the printed book. i'm just not sure it needs to be said this way.
i'll think about it.}
@FIXME{History is more important, and surely more interesting, than
actual names. Quoting names without history would be meaningless. FP}
Jay Fenlason put together a draft of a @GNUTAR{}
manual, borrowing notes from the original man page from John Gilmore.
This was withdrawn in version 1.11. Thomas Bushnell, n/BSG and Amy
Gorin worked on a tutorial and manual for @GNUTAR{}.
Fran@,{c}ois Pinard put version 1.11.8 of the manual together by
taking information from all these sources and merging them. Melissa
Weisshaus finally edited and redesigned the book to create version
1.12. The book for versions from 1.14 up to @value{VERSION} were edited
by the current maintainer, Sergey Poznyakoff.
For version 1.12, Daniel Hagerty contributed a great deal of technical
consulting. In particular, he is the primary author of @ref{Backups}.
In July, 2003 @GNUTAR{} was put on CVS at savannah.gnu.org
(see @url{http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/tar}), and
active development and maintenance work has started
again. Currently @GNUTAR{} is being maintained by Paul Eggert, Sergey
Poznyakoff and Jeff Bailey.
Support for @acronym{POSIX} archives was added by Sergey Poznyakoff.
@node Reports
@section Reporting bugs or suggestions
@cindex bug reports
@cindex reporting bugs
If you find problems or have suggestions about this program or manual,
please report them to @file{bug-tar@@gnu.org}.
When reporting a bug, please be sure to include as much detail as
possible, in order to reproduce it.
@FIXME{Be more specific, I'd like to make this node as detailed as
'Bug reporting' node in Emacs manual.}
@node Tutorial
@chapter Tutorial Introduction to @command{tar}
This chapter guides you through some basic examples of three @command{tar}
operations: @option{--create}, @option{--list}, and @option{--extract}. If
you already know how to use some other version of @command{tar}, then you
may not need to read this chapter. This chapter omits most complicated
details about how @command{tar} works.
@menu
* assumptions::
* stylistic conventions::
* basic tar options:: Basic @command{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::
@end menu
@node assumptions
@section Assumptions this Tutorial Makes
This chapter is paced to allow beginners to learn about @command{tar}
slowly. At the same time, we will try to cover all the basic aspects of
these three operations. In order to accomplish both of these tasks, we
have made certain assumptions about your knowledge before reading this
manual, and the hardware you will be using:
@itemize @bullet
@item
Before you start to work through this tutorial, you should understand
what the terms ``archive'' and ``archive member'' mean
(@pxref{Definitions}). In addition, you should understand something
about how Unix-type operating systems work, and you should know how to
use some basic utilities. For example, you should know how to create,
list, copy, rename, edit, and delete files and directories; how to
change between directories; and how to figure out where you are in the
file system. You should have some basic understanding of directory
structure and how files are named according to which directory they are
in. You should understand concepts such as standard output and standard
input, what various definitions of the term @samp{argument} mean, and the
differences between relative and absolute file names.
@FIXME{and what else?}
@item
This manual assumes that you are working from your own home directory
(unless we state otherwise). In this tutorial, you will create a
directory to practice @command{tar} commands in. When we show file names,
we will assume that those names are relative to your home directory.
For example, my home directory is @file{/home/fsf/melissa}. All of
my examples are in a subdirectory of the directory named by that file
name; the subdirectory is called @file{practice}.
@item
In general, we show examples of archives which exist on (or can be
written to, or worked with from) a directory on a hard disk. In most
cases, you could write those archives to, or work with them on any other
device, such as a tape drive. However, some of the later examples in
the tutorial and next chapter will not work on tape drives.
Additionally, working with tapes is much more complicated than working
with hard disks. For these reasons, the tutorial does not cover working
with tape drives. @xref{Media}, for complete information on using
@command{tar} archives with tape drives.
@FIXME{this is a cop out. need to add some simple tape drive info.}
@end itemize
@node stylistic conventions
@section Stylistic Conventions
In the examples, @samp{$} represents a typical shell prompt. It
precedes lines you should type; to make this more clear, those lines are
shown in @kbd{this font}, as opposed to lines which represent the
computer's response; those lines are shown in @code{this font}, or
sometimes @samp{like this}.
@c When we have lines which are too long to be
@c displayed in any other way, we will show them like this:
@node basic tar options
@section Basic @command{tar} Operations and Options
@command{tar} can take a wide variety of arguments which specify and define
the actions it will have on the particular set of files or the archive.
The main types of arguments to @command{tar} fall into one of two classes:
operations, and options.
Some arguments fall into a class called @dfn{operations}; exactly one of
these is both allowed and required for any instance of using @command{tar};
you may @emph{not} specify more than one. People sometimes speak of
@dfn{operating modes}. You are in a particular operating mode when you
have specified the operation which specifies it; there are eight
operations in total, and thus there are eight operating modes.
The other arguments fall into the class known as @dfn{options}. You are
not required to specify any options, and you are allowed to specify more
than one at a time (depending on the way you are using @command{tar} at
that time). Some options are used so frequently, and are so useful for
helping you type commands more carefully that they are effectively
``required''. We will discuss them in this chapter.
You can write most of the @command{tar} operations and options in any
of three forms: long (mnemonic) form, short form, and old style. Some
of the operations and options have no short or ``old'' forms; however,
the operations and options which we will cover in this tutorial have
corresponding abbreviations. We will indicate those abbreviations
appropriately to get you used to seeing them. Note, that the ``old
style'' option forms exist in @GNUTAR{} for compatibility with Unix
@command{tar}. In this book we present a full discussion of this way
of writing options and operations (@pxref{Old Options}), and we discuss
the other two styles of writing options (@xref{Long Options}, and
@pxref{Short Options}).
In the examples and in the text of this tutorial, we usually use the
long forms of operations and options; but the ``short'' forms produce
the same result and can make typing long @command{tar} commands easier.
For example, instead of typing
@smallexample
@kbd{tar --create --verbose --file=afiles.tar apple angst aspic}
@end smallexample
@noindent
you can type
@smallexample
@kbd{tar -c -v -f afiles.tar apple angst aspic}
@end smallexample
@noindent
or even
@smallexample
@kbd{tar -cvf afiles.tar apple angst aspic}
@end smallexample
@noindent
For more information on option syntax, see @ref{Advanced tar}. In
discussions in the text, when we name an option by its long form, we
also give the corresponding short option in parentheses.
The term, ``option'', can be confusing at times, since ``operations''
are often lumped in with the actual, @emph{optional} ``options'' in certain
general class statements. For example, we just talked about ``short and
long forms of options and operations''. However, experienced @command{tar}
users often refer to these by shorthand terms such as, ``short and long
options''. This term assumes that the ``operations'' are included, also.
Context will help you determine which definition of ``options'' to use.
Similarly, the term ``command'' can be confusing, as it is often used in
two different ways. People sometimes refer to @command{tar} ``commands''.
A @command{tar} @dfn{command} is the entire command line of user input
which tells @command{tar} what to do --- including the operation, options,
and any arguments (file names, pipes, other commands, etc.). However,
you will also sometimes hear the term ``the @command{tar} command''. When
the word ``command'' is used specifically like this, a person is usually
referring to the @command{tar} @emph{operation}, not the whole line.
Again, use context to figure out which of the meanings the speaker
intends.
@node frequent operations
@section The Three Most Frequently Used Operations
Here are the three most frequently used operations (both short and long
forms), as well as a brief description of their meanings. The rest of
this chapter will cover how to use these operations in detail. We will
present the rest of the operations in the next chapter.
@table @option
@item --create
@itemx -c
Create a new @command{tar} archive.
@item --list
@itemx -t
List the contents of an archive.
@item --extract
@itemx -x
Extract one or more members from an archive.
@end table
@node Two Frequent Options
@section Two Frequently Used Options
To understand how to run @command{tar} in the three operating modes listed
previously, you also need to understand how to use two of the options to
@command{tar}: @option{--file} (which takes an archive file as an argument)
and @option{--verbose}. (You are usually not @emph{required} to specify
either of these options when you run @command{tar}, but they can be very
useful in making things more clear and helping you avoid errors.)
@menu
* file tutorial::
* verbose tutorial::
* help tutorial::
@end menu
@node file tutorial
@unnumberedsubsec The @option{--file} Option
@table @option
@xopindex{file, tutorial}
@item --file=@var{archive-name}
@itemx -f @var{archive-name}
Specify the name of an archive file.
@end table
You can specify an argument for the @option{--file=@var{archive-name}} (@option{-f @var{archive-name}}) option whenever you
use @command{tar}; this option determines the name of the archive file
that @command{tar} will work on.
@vrindex TAPE
If you don't specify this argument, then @command{tar} will examine
the environment variable @env{TAPE}. If it is set, its value will be
used as the archive name. Otherwise, @command{tar} will use the
default archive, determined at compile time. Usually it is
standard output or some physical tape drive attached to your machine
(you can verify what the default is by running @kbd{tar
--show-defaults}, @pxref{defaults}). If there is no tape drive
attached, or the default is not meaningful, then @command{tar} will
print an error message. The error message might look roughly like one
of the following:
@smallexample
tar: can't open /dev/rmt8 : No such device or address
tar: can't open /dev/rsmt0 : I/O error
@end smallexample
@noindent
To avoid confusion, we recommend that you always specify an archive file
name by using @option{--file=@var{archive-name}} (@option{-f @var{archive-name}}) when writing your @command{tar} commands.
For more information on using the @option{--file=@var{archive-name}} (@option{-f @var{archive-name}}) option, see
@ref{file}.
@node verbose tutorial
@unnumberedsubsec The @option{--verbose} Option
@table @option
@xopindex{verbose, introduced}
@item --verbose
@itemx -v
Show the files being worked on as @command{tar} is running.
@end table
@option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) shows details about the results of running
@command{tar}. This can be especially useful when the results might not be
obvious. For example, if you want to see the progress of @command{tar} as
it writes files into the archive, you can use the @option{--verbose}
option. In the beginning, you may find it useful to use
@option{--verbose} at all times; when you are more accustomed to
@command{tar}, you will likely want to use it at certain times but not at
others. We will use @option{--verbose} at times to help make something
clear, and we will give many examples both using and not using
@option{--verbose} to show the differences.
Each instance of @option{--verbose} on the command line increases the
verbosity level by one, so if you need more details on the output,
specify it twice.
When reading archives (@option{--list}, @option{--extract},
@option{--diff}), @command{tar} by default prints only the names of
the members being extracted. Using @option{--verbose} will show a full,
@command{ls} style member listing.
In contrast, when writing archives (@option{--create}, @option{--append},
@option{--update}), @command{tar} does not print file names by
default. So, a single @option{--verbose} option shows the file names
being added to the archive, while two @option{--verbose} options
enable the full listing.
For example, to create an archive in verbose mode:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -cvf afiles.tar apple angst aspic}
apple
angst
aspic
@end smallexample
@noindent
Creating the same archive with the verbosity level 2 could give:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -cvvf afiles.tar apple angst aspic}
-rw-r--r-- gray/staff 62373 2006-06-09 12:06 apple
-rw-r--r-- gray/staff 11481 2006-06-09 12:06 angst
-rw-r--r-- gray/staff 23152 2006-06-09 12:06 aspic
@end smallexample
@noindent
This works equally well using short or long forms of options. Using
long forms, you would simply write out the mnemonic form of the option
twice, like this:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --create --verbose --verbose @dots{}}
@end smallexample
@noindent
Note that you must double the hyphens properly each time.
Later in the tutorial, we will give examples using @w{@option{--verbose
--verbose}}.
The @option{--verbose} option also enables several @dfn{warning
messages}, that tar does not issue otherwise, such as the
warning about record size being used (@pxref{Blocking Factor}), selecting
the decompress program and the like. If these are of no interest to
you, you can suppress them using the @option{--warning} option
@emph{after} @option{--verbose}, e.g.:
@example
$ @kbd{tar -c -v --warning=no-verbose -f afiles.tar apple angst aspic}
@end example
@xref{Warning Classes, verbose}, for details.
@anchor{verbose member listing}
The full output consists of six fields:
@itemize @bullet
@item File type and permissions in symbolic form.
These are displayed in the same format as the first column of
@command{ls -l} output (@pxref{What information is listed,
format=verbose, Verbose listing, fileutils, GNU file utilities}).
@item Owner name and group separated by a slash character.
If these data are not available (for example, when listing a @samp{v7} format
archive), numeric @acronym{ID} values are printed instead.
@item Size of the file, in bytes.
@item File modification date in ISO 8601 format.
@item File modification time.
@item File name.
If the name contains any special characters (white space, newlines,
etc.)@: these are displayed in an unambiguous form using so called
@dfn{quoting style}. For the detailed discussion of available styles
and on how to use them, see @ref{quoting styles}.
Depending on the file type, the name can be followed by some
additional information, described in the following table:
@table @samp
@item -> @var{link-name}
The file or archive member is a @dfn{symbolic link} and
@var{link-name} is the name of file it links to.
@item link to @var{link-name}
The file or archive member is a @dfn{hard link} and @var{link-name} is
the name of file it links to.
@item --Long Link--
The archive member is an old GNU format long link. You will normally
not encounter this.
@item --Long Name--
The archive member is an old GNU format long name. You will normally
not encounter this.
@item --Volume Header--
The archive member is a GNU @dfn{volume header} (@pxref{Tape Files}).
@item --Continued at byte @var{n}--
Encountered only at the beginning of a multi-volume archive
(@pxref{Using Multiple Tapes}). This archive member is a continuation
from the previous volume. The number @var{n} gives the offset where
the original file was split.
@item unknown file type @var{c}
An archive member of unknown type. @var{c} is the type character from
the archive header. If you encounter such a message, it means that
either your archive contains proprietary member types @GNUTAR{} is not
able to handle, or the archive is corrupted.
@end table
@end itemize
For example, here is an archive listing containing most of the special
suffixes explained above:
@smallexample
@group
V--------- 0/0 1536 2006-06-09 13:07 MyVolume--Volume Header--
-rw-r--r-- gray/staff 456783 2006-06-09 12:06 aspic--Continued at byte 32456--
-rw-r--r-- gray/staff 62373 2006-06-09 12:06 apple
lrwxrwxrwx gray/staff 0 2006-06-09 13:01 angst -> apple
-rw-r--r-- gray/staff 35793 2006-06-09 12:06 blues
hrw-r--r-- gray/staff 0 2006-06-09 12:06 music link to blues
@end group
@end smallexample
@node help tutorial
@unnumberedsubsec Getting Help: Using the @option{--help} Option
@table @option
@opindex help
@item --help
The @option{--help} option to @command{tar} prints out a very brief list of
all operations and option available for the current version of
@command{tar} available on your system.
@end table
@node create
@section How to Create Archives
@cindex Creation of the archive
@cindex Archive, creation of
One of the basic operations of @command{tar} is @option{--create} (@option{-c}), which
you use to create a @command{tar} archive. We will explain
@option{--create} first because, in order to learn about the other
operations, you will find it useful to have an archive available to
practice on.
To make this easier, in this section you will first create a directory
containing three files. Then, we will show you how to create an
@emph{archive} (inside the new directory). Both the directory, and
the archive are specifically for you to practice on. The rest of this
chapter and the next chapter will show many examples using this
directory and the files you will create: some of those files may be
other directories and other archives.
The three files you will archive in this example are called
@file{blues}, @file{folk}, and @file{jazz}. The archive is called
@file{collection.tar}.
This section will proceed slowly, detailing how to use @option{--create}
in @code{verbose} mode, and showing examples using both short and long
forms. In the rest of the tutorial, and in the examples in the next
chapter, we will proceed at a slightly quicker pace. This section
moves more slowly to allow beginning users to understand how
@command{tar} works.
@menu
* prepare for examples::
* Creating the archive::
* create verbose::
* short create::
* create dir::
@end menu
@node prepare for examples
@subsection Preparing a Practice Directory for Examples
To follow along with this and future examples, create a new directory
called @file{practice} containing files called @file{blues}, @file{folk}
and @file{jazz}. The files can contain any information you like:
ideally, they should contain information which relates to their names,
and be of different lengths. Our examples assume that @file{practice}
is a subdirectory of your home directory.
Now @command{cd} to the directory named @file{practice}; @file{practice}
is now your @dfn{working directory}. (@emph{Please note}: Although
the full file name of this directory is
@file{/@var{homedir}/practice}, in our examples we will refer to
this directory as @file{practice}; the @var{homedir} is presumed.)
In general, you should check that the files to be archived exist where
you think they do (in the working directory) by running @command{ls}.
Because you just created the directory and the files and have changed to
that directory, you probably don't need to do that this time.
It is very important to make sure there isn't already a file in the
working directory with the archive name you intend to use (in this case,
@samp{collection.tar}), or that you don't care about its contents.
Whenever you use @samp{create}, @command{tar} will erase the current
contents of the file named by @option{--file=@var{archive-name}} (@option{-f @var{archive-name}}) if it exists. @command{tar}
will not tell you if you are about to overwrite an archive unless you
specify an option which does this (@pxref{backup}, for the
information on how to do so). To add files to an existing archive,
you need to use a different option, such as @option{--append} (@option{-r}); see
@ref{append} for information on how to do this.
@node Creating the archive
@subsection Creating the Archive
@xopindex{create, introduced}
To place the files @file{blues}, @file{folk}, and @file{jazz} into an
archive named @file{collection.tar}, use the following command:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --create --file=collection.tar blues folk jazz}
@end smallexample
The order of the arguments is not very important, @emph{when using long
option forms}, however you should always remember to use option as the
first argument to tar. For example, the following is wrong:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar blues -c folk -f collection.tar jazz}
tar: -c: Invalid blocking factor
Try 'tar --help' or 'tar --usage' for more information.
@end smallexample
The error message is produced because @command{tar} always treats its
first argument as an option (or cluster of options), even if it does
not start with dash. This is @dfn{traditional} or @dfn{old option}
style, called so because all implementations of @command{tar} have
used it since the very inception of the tar archiver in 1970s. This
option style will be explained later (@pxref{Old Options}), for now
just remember to always place option as the first argument.
That being said, you could issue the following command:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --create folk blues --file=collection.tar jazz}
@end smallexample
@noindent
However, you can see that this order is harder to understand; this is
why we will list the arguments in the order that makes the commands
easiest to understand (and we encourage you to do the same when you use
@command{tar}, to avoid errors).
Note that the sequence
@option{--file=@-collection.tar} is considered to be @emph{one} argument.
If you substituted any other string of characters for
@kbd{collection.tar}, then that string would become the name of the
archive file you create.
The order of the options becomes more important when you begin to use
short forms. With short forms, if you type commands in the wrong order
(even if you type them correctly in all other ways), you may end up with
results you don't expect. For this reason, it is a good idea to get
into the habit of typing options in the order that makes inherent sense.
@xref{short create}, for more information on this.
In this example, you type the command as shown above: @option{--create}
is the operation which creates the new archive
(@file{collection.tar}), and @option{--file} is the option which lets
you give it the name you chose. The files, @file{blues}, @file{folk},
and @file{jazz}, are now members of the archive, @file{collection.tar}
(they are @dfn{file name arguments} to the @option{--create} operation.
@xref{Choosing}, for the detailed discussion on these.) Now that they are
in the archive, they are called @emph{archive members}, not files.
(@pxref{Definitions,members}).
When you create an archive, you @emph{must} specify which files you
want placed in the archive. If you do not specify any archive
members, @GNUTAR{} will complain.
If you now list the contents of the working directory (@command{ls}), you will
find the archive file listed as well as the files you saw previously:
@smallexample
blues folk jazz collection.tar
@end smallexample
@noindent
Creating the archive @samp{collection.tar} did not destroy the copies of
the files in the directory.
Keep in mind that if you don't indicate an operation, @command{tar} will not
run and will prompt you for one. If you don't name any files, @command{tar}
will complain. You must have write access to the working directory,
or else you will not be able to create an archive in that directory.
@emph{Caution}: Do not attempt to use @option{--create} (@option{-c}) to add files to
an existing archive; it will delete the archive and write a new one.
Use @option{--append} (@option{-r}) instead. @xref{append}.
@node create verbose
@subsection Running @option{--create} with @option{--verbose}
@xopindex{create, using with @option{--verbose}}
@xopindex{verbose, using with @option{--create}}
If you include the @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) option on the command line,
@command{tar} will list the files it is acting on as it is working. In
verbose mode, the @code{create} example above would appear as:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --create --verbose --file=collection.tar blues folk jazz}
blues
folk
jazz
@end smallexample
This example is just like the example we showed which did not use
@option{--verbose}, except that @command{tar} generated three output
lines.
In the rest of the examples in this chapter, we will frequently use
@code{verbose} mode so we can show actions or @command{tar} responses that
you would otherwise not see, and which are important for you to
understand.
@node short create
@subsection Short Forms with @samp{create}
As we said before, the @option{--create} (@option{-c}) operation is one of the most
basic uses of @command{tar}, and you will use it countless times.
Eventually, you will probably want to use abbreviated (or ``short'')
forms of options. A full discussion of the three different forms that
options can take appears in @ref{Styles}; for now, here is what the
previous example (including the @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) option) looks like
using short option forms:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -cvf collection.tar blues folk jazz}
blues
folk
jazz
@end smallexample
@noindent
As you can see, the system responds the same no matter whether you use
long or short option forms.
@FIXME{i don't like how this is worded:} One difference between using
short and long option forms is that, although the exact placement of
arguments following options is no more specific when using short forms,
it is easier to become confused and make a mistake when using short
forms. For example, suppose you attempted the above example in the
following way:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -cfv collection.tar blues folk jazz}
@end smallexample
@noindent
In this case, @command{tar} will make an archive file called @file{v},
containing the files @file{blues}, @file{folk}, and @file{jazz}, because
the @samp{v} is the closest ``file name'' to the @option{-f} option, and
is thus taken to be the chosen archive file name. @command{tar} will try
to add a file called @file{collection.tar} to the @file{v} archive file;
if the file @file{collection.tar} did not already exist, @command{tar} will
report an error indicating that this file does not exist. If the file
@file{collection.tar} does already exist (e.g., from a previous command
you may have run), then @command{tar} will add this file to the archive.
Because the @option{-v} option did not get registered, @command{tar} will not
run under @samp{verbose} mode, and will not report its progress.
The end result is that you may be quite confused about what happened,
and possibly overwrite a file. To illustrate this further, we will show
you how an example we showed previously would look using short forms.
This example,
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --create folk blues --file=collection.tar jazz}
@end smallexample
@noindent
is confusing as it is. It becomes even more so when using short forms:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c folk blues -f collection.tar jazz}
@end smallexample
@noindent
It would be very easy to put the wrong string of characters
immediately following the @option{-f}, but doing that could sacrifice
valuable data.
For this reason, we recommend that you pay very careful attention to
the order of options and placement of file and archive names,
especially when using short option forms. Not having the option name
written out mnemonically can affect how well you remember which option
does what, and therefore where different names have to be placed.
@node create dir
@subsection Archiving Directories
@cindex Archiving Directories
@cindex Directories, Archiving
You can archive a directory by specifying its directory name as a
file name argument to @command{tar}. The files in the directory will be
archived relative to the working directory, and the directory will be
re-created along with its contents when the archive is extracted.
To archive a directory, first move to its superior directory. If you
have followed the previous instructions in this tutorial, you should
type:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{cd ..}
$
@end smallexample
@noindent
This will put you into the directory which contains @file{practice},
i.e., your home directory. Once in the superior directory, you can
specify the subdirectory, @file{practice}, as a file name argument. To
store @file{practice} in the new archive file @file{music.tar}, type:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --create --verbose --file=music.tar practice}
@end smallexample
@noindent
@command{tar} should output:
@smallexample
practice/
practice/blues
practice/folk
practice/jazz
practice/collection.tar
@end smallexample
Note that the archive thus created is not in the subdirectory
@file{practice}, but rather in the current working directory---the
directory from which @command{tar} was invoked. Before trying to archive a
directory from its superior directory, you should make sure you have
write access to the superior directory itself, not only the directory
you are trying archive with @command{tar}. For example, you will probably
not be able to store your home directory in an archive by invoking
@command{tar} from the root directory; @xref{absolute}. (Note
also that @file{collection.tar}, the original archive file, has itself
been archived. @command{tar} will accept any file as a file to be
archived, regardless of its content. When @file{music.tar} is
extracted, the archive file @file{collection.tar} will be re-written
into the file system).
If you give @command{tar} a command such as
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --create --file=foo.tar .}
@end smallexample
@noindent
@command{tar} will report @samp{tar: ./foo.tar is the archive; not
dumped}. This happens because @command{tar} creates the archive
@file{foo.tar} in the current directory before putting any files into
it. Then, when @command{tar} attempts to add all the files in the
directory @file{.} to the archive, it notices that the file
@file{./foo.tar} is the same as the archive @file{foo.tar}, and skips
it. (It makes no sense to put an archive into itself.) @GNUTAR{}
will continue in this case, and create the archive
normally, except for the exclusion of that one file. (@emph{Please
note:} Other implementations of @command{tar} may not be so clever;
they will enter an infinite loop when this happens, so you should not
depend on this behavior unless you are certain you are running
@GNUTAR{}. In general, it is wise to always place the archive outside
of the directory being dumped.)
@node list
@section How to List Archives
@opindex list
Frequently, you will find yourself wanting to determine exactly what a
particular archive contains. You can use the @option{--list}
(@option{-t}) operation to get the member names as they currently
appear in the archive, as well as various attributes of the files at
the time they were archived. For example, assuming @file{practice} is
your working directory, you can examine the archive
@file{collection.tar} that you created in the last section with the
command,
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --list --file=collection.tar}
@end smallexample
@noindent
The output of @command{tar} would then be:
@smallexample
blues
folk
jazz
@end smallexample
@noindent
Be sure to use a @option{--file=@var{archive-name}} (@option{-f
@var{archive-name}}) option just as with @option{--create}
(@option{-c}) to specify the name of the archive.
@cindex File name arguments, using @option{--list} with
@xopindex{list, using with file name arguments}
You can specify one or more individual member names as arguments when
using @samp{list}. In this case, @command{tar} will only list the
names of members you identify. For example, @w{@kbd{tar --list
--file=collection.tar folk}} would only print @file{folk}:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --list --file=collection.tar folk}
folk
@end smallexample
@xopindex{list, using with @option{--verbose}}
@xopindex{verbose, using with @option{--list}}
If you use the @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) option with
@option{--list}, then @command{tar} will print out a listing
reminiscent of @w{@samp{ls -l}}, showing owner, file size, and so
forth. This output is described in detail in @ref{verbose member listing}.
If you had used @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) mode, the example
above would look like:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --list --verbose --file=collection.tar folk}
-rw-r--r-- myself/user 62 1990-05-23 10:55 folk
@end smallexample
@cindex listing member and file names
@anchor{listing member and file names}
It is important to notice that the output of @kbd{tar --list
--verbose} does not necessarily match that produced by @kbd{tar
--create --verbose} while creating the archive. It is because
@GNUTAR{}, unless told explicitly not to do so, removes some directory
prefixes from file names before storing them in the archive
(@xref{absolute}, for more information). In other
words, in verbose mode @GNUTAR{} shows @dfn{file names} when creating
an archive and @dfn{member names} when listing it. Consider this
example, run from your home directory:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar --create --verbose --file practice.tar ~/practice}
tar: Removing leading '/' from member names
/home/myself/practice/
/home/myself/practice/blues
/home/myself/practice/folk
/home/myself/practice/jazz
/home/myself/practice/collection.tar
$ @kbd{tar --list --file practice.tar}
home/myself/practice/
home/myself/practice/blues
home/myself/practice/folk
home/myself/practice/jazz
home/myself/practice/collection.tar
@end group
@end smallexample
@opindex show-stored-names
This default behavior can sometimes be inconvenient. You can force
@GNUTAR{} show member names when creating archive by supplying
@option{--show-stored-names} option.
@table @option
@item --show-stored-names
Print member (as opposed to @emph{file}) names when creating the archive.
@end table
With this option, both commands produce the same output:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar --create --verbose --show-stored-names \
--file practice.tar ~/practice}
tar: Removing leading '/' from member names
home/myself/practice/
home/myself/practice/blues
home/myself/practice/folk
home/myself/practice/jazz
home/myself/practice/collection.tar
$ @kbd{tar --list --file practice.tar}
home/myself/practice/
home/myself/practice/blues
home/myself/practice/folk
home/myself/practice/jazz
home/myself/practice/collection.tar
@end group
@end smallexample
Since @command{tar} preserves file names, those you wish to list must be
specified as they appear in the archive (i.e., relative to the
directory from which the archive was created). Continuing the example
above:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar --list --file=practice.tar folk}
tar: folk: Not found in archive
tar: Exiting with failure status due to previous errors
@end group
@end smallexample
the error message is produced because there is no member named
@file{folk}, only one named @file{home/myself/folk}.
If you are not sure of the exact file name, use @dfn{globbing
patterns}, for example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --list --file=practice.tar --wildcards '*/folk'}
home/myself/practice/folk
@end smallexample
@noindent
@xref{wildcards}, for a detailed discussion of globbing patterns and related
@command{tar} command line options.
@menu
* list dir::
@end menu
@node list dir
@unnumberedsubsec Listing the Contents of a Stored Directory
To get information about the contents of an archived directory,
use the directory name as a file name argument in conjunction with
@option{--list} (@option{-t}). To find out file attributes, include the
@option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) option.
For example, to find out about files in the directory @file{practice}, in
the archive file @file{music.tar}, type:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --list --verbose --file=music.tar practice}
@end smallexample
@command{tar} responds:
@smallexample
drwxrwxrwx myself/user 0 1990-05-31 21:49 practice/
-rw-r--r-- myself/user 42 1990-05-21 13:29 practice/blues
-rw-r--r-- myself/user 62 1990-05-23 10:55 practice/folk
-rw-r--r-- myself/user 40 1990-05-21 13:30 practice/jazz
-rw-r--r-- myself/user 10240 1990-05-31 21:49 practice/collection.tar
@end smallexample
When you use a directory name as a file name argument, @command{tar} acts on
all the files (including sub-directories) in that directory.
@node extract
@section How to Extract Members from an Archive
@cindex Extraction
@cindex Retrieving files from an archive
@cindex Resurrecting files from an archive
@opindex extract
Creating an archive is only half the job---there is no point in storing
files in an archive if you can't retrieve them. The act of retrieving
members from an archive so they can be used and manipulated as
unarchived files again is called @dfn{extraction}. To extract files
from an archive, use the @option{--extract} (@option{--get} or
@option{-x}) operation. As with @option{--create}, specify the name
of the archive with @option{--file} (@option{-f}) option. Extracting
an archive does not modify the archive in any way; you can extract it
multiple times if you want or need to.
Using @option{--extract}, you can extract an entire archive, or specific
files. The files can be directories containing other files, or not. As
with @option{--create} (@option{-c}) and @option{--list} (@option{-t}), you may use the short or the
long form of the operation without affecting the performance.
@menu
* extracting archives::
* extracting files::
* extract dir::
* extracting untrusted archives::
* failing commands::
@end menu
@node extracting archives
@subsection Extracting an Entire Archive
To extract an entire archive, specify the archive file name only, with
no individual file names as arguments. For example,
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -xvf collection.tar}
@end smallexample
@noindent
produces this:
@smallexample
-rw-r--r-- myself/user 28 1996-10-18 16:31 jazz
-rw-r--r-- myself/user 21 1996-09-23 16:44 blues
-rw-r--r-- myself/user 20 1996-09-23 16:44 folk
@end smallexample
@node extracting files
@subsection Extracting Specific Files
To extract specific archive members, give their exact member names as
arguments, as printed by @option{--list} (@option{-t}). If you had
mistakenly deleted one of the files you had placed in the archive
@file{collection.tar} earlier (say, @file{blues}), you can extract it
from the archive without changing the archive's structure. Its
contents will be identical to the original file @file{blues} that you
deleted.
First, make sure you are in the @file{practice} directory, and list the
files in the directory. Now, delete the file, @samp{blues}, and list
the files in the directory again.
You can now extract the member @file{blues} from the archive file
@file{collection.tar} like this:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --extract --file=collection.tar blues}
@end smallexample
@noindent
If you list the files in the directory again, you will see that the file
@file{blues} has been restored, with its original permissions, data
modification times, and owner.@footnote{This is only accidentally
true, but not in general. Whereas modification times are always
restored, in most cases, one has to be root for restoring the owner,
and use a special option for restoring permissions. Here, it just
happens that the restoring user is also the owner of the archived
members, and that the current @code{umask} is compatible with original
permissions.} (These parameters will be identical to those which
the file had when you originally placed it in the archive; any changes
you may have made before deleting the file from the file system,
however, will @emph{not} have been made to the archive member.) The
archive file, @samp{collection.tar}, is the same as it was before you
extracted @samp{blues}. You can confirm this by running @command{tar} with
@option{--list} (@option{-t}).
Remember that as with other operations, specifying the exact member
name is important (@xref{failing commands}, for more examples).
You can extract a file to standard output by combining the above options
with the @option{--to-stdout} (@option{-O}) option (@pxref{Writing to Standard
Output}).
If you give the @option{--verbose} option, then @option{--extract}
will print the names of the archive members as it extracts them.
@node extract dir
@subsection Extracting Files that are Directories
Extracting directories which are members of an archive is similar to
extracting other files. The main difference to be aware of is that if
the extracted directory has the same name as any directory already in
the working directory, then files in the extracted directory will be
placed into the directory of the same name. Likewise, if there are
files in the pre-existing directory with the same names as the members
which you extract, the files from the extracted archive will replace
the files already in the working directory (and possible
subdirectories). This will happen regardless of whether or not the
files in the working directory were more recent than those extracted
(there exist, however, special options that alter this behavior
@pxref{Writing}).
However, if a file was stored with a directory name as part of its file
name, and that directory does not exist under the working directory when
the file is extracted, @command{tar} will create the directory.
We can demonstrate how to use @option{--extract} to extract a directory
file with an example. Change to the @file{practice} directory if you
weren't there, and remove the files @file{folk} and @file{jazz}. Then,
go back to the parent directory and extract the archive
@file{music.tar}. You may either extract the entire archive, or you may
extract only the files you just deleted. To extract the entire archive,
don't give any file names as arguments after the archive name
@file{music.tar}. To extract only the files you deleted, use the
following command:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -xvf music.tar practice/folk practice/jazz}
practice/folk
practice/jazz
@end smallexample
@noindent
If you were to specify two @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) options, @command{tar}
would have displayed more detail about the extracted files, as shown
in the example below:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -xvvf music.tar practice/folk practice/jazz}
-rw-r--r-- me/user 28 1996-10-18 16:31 practice/jazz
-rw-r--r-- me/user 20 1996-09-23 16:44 practice/folk
@end smallexample
@noindent
Because you created the directory with @file{practice} as part of the
file names of each of the files by archiving the @file{practice}
directory as @file{practice}, you must give @file{practice} as part
of the file names when you extract those files from the archive.
@node extracting untrusted archives
@subsection Extracting Archives from Untrusted Sources
Extracting files from archives can overwrite files that already exist.
If you receive an archive from an untrusted source, you should make a
new directory and extract into that directory, so that you don't have
to worry about the extraction overwriting one of your existing files.
For example, if @file{untrusted.tar} came from somewhere else on the
Internet, and you don't necessarily trust its contents, you can
extract it as follows:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{mkdir newdir}
$ @kbd{cd newdir}
$ @kbd{tar -xvf ../untrusted.tar}
@end smallexample
It is also a good practice to examine contents of the archive
before extracting it, using @option{--list} (@option{-t}) option, possibly combined
with @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}).
@node failing commands
@subsection Commands That Will Fail
Here are some sample commands you might try which will not work, and why
they won't work.
If you try to use this command,
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -xvf music.tar folk jazz}
@end smallexample
@noindent
you will get the following response:
@smallexample
tar: folk: Not found in archive
tar: jazz: Not found in archive
@end smallexample
@noindent
This is because these files were not originally @emph{in} the parent
directory @file{..}, where the archive is located; they were in the
@file{practice} directory, and their file names reflect this:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -tvf music.tar}
practice/blues
practice/folk
practice/jazz
@end smallexample
@noindent
Likewise, if you try to use this command,
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -tvf music.tar folk jazz}
@end smallexample
@noindent
you would get a similar response. Members with those names are not in the
archive. You must use the correct member names, or wildcards, in order
to extract the files from the archive.
If you have forgotten the correct names of the files in the archive,
use @w{@kbd{tar --list --verbose}} to list them correctly.
To extract the member named @file{practice/folk}, you must specify
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --extract --file=music.tar practice/folk}
@end smallexample
@noindent
Notice also, that as explained above, the @file{practice} directory
will be created, if it didn't already exist. There are options that
allow you to strip away a certain number of leading directory
components (@pxref{transform}). For example,
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --extract --file=music.tar --strip-components=1 folk}
@end smallexample
@noindent
will extract the file @file{folk} into the current working directory.
@node going further
@section Going Further Ahead in this Manual
@UNREVISED{}
@FIXME{need to write up a node here about the things that are going to
be in the rest of the manual.}
@node tar invocation
@chapter Invoking @GNUTAR{}
This chapter is about how one invokes the @GNUTAR{}
command, from the command synopsis (@pxref{Synopsis}). There are
numerous options, and many styles for writing them. One mandatory
option specifies the operation @command{tar} should perform
(@pxref{Operation Summary}), other options are meant to detail how
this operation should be performed (@pxref{Option Summary}).
Non-option arguments are not always interpreted the same way,
depending on what the operation is.
You will find in this chapter everything about option styles and rules for
writing them (@pxref{Styles}). On the other hand, operations and options
are fully described elsewhere, in other chapters. Here, you will find
only synthetic descriptions for operations and options, together with
pointers to other parts of the @command{tar} manual.
Some options are so special they are fully described right in this
chapter. They have the effect of inhibiting the normal operation of
@command{tar} or else, they globally alter the amount of feedback the user
receives about what is going on. These are the @option{--help} and
@option{--version} (@pxref{help}), @option{--verbose} (@pxref{verbose})
and @option{--interactive} options (@pxref{interactive}).
@menu
* Synopsis::
* using tar options::
* Styles::
* All Options:: All @command{tar} Options.
* help:: Where to Get Help.
* defaults:: What are the Default Values.
* verbose:: Checking @command{tar} progress.
* checkpoints:: Checkpoints.
* warnings:: Controlling Warning Messages.
* interactive:: Asking for Confirmation During Operations.
* external:: Running External Commands.
@end menu
@node Synopsis
@section General Synopsis of @command{tar}
The @GNUTAR{} program is invoked as either one of:
@smallexample
@kbd{tar @var{option}@dots{} [@var{name}]@dots{}}
@kbd{tar @var{letter}@dots{} [@var{argument}]@dots{} [@var{option}]@dots{} [@var{name}]@dots{}}
@end smallexample
The second form is for when old options are being used.
You can use @command{tar} to store files in an archive, to extract them from
an archive, and to do other types of archive manipulation. The primary
argument to @command{tar}, which is called the @dfn{operation}, specifies
which action to take. The other arguments to @command{tar} are either
@dfn{options}, which change the way @command{tar} performs an operation,
or file names or archive members, which specify the files or members
@command{tar} is to act on.
You can actually type in arguments in any order, even if in this manual
the options always precede the other arguments, to make examples easier
to understand. Further, the option stating the main operation mode
(the @command{tar} main command) is usually given first.
Each @var{name} in the synopsis above is interpreted as an archive member
name when the main command is one of @option{--compare}
(@option{--diff}, @option{-d}), @option{--delete}, @option{--extract}
(@option{--get}, @option{-x}), @option{--list} (@option{-t}) or
@option{--update} (@option{-u}). When naming archive members, you
must give the exact name of the member in the archive, as it is
printed by @option{--list}. For @option{--append} (@option{-r}) and
@option{--create} (@option{-c}), these @var{name} arguments specify
the names of either files or directory hierarchies to place in the archive.
These files or hierarchies should already exist in the file system,
prior to the execution of the @command{tar} command.
@command{tar} interprets relative file names as being relative to the
working directory. @command{tar} will make all file names relative
(by removing leading slashes when archiving or restoring files),
unless you specify otherwise (using the @option{--absolute-names}
option). @xref{absolute}, for more information about
@option{--absolute-names}.
If you give the name of a directory as either a file name or a member
name, then @command{tar} acts recursively on all the files and directories
beneath that directory. For example, the name @file{/} identifies all
the files in the file system to @command{tar}.
The distinction between file names and archive member names is especially
important when shell globbing is used, and sometimes a source of confusion
for newcomers. @xref{wildcards}, for more information about globbing.
The problem is that shells may only glob using existing files in the
file system. Only @command{tar} itself may glob on archive members, so when
needed, you must ensure that wildcard characters reach @command{tar} without
being interpreted by the shell first. Using a backslash before @samp{*}
or @samp{?}, or putting the whole argument between quotes, is usually
sufficient for this.
Even if @var{name}s are often specified on the command line, they
can also be read from a text file in the file system, using the
@option{--files-from=@var{file-of-names}} (@option{-T @var{file-of-names}}) option.
If you don't use any file name arguments, @option{--append} (@option{-r}),
@option{--delete} and @option{--concatenate} (@option{--catenate},
@option{-A}) will do nothing, while @option{--create} (@option{-c})
will usually yield a diagnostic and inhibit @command{tar} execution.
The other operations of @command{tar} (@option{--list},
@option{--extract}, @option{--compare}, and @option{--update})
will act on the entire contents of the archive.
@anchor{exit status}
@cindex exit status
@cindex return status
Besides successful exits, @GNUTAR{} may fail for
many reasons. Some reasons correspond to bad usage, that is, when the
@command{tar} command line is improperly written. Errors may be
encountered later, while processing the archive or the files. Some
errors are recoverable, in which case the failure is delayed until
@command{tar} has completed all its work. Some errors are such that
it would be not meaningful, or at least risky, to continue processing:
@command{tar} then aborts processing immediately. All abnormal exits,
whether immediate or delayed, should always be clearly diagnosed on
@code{stderr}, after a line stating the nature of the error.
Possible exit codes of @GNUTAR{} are summarized in the following
table:
@table @asis
@item 0
@samp{Successful termination}.
@item 1
@samp{Some files differ}. If tar was invoked with @option{--compare}
(@option{--diff}, @option{-d}) command line option, this means that
some files in the archive differ from their disk counterparts
(@pxref{compare}). If tar was given @option{--create},
@option{--append} or @option{--update} option, this exit code means
that some files were changed while being archived and so the resulting
archive does not contain the exact copy of the file set.
@item 2
@samp{Fatal error}. This means that some fatal, unrecoverable error
occurred.
@end table
If @command{tar} has invoked a subprocess and that subprocess exited with a
nonzero exit code, @command{tar} exits with that code as well.
This can happen, for example, if @command{tar} was given some
compression option (@pxref{gzip}) and the external compressor program
failed. Another example is @command{rmt} failure during backup to the
remote device (@pxref{Remote Tape Server}).
@node using tar options
@section Using @command{tar} Options
@GNUTAR{} has a total of eight operating modes which
allow you to perform a variety of tasks. You are required to choose
one operating mode each time you employ the @command{tar} program by
specifying one, and only one operation as an argument to the
@command{tar} command (the corresponding options may be found
at @ref{frequent operations} and @ref{Operations}). Depending on
circumstances, you may also wish to customize how the chosen operating
mode behaves. For example, you may wish to change the way the output
looks, or the format of the files that you wish to archive may require
you to do something special in order to make the archive look right.
You can customize and control @command{tar}'s performance by running
@command{tar} with one or more options (such as @option{--verbose}
(@option{-v}), which we used in the tutorial). As we said in the
tutorial, @dfn{options} are arguments to @command{tar} which are (as
their name suggests) optional. Depending on the operating mode, you
may specify one or more options. Different options will have different
effects, but in general they all change details of the operation, such
as archive format, archive name, or level of user interaction. Some
options make sense with all operating modes, while others are
meaningful only with particular modes. You will likely use some
options frequently, while you will only use others infrequently, or
not at all. (A full list of options is available in @pxref{All Options}.)
@vrindex TAR_OPTIONS, environment variable
@anchor{TAR_OPTIONS}
The @env{TAR_OPTIONS} environment variable specifies default options to
be placed in front of any explicit options. For example, if
@code{TAR_OPTIONS} is @samp{-v --unlink-first}, @command{tar} behaves as
if the two options @option{-v} and @option{--unlink-first} had been
specified before any explicit options. Option specifications are
separated by whitespace. A backslash escapes the next character, so it
can be used to specify an option containing whitespace or a backslash.
Note that @command{tar} options are case sensitive. For example, the
options @option{-T} and @option{-t} are different; the first requires an
argument for stating the name of a file providing a list of @var{name}s,
while the second does not require an argument and is another way to
write @option{--list} (@option{-t}).
In addition to the eight operations, there are many options to
@command{tar}, and three different styles for writing both: long (mnemonic)
form, short form, and old style. These styles are discussed below.
Both the options and the operations can be written in any of these three
styles.
@FIXME{menu at end of this node. need to think of an actual outline
for this chapter; probably do that after stuff from chapter 4 is
incorporated.}
@node Styles
@section The Three Option Styles
There are three styles for writing operations and options to the command
line invoking @command{tar}. The different styles were developed at
different times during the history of @command{tar}. These styles will be
presented below, from the most recent to the oldest.
Some options must take an argument@footnote{For example, @option{--file}
(@option{-f}) takes the name of an archive file as an argument. If
you do not supply an archive file name, @command{tar} will use a
default, but this can be confusing; thus, we recommend that you always
supply a specific archive file name.}. Where you @emph{place} the
arguments generally depends on which style of options you choose. We
will detail specific information relevant to each option style in the
sections on the different option styles, below. The differences are
subtle, yet can often be very important; incorrect option placement
can cause you to overwrite a number of important files. We urge you
to note these differences, and only use the option style(s) which
makes the most sense to you until you feel comfortable with the others.
Some options @emph{may} take an argument. Such options may have at
most long and short forms, they do not have old style equivalent. The
rules for specifying an argument for such options are stricter than
those for specifying mandatory arguments. Please, pay special
attention to them.
@menu
* Long Options:: Long Option Style
* Short Options:: Short Option Style
* Old Options:: Old Option Style
* Mixing:: Mixing Option Styles
@end menu
@node Long Options
@subsection Long Option Style
@cindex long options
@cindex options, long style
@cindex options, GNU style
@cindex options, mnemonic names
Each option has at least one @dfn{long} (or @dfn{mnemonic}) name starting with two
dashes in a row, e.g., @option{--list}. The long names are more clear than
their corresponding short or old names. It sometimes happens that a
single long option has many different names which are
synonymous, such as @option{--compare} and @option{--diff}. In addition,
long option names can be given unique abbreviations. For example,
@option{--cre} can be used in place of @option{--create} because there is no
other long option which begins with @samp{cre}. (One way to find
this out is by trying it and seeing what happens; if a particular
abbreviation could represent more than one option, @command{tar} will tell
you that that abbreviation is ambiguous and you'll know that that
abbreviation won't work. You may also choose to run @samp{tar --help}
to see a list of options. Be aware that if you run @command{tar} with a
unique abbreviation for the long name of an option you didn't want to
use, you are stuck; @command{tar} will perform the command as ordered.)
Long options are meant to be obvious and easy to remember, and their
meanings are generally easier to discern than those of their
corresponding short options (see below). For example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --create --verbose --blocking-factor=20 --file=/dev/rmt0}
@end smallexample
@noindent
gives a fairly good set of hints about what the command does, even
for those not fully acquainted with @command{tar}.
@cindex arguments to long options
@cindex long options with mandatory arguments
Long options which require arguments take those arguments
immediately following the option name. There are two ways of
specifying a mandatory argument. It can be separated from the
option name either by an equal sign, or by any amount of
white space characters. For example, the @option{--file} option (which
tells the name of the @command{tar} archive) is given a file such as
@file{archive.tar} as argument by using any of the following notations:
@option{--file=archive.tar} or @option{--file archive.tar}.
@cindex optional arguments to long options
@cindex long options with optional arguments
In contrast, optional arguments must always be introduced using
an equal sign. For example, the @option{--backup} option takes
an optional argument specifying backup type. It must be used
as @option{--backup=@var{backup-type}}.
@node Short Options
@subsection Short Option Style
@cindex short options
@cindex options, short style
@cindex options, traditional
Most options also have a @dfn{short option} name. Short options start with
a single dash, and are followed by a single character, e.g., @option{-t}
(which is equivalent to @option{--list}). The forms are absolutely
identical in function; they are interchangeable.
The short option names are faster to type than long option names.
@cindex arguments to short options
@cindex short options with mandatory arguments
Short options which require arguments take their arguments immediately
following the option, usually separated by white space. It is also
possible to stick the argument right after the short option name, using
no intervening space. For example, you might write @w{@option{-f
archive.tar}} or @option{-farchive.tar} instead of using
@option{--file=archive.tar}. Both @option{--file=@var{archive-name}} and
@w{@option{-f @var{archive-name}}} denote the option which indicates a
specific archive, here named @file{archive.tar}.
@cindex optional arguments to short options
@cindex short options with optional arguments
Short options which take optional arguments take their arguments
immediately following the option letter, @emph{without any intervening
white space characters}.
Short options' letters may be clumped together, but you are not
required to do this (as compared to old options; see below). When
short options are clumped as a set, use one (single) dash for them
all, e.g., @w{@samp{@command{tar} -cvf}}. Only the last option in
such a set is allowed to have an argument@footnote{Clustering many
options, the last of which has an argument, is a rather opaque way to
write options. Some wonder if @acronym{GNU} @code{getopt} should not
even be made helpful enough for considering such usages as invalid.}.
When the options are separated, the argument for each option which requires
an argument directly follows that option, as is usual for Unix programs.
For example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c -v -b 20 -f /dev/rmt0}
@end smallexample
If you reorder short options' locations, be sure to move any arguments
that belong to them. If you do not move the arguments properly, you may
end up overwriting files.
@node Old Options
@subsection Old Option Style
@cindex options, old style
@cindex old option style
@cindex option syntax, traditional
As far as we know, all @command{tar} programs, @acronym{GNU} and
non-@acronym{GNU}, support @dfn{old options}: that is, if the first
argument does not start with @samp{-}, it is assumed to specify option
letters. @GNUTAR{} supports old options not only for historical
reasons, but also because many people are used to them. If the first
argument does not start with a dash, you are announcing the old option
style instead of the short option style; old options are decoded
differently.
Like short options, old options are single letters. However, old options
must be written together as a single clumped set, without spaces separating
them or dashes preceding them. This set
of letters must be the first to appear on the command line, after the
@command{tar} program name and some white space; old options cannot appear
anywhere else. The letter of an old option is exactly the same letter as
the corresponding short option. For example, the old option @samp{t} is
the same as the short option @option{-t}, and consequently, the same as the
long option @option{--list}. So for example, the command @w{@samp{tar
cv}} specifies the option @option{-v} in addition to the operation @option{-c}.
@cindex arguments to old options
@cindex old options with mandatory arguments
When options that need arguments are given together with the command,
all the associated arguments follow, in the same order as the options.
Thus, the example given previously could also be written in the old
style as follows:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar cvbf 20 /dev/rmt0}
@end smallexample
@noindent
Here, @samp{20} is the argument of @option{-b} and @samp{/dev/rmt0} is
the argument of @option{-f}.
The old style syntax can make it difficult to match
option letters with their corresponding arguments, and is often
confusing. In the command @w{@samp{tar cvbf 20 /dev/rmt0}}, for example,
@samp{20} is the argument for @option{-b}, @samp{/dev/rmt0} is the
argument for @option{-f}, and @option{-v} does not have a corresponding
argument. Even using short options like in @w{@samp{tar -c -v -b 20 -f
/dev/rmt0}} is clearer, putting all arguments next to the option they
pertain to.
If you want to reorder the letters in the old option argument, be
sure to reorder any corresponding argument appropriately.
This old way of writing @command{tar} options can surprise even experienced
users. For example, the two commands:
@smallexample
@kbd{tar cfz archive.tar.gz file}
@kbd{tar -cfz archive.tar.gz file}
@end smallexample
@noindent
are quite different. The first example uses @file{archive.tar.gz} as
the value for option @samp{f} and recognizes the option @samp{z}. The
second example, however, uses @file{z} as the value for option
@samp{f} --- probably not what was intended.
This second example could be corrected in many ways, among which the
following are equivalent:
@smallexample
@kbd{tar -czf archive.tar.gz file}
@kbd{tar -cf archive.tar.gz -z file}
@kbd{tar cf archive.tar.gz -z file}
@end smallexample
@node Mixing
@subsection Mixing Option Styles
@cindex options, mixing different styles
All three styles may be intermixed in a single @command{tar} command,
so long as the rules for each style are fully
respected@footnote{Before @GNUTAR{} version 1.11.6,
a bug prevented intermixing old style options with long options in
some cases.}. Old style options and either of the modern styles of
options may be mixed within a single @command{tar} command. However,
old style options must be introduced as the first arguments only,
following the rule for old options (old options must appear directly
after the @command{tar} command and some white space). Modern options
may be given only after all arguments to the old options have been
collected. If this rule is not respected, a modern option might be
falsely interpreted as the value of the argument to one of the old
style options.
For example, all the following commands are wholly equivalent, and
illustrate the many combinations and orderings of option styles.
@smallexample
@kbd{tar --create --file=archive.tar}
@kbd{tar --create -f archive.tar}
@kbd{tar --create -farchive.tar}
@kbd{tar --file=archive.tar --create}
@kbd{tar --file=archive.tar -c}
@kbd{tar -c --file=archive.tar}
@kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar}
@kbd{tar -c -farchive.tar}
@kbd{tar -cf archive.tar}
@kbd{tar -cfarchive.tar}
@kbd{tar -f archive.tar --create}
@kbd{tar -f archive.tar -c}
@kbd{tar -farchive.tar --create}
@kbd{tar -farchive.tar -c}
@kbd{tar c --file=archive.tar}
@kbd{tar c -f archive.tar}
@kbd{tar c -farchive.tar}
@kbd{tar cf archive.tar}
@kbd{tar f archive.tar --create}
@kbd{tar f archive.tar -c}
@kbd{tar fc archive.tar}
@end smallexample
On the other hand, the following commands are @emph{not} equivalent to
the previous set:
@smallexample
@kbd{tar -f -c archive.tar}
@kbd{tar -fc archive.tar}
@kbd{tar -fcarchive.tar}
@kbd{tar -farchive.tarc}
@kbd{tar cfarchive.tar}
@end smallexample
@noindent
These last examples mean something completely different from what the
user intended (judging based on the example in the previous set which
uses long options, whose intent is therefore very clear). The first
four specify that the @command{tar} archive would be a file named
@option{-c}, @samp{c}, @samp{carchive.tar} or @samp{archive.tarc},
respectively. The first two examples also specify a single non-option,
@var{name} argument having the value @samp{archive.tar}. The last
example contains only old style option letters (repeating option
@samp{c} twice), not all of which are meaningful (eg., @samp{.},
@samp{h}, or @samp{i}), with no argument value.
@FIXME{not sure i liked
the first sentence of this paragraph..}
@node All Options
@section All @command{tar} Options
The coming manual sections contain an alphabetical listing of all
@command{tar} operations and options, with brief descriptions and
cross-references to more in-depth explanations in the body of the manual.
They also contain an alphabetically arranged table of the short option
forms with their corresponding long option. You can use this table as
a reference for deciphering @command{tar} commands in scripts.
@menu
* Operation Summary::
* Option Summary::
* Short Option Summary::
* Position-Sensitive Options::
@end menu
@node Operation Summary
@subsection Operations
@table @option
@opsummary{append}
@item --append
@itemx -r
Appends files to the end of the archive. @xref{append}.
@opsummary{catenate}
@item --catenate
@itemx -A
Same as @option{--concatenate}. @xref{concatenate}.
@opsummary{compare}
@item --compare
@itemx -d
Compares archive members with their counterparts in the file
system, and reports differences in file size, mode, owner,
modification date and contents. @xref{compare}.
@opsummary{concatenate}
@item --concatenate
@itemx -A
Appends other @command{tar} archives to the end of the archive.
@xref{concatenate}.
@opsummary{create}
@item --create
@itemx -c
Creates a new @command{tar} archive. @xref{create}.
@opsummary{delete}
@item --delete
Deletes members from the archive. Don't try this on an archive on a
tape! @xref{delete}.
@opsummary{diff}
@item --diff
@itemx -d
Same as @option{--compare}. @xref{compare}.
@opsummary{extract}
@item --extract
@itemx -x
Extracts members from the archive into the file system. @xref{extract}.
@opsummary{get}
@item --get
@itemx -x
Same as @option{--extract}. @xref{extract}.
@opsummary{list}
@item --list
@itemx -t
Lists the members in an archive. @xref{list}.
@opsummary{update}
@item --update
@itemx -u
Adds files to the end of the archive, but only if they are newer than
their counterparts already in the archive, or if they do not already
exist in the archive. @xref{update}.
@end table
@node Option Summary
@subsection @command{tar} Options
@table @option
@opsummary{absolute-names}
@item --absolute-names
@itemx -P
Normally when creating an archive, @command{tar} strips an initial
@samp{/} from member names, and when extracting from an archive @command{tar}
treats names specially if they have initial @samp{/} or internal
@samp{..}. This option disables that behavior. @xref{absolute}.
@opsummary{acls}
@item --acls
Enable POSIX ACLs support. @xref{Extended File Attributes, acls}.
@opsummary{after-date}
@item --after-date
(See @option{--newer}, @pxref{after})
@opsummary{anchored}
@item --anchored
A pattern must match an initial subsequence of the name's components.
@xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
@opsummary{atime-preserve}
@item --atime-preserve
@itemx --atime-preserve=replace
@itemx --atime-preserve=system
Attempt to preserve the access time of files when reading them. This
option currently is effective only on files that you own, unless you
have superuser privileges.
@option{--atime-preserve=replace} remembers the access time of a file
before reading it, and then restores the access time afterwards. This
may cause problems if other programs are reading the file at the same
time, as the times of their accesses will be lost. On most platforms
restoring the access time also requires @command{tar} to restore the
data modification time too, so this option may also cause problems if
other programs are writing the file at the same time (@command{tar} attempts
to detect this situation, but cannot do so reliably due to race
conditions). Worse, on most platforms restoring the access time also
updates the status change time, which means that this option is
incompatible with incremental backups.
@option{--atime-preserve=system} avoids changing time stamps on files,
without interfering with time stamp updates
caused by other programs, so it works better with incremental backups.
However, it requires a special @code{O_NOATIME} option from the
underlying operating and file system implementation, and it also requires
that searching directories does not update their access times. As of
this writing (November 2005) this works only with Linux, and only with
Linux kernels 2.6.8 and later. Worse, there is currently no reliable
way to know whether this feature actually works. Sometimes
@command{tar} knows that it does not work, and if you use
@option{--atime-preserve=system} then @command{tar} complains and
exits right away. But other times @command{tar} might think that the
option works when it actually does not.
Currently @option{--atime-preserve} with no operand defaults to
@option{--atime-preserve=replace}, but this may change in the future
as support for @option{--atime-preserve=system} improves.
If your operating or file system does not support
@option{--atime-preserve=@-system}, you might be able to preserve access
times reliably by using the @command{mount} command. For example,
you can mount the file system read-only, or access the file system via
a read-only loopback mount, or use the @samp{noatime} mount option
available on some systems. However, mounting typically requires
superuser privileges and can be a pain to manage.
@opsummary{auto-compress}
@item --auto-compress
@itemx -a
During a @option{--create} operation, enables automatic compressed
format recognition based on the archive suffix. The effect of this
option is cancelled by @option{--no-auto-compress}. @xref{gzip}.
@opsummary{backup}
@item --backup=@var{backup-type}
Rather than deleting files from the file system, @command{tar} will
back them up using simple or numbered backups, depending upon
@var{backup-type}. @xref{backup}.
@opsummary{block-number}
@item --block-number
@itemx -R
With this option present, @command{tar} prints error messages for read errors
with the block number in the archive file. @xref{block-number}.
@opsummary{blocking-factor}
@item --blocking-factor=@var{blocking}
@itemx -b @var{blocking}
Sets the blocking factor @command{tar} uses to @var{blocking} x 512 bytes per
record. @xref{Blocking Factor}.
@opsummary{bzip2}
@item --bzip2
@itemx -j
This option tells @command{tar} to read or write archives through
@code{bzip2}. @xref{gzip}.
@opsummary{check-device}
@item --check-device
Check device numbers when creating a list of modified files for
incremental archiving. This is the default. @xref{device numbers},
for a detailed description.
@opsummary{checkpoint}
@item --checkpoint[=@var{number}]
This option directs @command{tar} to print periodic checkpoint
messages as it reads through the archive. It is intended for when you
want a visual indication that @command{tar} is still running, but
don't want to see @option{--verbose} output. You can also instruct
@command{tar} to execute a list of actions on each checkpoint, see
@option{--checkpoint-action} below. For a detailed description, see
@ref{checkpoints}.
@opsummary{checkpoint-action}
@item --checkpoint-action=@var{action}
Instruct @command{tar} to execute an action upon hitting a
breakpoint. Here we give only a brief outline. @xref{checkpoints},
for a complete description.
The @var{action} argument can be one of the following:
@table @asis
@item bell
Produce an audible bell on the console.
@item dot
@itemx .
Print a single dot on the standard listing stream.
@item echo
Display a textual message on the standard error, with the status and
number of the checkpoint. This is the default.
@item echo=@var{string}
Display @var{string} on the standard error. Before output, the string
is subject to meta-character expansion.
@item exec=@var{command}
Execute the given @var{command}.
@item sleep=@var{time}
Wait for @var{time} seconds.
@item ttyout=@var{string}
Output @var{string} on the current console (@file{/dev/tty}).
@item totals
Print statistics (see @pxref{totals}).
@item wait=@var{signo}
Wait for signal @var{signo}.
@end table
Several @option{--checkpoint-action} options can be specified. The
supplied actions will be executed in order of their appearance in the
command line.
Using @option{--checkpoint-action} without @option{--checkpoint}
assumes default checkpoint frequency of one checkpoint per 10 records.
@opsummary{check-links}
@item --check-links
@itemx -l
If this option was given, @command{tar} will check the number of links
dumped for each processed file. If this number does not match the
total number of hard links for the file, a warning message will be
output @footnote{Earlier versions of @GNUTAR{} understood @option{-l} as a
synonym for @option{--one-file-system}. The current semantics, which
complies to UNIX98, was introduced with version
1.15.91. @xref{Changes}, for more information.}.
@xref{hard links}.
@opsummary{compress}
@opsummary{uncompress}
@item --compress
@itemx --uncompress
@itemx -Z
@command{tar} will use the @command{compress} program when reading or
writing the archive. This allows you to directly act on archives
while saving space. @xref{gzip}.
@opsummary{clamp-mtime}
@item --clamp-mtime
(See @option{--mtime}.)
@opsummary{confirmation}
@item --confirmation
(See @option{--interactive}.) @xref{interactive}.
@opsummary{delay-directory-restore}
@item --delay-directory-restore
Delay setting modification times and permissions of extracted
directories until the end of extraction. @xref{Directory Modification Times and Permissions}.
@opsummary{dereference}
@item --dereference
@itemx -h
When reading or writing a file to be archived, @command{tar} accesses
the file that a symbolic link points to, rather than the symlink
itself. @xref{dereference}.
@opsummary{directory}
@item --directory=@var{dir}
@itemx -C @var{dir}
When this option is specified, @command{tar} will change its current directory
to @var{dir} before performing any operations. When this option is used
during archive creation, it is order sensitive. @xref{directory}.
@opsummary{exclude}
@item --exclude=@var{pattern}
When performing operations, @command{tar} will skip files that match
@var{pattern}. @xref{exclude}.
@opsummary{exclude-backups}
@item --exclude-backups
Exclude backup and lock files. @xref{exclude,, exclude-backups}.
@opsummary{exclude-from}
@item --exclude-from=@var{file}
@itemx -X @var{file}
Similar to @option{--exclude}, except @command{tar} will use the list of
patterns in the file @var{file}. @xref{exclude}.
@opsummary{exclude-caches}
@item --exclude-caches
Exclude from dump any directory containing a valid cache directory
tag file, but still dump the directory node and the tag file itself.
@xref{exclude,, exclude-caches}.
@opsummary{exclude-caches-under}
@item --exclude-caches-under
Exclude from dump any directory containing a valid cache directory
tag file, but still dump the directory node itself.
@xref{exclude}.
@opsummary{exclude-caches-all}
@item --exclude-caches-all
Exclude from dump any directory containing a valid cache directory
tag file. @xref{exclude}.
@opsummary{exclude-ignore}
@item --exclude-ignore=@var{file}
Before dumping a directory, @command{tar} checks if it contains
@var{file}. If so, exclusion patterns are read from this file.
The patterns affect only the directory itself. @xref{exclude}.
@opsummary{exclude-ignore-recursive}
@item --exclude-ignore-recursive=@var{file}
Before dumping a directory, @command{tar} checks if it contains
@var{file}. If so, exclusion patterns are read from this file.
The patterns affect the directory and all itssubdirectories.
@xref{exclude}.
@opsummary{exclude-tag}
@item --exclude-tag=@var{file}
Exclude from dump any directory containing file named @var{file}, but
dump the directory node and @var{file} itself. @xref{exclude,, exclude-tag}.
@opsummary{exclude-tag-under}
@item --exclude-tag-under=@var{file}
Exclude from dump the contents of any directory containing file
named @var{file}, but dump the directory node itself. @xref{exclude,,
exclude-tag-under}.
@opsummary{exclude-tag-all}
@item --exclude-tag-all=@var{file}
Exclude from dump any directory containing file named @var{file}.
@xref{exclude,,exclude-tag-all}.
@opsummary{exclude-vcs}
@item --exclude-vcs
Exclude from dump directories and files, that are internal for some
widely used version control systems.
@xref{exclude-vcs}.
@opsummary{exclude-vcs-ignores}
@item --exclude-vcs-ignores
Exclude files that match patterns read from VCS-specific ignore
files. Supported files are: @file{.cvsignore}, @file{.gitignore},
@file{.bzrignore}, and @file{.hgignore}. The semantics of each file
is the same as for the corresponding VCS, e.g. patterns read from
@file{.gitignore} affect the directory and all its subdirectories.
@xref{exclude-vcs-ignores}.
@opsummary{file}
@item --file=@var{archive}
@itemx -f @var{archive}
@command{tar} will use the file @var{archive} as the @command{tar} archive it
performs operations on, rather than @command{tar}'s compilation dependent
default. @xref{file tutorial}.
@opsummary{files-from}
@item --files-from=@var{file}
@itemx -T @var{file}
@command{tar} will use the contents of @var{file} as a list of archive members
or files to operate on, in addition to those specified on the
command-line. @xref{files}.
@opsummary{force-local}
@item --force-local
Forces @command{tar} to interpret the file name given to @option{--file}
as a local file, even if it looks like a remote tape drive name.
@xref{local and remote archives}.
@opsummary{format}
@item --format=@var{format}
@itemx -H @var{format}
Selects output archive format. @var{Format} may be one of the
following:
@table @samp
@item v7
Creates an archive that is compatible with Unix V7 @command{tar}.
@item oldgnu
Creates an archive that is compatible with GNU @command{tar} version
1.12 or earlier.
@item gnu
Creates archive in GNU tar 1.13 format. Basically it is the same as
@samp{oldgnu} with the only difference in the way it handles long
numeric fields.
@item ustar
Creates a @acronym{POSIX.1-1988} compatible archive.
@item posix
Creates a @acronym{POSIX.1-2001 archive}.
@end table
@xref{Formats}, for a detailed discussion of these formats.
@opsummary{full-time}
@item --full-time
This option instructs @command{tar} to print file times to their full
resolution. Usually this means 1-second resolution, but that depends
on the underlying file system. The @option{--full-time} option takes
effect only when detailed output (verbosity level 2 or higher) has
been requested using the @option{--verbose} option, e.g., when listing
or extracting archives:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -t -v --full-time -f archive.tar}
@end smallexample
@noindent
or, when creating an archive:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c -vv --full-time -f archive.tar .}
@end smallexample
Notice, thar when creating the archive you need to specify
@option{--verbose} twice to get a detailed output (@pxref{verbose
tutorial}).
@opsummary{group}
@item --group=@var{group}
Files added to the @command{tar} archive will have a group @acronym{ID} of @var{group},
rather than the group from the source file. @var{group} can specify a
symbolic name, or a numeric @acronym{ID}, or both as
@var{name}:@var{id}. @xref{override}.
Also see the @option{--group-map} option and comments for the
@option{--owner=@var{user}} option.
@opsummary{group-map}
@item --group-map=@var{file}
Read owner group translation map from @var{file}. This option allows to
translate only certain group names and/or UIDs. @xref{override}, for a
detailed description. When used together with @option{--group}
option, the latter affects only those files whose owner group is not listed
in the @var{file}.
This option does not affect extraction from archives.
@opsummary{gzip}
@opsummary{gunzip}
@opsummary{ungzip}
@item --gzip
@itemx --gunzip
@itemx --ungzip
@itemx -z
This option tells @command{tar} to read or write archives through
@command{gzip}, allowing @command{tar} to directly operate on several
kinds of compressed archives transparently. @xref{gzip}.
@opsummary{hard-dereference}
@item --hard-dereference
When creating an archive, dereference hard links and store the files
they refer to, instead of creating usual hard link members.
@xref{hard links}.
@opsummary{help}
@item --help
@itemx -?
@command{tar} will print out a short message summarizing the operations and
options to @command{tar} and exit. @xref{help}.
@opsummary{hole-detection}
@item --hole-detection=@var{method}
Use @var{method} to detect holes in sparse files. This option implies
@option{--sparse}. Valid methods are @samp{seek} and @samp{raw}.
Default is @samp{seek} with fallback to @samp{raw} when not
applicable. @xref{sparse}.
@opsummary{ignore-case}
@item --ignore-case
Ignore case when matching member or file names with
patterns. @xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
@opsummary{ignore-command-error}
@item --ignore-command-error
Ignore exit codes of subprocesses. @xref{Writing to an External Program}.
@opsummary{ignore-failed-read}
@item --ignore-failed-read
Do not exit unsuccessfully merely because reading failed.
@xref{Ignore Failed Read}.
@opsummary{ignore-zeros}
@item --ignore-zeros
@itemx -i
With this option, @command{tar} will ignore zeroed blocks in the
archive, which normally signals EOF. This option also suppresses
warnings about missing or incomplete zero blocks at the end of the
archive. @xref{Ignore Zeros}.
@opsummary{incremental}
@item --incremental
@itemx -G
Informs @command{tar} that it is working with an old
@acronym{GNU}-format incremental backup archive. It is intended
primarily for backwards compatibility only. @xref{Incremental Dumps},
for a detailed discussion of incremental archives.
@opsummary{index-file}
@item --index-file=@var{file}
Send verbose output to @var{file} instead of to standard output.
@opsummary{info-script}
@opsummary{new-volume-script}
@item --info-script=@var{command}
@itemx --new-volume-script=@var{command}
@itemx -F @var{command}
When @command{tar} is performing multi-tape backups, @var{command} is run
at the end of each tape. If it exits with nonzero status,
@command{tar} fails immediately. @xref{info-script}, for a detailed
discussion of this feature.
@opsummary{interactive}
@item --interactive
@itemx --confirmation
@itemx -w
Specifies that @command{tar} should ask the user for confirmation before
performing potentially destructive options, such as overwriting files.
@xref{interactive}.
@opsummary{keep-directory-symlink}
@item --keep-directory-symlink
This option changes the behavior of tar when it encounters a symlink
with the same name as the directory that it is about to extract. By
default, in this case tar would first remove the symlink and then
proceed extracting the directory.
The @option{--keep-directory-symlink} option disables this behavior
and instructs tar to follow symlinks to directories when extracting
from the archive.
It is mainly intended to provide compatibility with the Slackware
installation scripts.
@opsummary{keep-newer-files}
@item --keep-newer-files
Do not replace existing files that are newer than their archive copies
when extracting files from an archive.
@opsummary{keep-old-files}
@item --keep-old-files
@itemx -k
Do not overwrite existing files when extracting files from an
archive. Return error if such files exist. See also
@ref{--skip-old-files}.
@xref{Keep Old Files}.
@opsummary{label}
@item --label=@var{name}
@itemx -V @var{name}
When creating an archive, instructs @command{tar} to write @var{name}
as a name record in the archive. When extracting or listing archives,
@command{tar} will only operate on archives that have a label matching
the pattern specified in @var{name}. @xref{Tape Files}.
@opsummary{level}
@item --level=@var{n}
Force incremental backup of level @var{n}. As of @GNUTAR{} version
@value{VERSION}, the option @option{--level=0} truncates the snapshot
file, thereby forcing the level 0 dump. Other values of @var{n} are
effectively ignored. @xref{--level=0}, for details and examples.
The use of this option is valid only in conjunction with the
@option{--listed-incremental} option. @xref{Incremental Dumps},
for a detailed description.
@opsummary{listed-incremental}
@item --listed-incremental=@var{snapshot-file}
@itemx -g @var{snapshot-file}
During a @option{--create} operation, specifies that the archive that
@command{tar} creates is a new @acronym{GNU}-format incremental
backup, using @var{snapshot-file} to determine which files to backup.
With other operations, informs @command{tar} that the archive is in
incremental format. @xref{Incremental Dumps}.
@opsummary{lzip}
@item --lzip
This option tells @command{tar} to read or write archives through
@command{lzip}. @xref{gzip}.
@opsummary{lzma}
@item --lzma
This option tells @command{tar} to read or write archives through
@command{lzma}. @xref{gzip}.
@item --lzop
This option tells @command{tar} to read or write archives through
@command{lzop}. @xref{gzip}.
@opsummary{mode}
@item --mode=@var{permissions}
When adding files to an archive, @command{tar} will use
@var{permissions} for the archive members, rather than the permissions
from the files. @var{permissions} can be specified either as an octal
number or as symbolic permissions, like with
@command{chmod}. @xref{override}.
@opsummary{mtime}
@item --mtime=@var{date}
When adding files to an archive, @command{tar} will use @var{date} as
the modification time of members when creating archives, instead of
their actual modification times. The value of @var{date} can be
either a textual date representation (@pxref{Date input formats}) or a
name of the existing file, starting with @samp{/} or @samp{.}. In the
latter case, the modification time of that file is used. @xref{override}.
When @command{--clamp-mtime} is also specified, files with
modification times earlier than @var{date} will retain their actual
modification times, and @var{date} will only be used for files whose
modification times are later than @var{date}.
@opsummary{multi-volume}
@item --multi-volume
@itemx -M
Informs @command{tar} that it should create or otherwise operate on a
multi-volume @command{tar} archive. @xref{Using Multiple Tapes}.
@opsummary{new-volume-script}
@item --new-volume-script
(see @option{--info-script})
@opsummary{newer}
@item --newer=@var{date}
@itemx --after-date=@var{date}
@itemx -N
When creating an archive, @command{tar} will only add files that have changed
since @var{date}. If @var{date} begins with @samp{/} or @samp{.}, it
is taken to be the name of a file whose data modification time specifies
the date. @xref{after}.
@opsummary{newer-mtime}
@item --newer-mtime=@var{date}
Like @option{--newer}, but add only files whose
contents have changed (as opposed to just @option{--newer}, which will
also back up files for which any status information has
changed). @xref{after}.
@opsummary{no-acls}
@item --no-acls
Disable the POSIX ACLs support. @xref{Extended File Attributes, acls}.
@opsummary{no-anchored}
@item --no-anchored
An exclude pattern can match any subsequence of the name's components.
@xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
@opsummary{no-auto-compress}
@item --no-auto-compress
Disables automatic compressed format recognition based on the archive
suffix. @xref{--auto-compress}. @xref{gzip}.
@opsummary{no-check-device}
@item --no-check-device
Do not check device numbers when creating a list of modified files
for incremental archiving. @xref{device numbers}, for
a detailed description.
@opsummary{no-delay-directory-restore}
@item --no-delay-directory-restore
Modification times and permissions of extracted
directories are set when all files from this directory have been
extracted. This is the default.
@xref{Directory Modification Times and Permissions}.
@opsummary{no-ignore-case}
@item --no-ignore-case
Use case-sensitive matching.
@xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
@opsummary{no-ignore-command-error}
@item --no-ignore-command-error
Print warnings about subprocesses that terminated with a nonzero exit
code. @xref{Writing to an External Program}.
@opsummary{no-null}
@item --no-null
If the @option{--null} option was given previously, this option
cancels its effect, so that any following @option{--files-from}
options will expect their file lists to be newline-terminated.
@opsummary{no-overwrite-dir}
@item --no-overwrite-dir
Preserve metadata of existing directories when extracting files
from an archive. @xref{Overwrite Old Files}.
@opsummary{no-quote-chars}
@item --no-quote-chars=@var{string}
Remove characters listed in @var{string} from the list of quoted
characters set by the previous @option{--quote-chars} option
(@pxref{quoting styles}).
@opsummary{no-recursion}
@item --no-recursion
With this option, @command{tar} will not recurse into directories.
@xref{recurse}.
@opsummary{no-same-owner}
@item --no-same-owner
@itemx -o
When extracting an archive, do not attempt to preserve the owner
specified in the @command{tar} archive. This the default behavior
for ordinary users.
@opsummary{no-same-permissions}
@item --no-same-permissions
When extracting an archive, subtract the user's umask from files from
the permissions specified in the archive. This is the default behavior
for ordinary users.
@opsummary{no-seek}
@item --no-seek
The archive media does not support seeks to arbitrary
locations. Usually @command{tar} determines automatically whether
the archive can be seeked or not. Use this option to disable this
mechanism.
@opsummary{no-selinux}
@item --no-selinux
Disable SELinux context support. @xref{Extended File Attributes, SELinux}.
@opsummary{no-unquote}
@item --no-unquote
Treat all input file or member names literally, do not interpret
escape sequences. @xref{input name quoting}.
@opsummary{no-verbatim-files-from}
@item --no-verbatim-files-from
Instructs @GNUTAR{} to treat each line read from a file list as if it
were supplied in the command line. I.e., leading and trailing
whitespace is removed and, if the result begins with a dash, it is
treated as a @GNUTAR{} command line option.
This is default behavior. This option is provided as a way to restore
it after @option{--verbatim-files-from} option.
It is implied by the @option{--no-null} option.
@xref{no-verbatim-files-from}.
@opsummary{no-wildcards}
@item --no-wildcards
Do not use wildcards.
@xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
@opsummary{no-wildcards-match-slash}
@item --no-wildcards-match-slash
Wildcards do not match @samp{/}.
@xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
@opsummary{no-xattrs}
@item --no-xattrs
Disable extended attributes support. @xref{Extended File Attributes, xattrs}.
@opsummary{null}
@item --null
When @command{tar} is using the @option{--files-from} option, this option
instructs @command{tar} to expect file names terminated with
@acronym{NUL}, and to process file names verbatim.
This means that @command{tar} correctly works with file names that
contain newlines or begin with a dash.
@xref{nul}.
See also @ref{verbatim-files-from}.
@opsummary{numeric-owner}
@item --numeric-owner
This option will notify @command{tar} that it should use numeric user
and group IDs when creating a @command{tar} file, rather than names.
@xref{Attributes}.
@item -o
The function of this option depends on the action @command{tar} is
performing. When extracting files, @option{-o} is a synonym for
@option{--no-same-owner}, i.e., it prevents @command{tar} from
restoring ownership of files being extracted.
When creating an archive, it is a synonym for
@option{--old-archive}. This behavior is for compatibility
with previous versions of @GNUTAR{}, and will be
removed in future releases.
@xref{Changes}, for more information.
@opsummary{occurrence}
@item --occurrence[=@var{number}]
This option can be used in conjunction with one of the subcommands
@option{--delete}, @option{--diff}, @option{--extract} or
@option{--list} when a list of files is given either on the command
line or via @option{-T} option.
This option instructs @command{tar} to process only the @var{number}th
occurrence of each named file. @var{Number} defaults to 1, so
@smallexample
tar -x -f archive.tar --occurrence filename
@end smallexample
@noindent
will extract the first occurrence of the member @file{filename} from @file{archive.tar}
and will terminate without scanning to the end of the archive.
@opsummary{old-archive}
@item --old-archive
Synonym for @option{--format=v7}.
@opsummary{one-file-system}
@item --one-file-system
Used when creating an archive. Prevents @command{tar} from recursing into
directories that are on different file systems from the current
directory.
@opsummary{one-top-level}
@item --one-top-level[=@var{dir}]
Tells @command{tar} to create a new directory beneath the extraction directory
(or the one passed to @option{-C}) and use it to guard against
tarbombs. In the absence of @var{dir} argument, the name of the new directory
will be equal to the base name of the archive (file name minus the
archive suffix, if recognized). Any member names that do not begin
with that directory name (after
transformations from @option{--transform} and
@option{--strip-components}) will be prefixed with it. Recognized
file name suffixes are @samp{.tar}, and any compression suffixes
recognizable by @xref{--auto-compress}.
@opsummary{overwrite}
@item --overwrite
Overwrite existing files and directory metadata when extracting files
from an archive. @xref{Overwrite Old Files}.
@opsummary{overwrite-dir}
@item --overwrite-dir
Overwrite the metadata of existing directories when extracting files
from an archive. @xref{Overwrite Old Files}.
@opsummary{owner}
@item --owner=@var{user}
Specifies that @command{tar} should use @var{user} as the owner of members
when creating archives, instead of the user associated with the source
file. @var{user} can specify a symbolic name, or a numeric
@acronym{ID}, or both as @var{name}:@var{id}.
@xref{override}.
This option does not affect extraction from archives. See also
@option{--owner-map}, below.
@opsummary{owner-map}
@item --owner-map=@var{file}
Read owner translation map from @var{file}. This option allows to
translate only certain owner names or UIDs. @xref{override}, for a
detailed description. When used together with @option{--owner}
option, the latter affects only those files whose owner is not listed
in the @var{file}.
This option does not affect extraction from archives.
@opsummary{pax-option}
@item --pax-option=@var{keyword-list}
This option enables creation of the archive in @acronym{POSIX.1-2001}
format (@pxref{posix}) and modifies the way @command{tar} handles the
extended header keywords. @var{Keyword-list} is a comma-separated
list of keyword options. @xref{PAX keywords}, for a detailed
discussion.
@opsummary{portability}
@item --portability
@itemx --old-archive
Synonym for @option{--format=v7}.
@opsummary{posix}
@item --posix
Same as @option{--format=posix}.
@opsummary{preserve-order}
@item --preserve-order
(See @option{--same-order}; @pxref{Reading}.)
@opsummary{preserve-permissions}
@opsummary{same-permissions}
@item --preserve-permissions
@itemx --same-permissions
@itemx -p
When @command{tar} is extracting an archive, it normally subtracts the
users' umask from the permissions specified in the archive and uses
that number as the permissions to create the destination file.
Specifying this option instructs @command{tar} that it should use the
permissions directly from the archive. @xref{Setting Access Permissions}.
@opsummary{quote-chars}
@item --quote-chars=@var{string}
Always quote characters from @var{string}, even if the selected
quoting style would not quote them (@pxref{quoting styles}).
@opsummary{quoting-style}
@item --quoting-style=@var{style}
Set quoting style to use when printing member and file names
(@pxref{quoting styles}). Valid @var{style} values are:
@code{literal}, @code{shell}, @code{shell-always}, @code{c},
@code{escape}, @code{locale}, and @code{clocale}. Default quoting
style is @code{escape}, unless overridden while configuring the
package.
@opsummary{read-full-records}
@item --read-full-records
@itemx -B
Specifies that @command{tar} should reblock its input, for reading
from pipes on systems with buggy implementations. @xref{Reading}.
@opsummary{record-size}
@item --record-size=@var{size}[@var{suf}]
Instructs @command{tar} to use @var{size} bytes per record when accessing the
archive. The argument can be suffixed with a @dfn{size suffix}, e.g.
@option{--record-size=10K} for 10 Kilobytes. @xref{size-suffixes},
for a list of valid suffixes. @xref{Blocking Factor}, for a detailed
description of this option.
@opsummary{recursion}
@item --recursion
With this option, @command{tar} recurses into directories (default).
@xref{recurse}.
@opsummary{recursive-unlink}
@item --recursive-unlink
Remove existing
directory hierarchies before extracting directories of the same name
from the archive. @xref{Recursive Unlink}.
@opsummary{remove-files}
@item --remove-files
Directs @command{tar} to remove the source file from the file system after
appending it to an archive. @xref{remove files}.
@opsummary{restrict}
@item --restrict
Disable use of some potentially harmful @command{tar} options.
Currently this option disables shell invocation from multi-volume menu
(@pxref{Using Multiple Tapes}).
@opsummary{rmt-command}
@item --rmt-command=@var{cmd}
Notifies @command{tar} that it should use @var{cmd} instead of
the default @file{/usr/libexec/rmt} (@pxref{Remote Tape Server}).
@opsummary{rsh-command}
@item --rsh-command=@var{cmd}
Notifies @command{tar} that is should use @var{cmd} to communicate with remote
devices. @xref{Device}.
@opsummary{same-order}
@item --same-order
@itemx --preserve-order
@itemx -s
This option is an optimization for @command{tar} when running on machines with
small amounts of memory. It informs @command{tar} that the list of file
arguments has already been sorted to match the order of files in the
archive. @xref{Reading}.
@opsummary{same-owner}
@item --same-owner
When extracting an archive, @command{tar} will attempt to preserve the owner
specified in the @command{tar} archive with this option present.
This is the default behavior for the superuser; this option has an
effect only for ordinary users. @xref{Attributes}.
@opsummary{same-permissions}
@item --same-permissions
(See @option{--preserve-permissions}; @pxref{Setting Access Permissions}.)
@opsummary{seek}
@item --seek
@itemx -n
Assume that the archive media supports seeks to arbitrary
locations. Usually @command{tar} determines automatically whether
the archive can be seeked or not. This option is intended for use
in cases when such recognition fails. It takes effect only if the
archive is open for reading (e.g. with @option{--list} or
@option{--extract} options).
@opsummary{selinux}
@item --selinux
Enable the SELinux context support.
@xref{Extended File Attributes, selinux}.
@opsummary{show-defaults}
@item --show-defaults
Displays the default options used by @command{tar} and exits
successfully. This option is intended for use in shell scripts.
Here is an example of what you can see using this option:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --show-defaults}
--format=gnu -f- -b20 --quoting-style=escape
--rmt-command=/usr/libexec/rmt --rsh-command=/usr/bin/rsh
@end smallexample
@noindent
Notice, that this option outputs only one line. The example output
above has been split to fit page boundaries. @xref{defaults}.
@opsummary{show-omitted-dirs}
@item --show-omitted-dirs
Instructs @command{tar} to mention the directories it is skipping when
operating on a @command{tar} archive. @xref{show-omitted-dirs}.
@opsummary{show-snapshot-field-ranges}
@item --show-snapshot-field-ranges
Displays the range of values allowed by this version of @command{tar}
for each field in the snapshot file, then exits successfully.
@xref{Snapshot Files}.
@opsummary{show-transformed-names}
@opsummary{show-stored-names}
@item --show-transformed-names
@itemx --show-stored-names
Display file or member names after applying any transformations
(@pxref{transform}). In particular, when used in conjunction with one of
the archive creation operations it instructs @command{tar} to list the
member names stored in the archive, as opposed to the actual file
names. @xref{listing member and file names}.
@opsummary{skip-old-files}
@item --skip-old-files
Do not overwrite existing files when extracting files from an
archive. @xref{Keep Old Files}.
This option differs from @option{--keep-old-files} in that it does not
treat such files as an error, instead it just silently avoids
overwriting them.
The @option{--warning=existing-file} option can be used together with
this option to produce warning messages about existing old files
(@pxref{warnings}).
@opsummary{sort}
@item --sort=@var{order}
Specify the directory sorting order when reading directories.
@var{Order} may be one of the following:
@table @samp
@item none
No directory sorting is performed. This is the default.
@item name
Sort the directory entries on name. The operating system may deliver
directory entries in a more or less random order, and sorting them
makes archive creation reproducible.
@item inode
Sort the directory entries on inode number. Sorting directories on
inode number may reduce the amount of disk seek operations when
creating an archive for some file systems.
@end table
@opsummary{sparse}
@item --sparse
@itemx -S
Invokes a @acronym{GNU} extension when adding files to an archive that handles
sparse files efficiently. @xref{sparse}.
@opsummary{sparse-version}
@item --sparse-version=@var{version}
Specifies the @dfn{format version} to use when archiving sparse
files. Implies @option{--sparse}. @xref{sparse}. For the description
of the supported sparse formats, @xref{Sparse Formats}.
@opsummary{starting-file}
@item --starting-file=@var{name}
@itemx -K @var{name}
This option affects extraction only; @command{tar} will skip extracting
files in the archive until it finds one that matches @var{name}.
@xref{Scarce}.
@opsummary{strip-components}
@item --strip-components=@var{number}
Strip given @var{number} of leading components from file names before
extraction. For example, if archive @file{archive.tar} contained
@file{/some/file/name}, then running
@smallexample
tar --extract --file archive.tar --strip-components=2
@end smallexample
@noindent
would extract this file to file @file{name}.
@xref{transform}.
@opsummary{suffix}
@item --suffix=@var{suffix}
Alters the suffix @command{tar} uses when backing up files from the default
@samp{~}. @xref{backup}.
@opsummary{tape-length}
@item --tape-length=@var{num}[@var{suf}]
@itemx -L @var{num}[@var{suf}]
Specifies the length of tapes that @command{tar} is writing as being
@w{@var{num} x 1024} bytes long. If optional @var{suf} is given, it
specifies a multiplicative factor to be used instead of 1024. For
example, @samp{-L2M} means 2 megabytes. @xref{size-suffixes}, for a
list of allowed suffixes. @xref{Using Multiple Tapes}, for a detailed
discussion of this option.
@opsummary{test-label}
@item --test-label
Reads the volume label. If an argument is specified, test whether it
matches the volume label. @xref{--test-label option}.
@opsummary{to-command}
@item --to-command=@var{command}
During extraction @command{tar} will pipe extracted files to the
standard input of @var{command}. @xref{Writing to an External Program}.
@opsummary{to-stdout}
@item --to-stdout
@itemx -O
During extraction, @command{tar} will extract files to stdout rather
than to the file system. @xref{Writing to Standard Output}.
@opsummary{totals}
@item --totals[=@var{signo}]
Displays the total number of bytes transferred when processing an
archive. If an argument is given, these data are displayed on
request, when signal @var{signo} is delivered to @command{tar}.
@xref{totals}.
@opsummary{touch}
@item --touch
@itemx -m
Sets the data modification time of extracted files to the extraction time,
rather than the data modification time stored in the archive.
@xref{Data Modification Times}.
@opsummary{transform}
@opsummary{xform}
@item --transform=@var{sed-expr}
@itemx --xform=@var{sed-expr}
Transform file or member names using @command{sed} replacement expression
@var{sed-expr}. For example,
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar cf archive.tar --transform 's,^\./,usr/,' .}
@end smallexample
@noindent
will add to @file{archive} files from the current working directory,
replacing initial @samp{./} prefix with @samp{usr/}. For the detailed
discussion, @xref{transform}.
To see transformed member names in verbose listings, use
@option{--show-transformed-names} option
(@pxref{show-transformed-names}).
@opsummary{uncompress}
@item --uncompress
(See @option{--compress}, @pxref{gzip})
@opsummary{ungzip}
@item --ungzip
(See @option{--gzip}, @pxref{gzip})
@opsummary{unlink-first}
@item --unlink-first
@itemx -U
Directs @command{tar} to remove the corresponding file from the file
system before extracting it from the archive. @xref{Unlink First}.
@opsummary{unquote}
@item --unquote
Enable unquoting input file or member names (default). @xref{input
name quoting}.
@opsummary{use-compress-program}
@item --use-compress-program=@var{prog}
@itemx -I=@var{prog}
Instructs @command{tar} to access the archive through @var{prog}, which is
presumed to be a compression program of some sort. @xref{gzip}.
@opsummary{utc}
@item --utc
Display file modification dates in @acronym{UTC}. This option implies
@option{--verbose}.
@opsummary{verbatim-files-from}
@item --verbatim-files-from
Instructs @GNUTAR{} to treat each line read from a file list as a file
name, even if it starts with a dash.
File lists are supplied with the @option{--files-from} (@option{-T})
option. By default, each line read from a file list is first trimmed
off the leading and trailing whitespace and, if the result begins with
a dash, it is treated as a @GNUTAR{} command line option.
Use the @option{--verbatim-files-from} option to disable this special
handling. This facilitates the use of @command{tar} with file lists
created by @command{file} command.
This option affects all @option{--files-from} options that occur after
it in the command line. Its effect is reverted by the
@option{--no-verbatim-files-from} option.
This option is implied by the @option{--null} option.
@xref{verbatim-files-from}.
@opsummary{verbose}
@item --verbose
@itemx -v
Specifies that @command{tar} should be more verbose about the
operations it is performing. This option can be specified multiple
times for some operations to increase the amount of information displayed.
@xref{verbose}.
@opsummary{verify}
@item --verify
@itemx -W
Verifies that the archive was correctly written when creating an
archive. @xref{verify}.
@opsummary{version}
@item --version
Print information about the program's name, version, origin and legal
status, all on standard output, and then exit successfully.
@xref{help}.
@opsummary{volno-file}
@item --volno-file=@var{file}
Used in conjunction with @option{--multi-volume}. @command{tar} will
keep track of which volume of a multi-volume archive it is working in
@var{file}. @xref{volno-file}.
@opsummary{warning}
@item --warning=@var{keyword}
Enable or disable warning messages identified by @var{keyword}. The
messages are suppressed if @var{keyword} is prefixed with @samp{no-}.
@xref{warnings}.
@opsummary{wildcards}
@item --wildcards
Use wildcards when matching member names with patterns.
@xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
@opsummary{wildcards-match-slash}
@item --wildcards-match-slash
Wildcards match @samp{/}.
@xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
@opsummary{xattrs}
@item --xattrs
Enable extended attributes support. @xref{Extended File Attributes, xattrs}.
@opsummary{xattrs-exclude}
@item --xattrs-exclude=@var{pattern}
Specify exclude pattern for xattr keys.
@xref{Extended File Attributes, xattrs-exclude}.
@opsummary{xattrs-include}
@item --xattrs-include=@var{pattern}.
Specify include pattern for xattr keys. @var{pattern} is a globbing
pattern, e.g. @samp{--xattrs-include='user.*'} to include
only attributes from the user namespace.
@xref{Extended File Attributes, xattrs-include}.
@opsummary{xz}
@item --xz
@itemx -J
Use @command{xz} for compressing or decompressing the archives. @xref{gzip}.
@item --zstd
Use @command{zstd} for compressing or decompressing the archives. @xref{gzip}.
@end table
@node Short Option Summary
@subsection Short Options Cross Reference
Here is an alphabetized list of all of the short option forms, matching
them with the equivalent long option.
@multitable @columnfractions 0.20 0.80
@headitem Short Option @tab Reference
@item -A @tab @ref{--concatenate}.
@item -B @tab @ref{--read-full-records}.
@item -C @tab @ref{--directory}.
@item -F @tab @ref{--info-script}.
@item -G @tab @ref{--incremental}.
@item -J @tab @ref{--xz}.
@item -K @tab @ref{--starting-file}.
@item -L @tab @ref{--tape-length}.
@item -M @tab @ref{--multi-volume}.
@item -N @tab @ref{--newer}.
@item -O @tab @ref{--to-stdout}.
@item -P @tab @ref{--absolute-names}.
@item -R @tab @ref{--block-number}.
@item -S @tab @ref{--sparse}.
@item -T @tab @ref{--files-from}.
@item -U @tab @ref{--unlink-first}.
@item -V @tab @ref{--label}.
@item -W @tab @ref{--verify}.
@item -X @tab @ref{--exclude-from}.
@item -Z @tab @ref{--compress}.
@item -b @tab @ref{--blocking-factor}.
@item -c @tab @ref{--create}.
@item -d @tab @ref{--compare}.
@item -f @tab @ref{--file}.
@item -g @tab @ref{--listed-incremental}.
@item -h @tab @ref{--dereference}.
@item -i @tab @ref{--ignore-zeros}.
@item -j @tab @ref{--bzip2}.
@item -k @tab @ref{--keep-old-files}.
@item -l @tab @ref{--check-links}.
@item -m @tab @ref{--touch}.
@item -o @tab When extracting, same as @ref{--no-same-owner}. When creating,
-- @ref{--old-archive}.
The latter usage is deprecated. It is retained for compatibility with
the earlier versions of @GNUTAR{}. In future releases
@option{-o} will be equivalent to @option{--no-same-owner} only.
@item -p @tab @ref{--preserve-permissions}.
@item -r @tab @ref{--append}.
@item -s @tab @ref{--same-order}.
@item -t @tab @ref{--list}.
@item -u @tab @ref{--update}.
@item -v @tab @ref{--verbose}.
@item -w @tab @ref{--interactive}.
@item -x @tab @ref{--extract}.
@item -z @tab @ref{--gzip}.
@end multitable
@node Position-Sensitive Options
@subsection Position-Sensitive Options
Some @GNUTAR{} options can be used multiple times in the same
invocation and affect all arguments that appear after them. These are
options that control how file names are selected and what kind of
pattern matching is used.
The most obvious example is the @option{-C} option. It instructs @command{tar}
to change to the directory given as its argument prior to processing
the rest of command line (@pxref{directory}). Thus, in the following
command:
@example
@kbd{tar -c -f a.tar -C /etc passwd -C /var log spool}
@end example
@noindent
the file @file{passwd} will be searched in the directory @file{/etc},
and files @file{log} and @file{spool} -- in @file{/var}.
These options can also be used in a file list supplied with the
@option{--files-from} (@option{-T}) option (@pxref{files}). In that
case they affect all files (patterns) appearing in that file after
them and remain in effect for any arguments processed after that file.
For example, if the file @file{list.txt} contained:
@example
README
-C src
main.c
@end example
@noindent
and @command{tar} were invoked as follows:
@example
@kbd{tar -c -f a.tar -T list.txt Makefile}
@end example
@noindent
then the file @file{README} would be looked up in the current working
directory, and files @file{main.c} and @file{Makefile} would be looked
up in the directory @file{src}.
Many options can be prefixed with @option{--no-} to cancel the effect
of the original option.
For example, the @option{--recursion} option controls whether to
recurse in the subdirectories. It's counterpart
@option{--no-recursion} disables this. Consider the command below. It will
store in the archive the directory @file{/usr} with all files and
directories that are located in it as well as any files and
directories in @file{/var}, without recursing into them@footnote{The @option{--recursion}
option is the default and is used here for clarity. The same example
can be written as:
@example
tar -cf a.tar /usr --no-recursion /var/*
@end example
}:
@example
tar -cf a.tar --recursion /usr --no-recursion /var/*
@end example
During archive creation, @GNUTAR{} keeps track of positional options
used and arguments affected by them. If it finds out that any such
options are used in an obviously erroneous way, the fact is reported
and exit code is set to 2. E.g.:
@example
@group
$ @kbd{tar -cf a.tar . --exclude '*.o'}
tar: The following options were used after any non-optional
arguments in archive create or update mode. These options are
positional and affect only arguments that follow them. Please,
rearrange them properly.
tar: --exclude '*.o' has no effect
tar: Exiting with failure status due to previous errors
@end group
@end example
The following table summarizes all position-sensitive options.
@table @option
@item --directory=@var{dir}
@itemx -C @var{dir}
@xref{directory}.
@item --null
@itemx --no-null
@xref{nul}.
@item --unquote
@itemx --no-unquote
@xref{input name quoting}.
@item --verbatim-files-from
@itemx --no-verbatim-files-from
@xref{verbatim-files-from}.
@item --recursion
@itemx --no-recursion
@xref{recurse}.
@item --anchored
@itemx --no-anchored
@xref{anchored patterns}.
@item --ignore-case
@itemx --no-ignore-case
@xref{case-insensitive matches}.
@item --wildcards
@itemx --no-wildcards
@xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
@item --wildcards-match-slash
@itemx --no-wildcards-match-slash
@xref{controlling pattern-matching}.
@item --exclude
@xref{exclude}.
@item --exclude-from
@itemx -X
@itemx --exclude-caches
@itemx --exclude-caches-under
@itemx --exclude-caches-all
@itemx --exclude-tag
@itemx --exclude-ignore
@itemx --exclude-ignore-recursive
@itemx --exclude-tag-under
@itemx --exclude-tag-all
@itemx --exclude-vcs
@itemx --exclude-vcs-ignores
@itemx --exclude-backups
@xref{exclude}.
@end table
@node help
@section @GNUTAR{} documentation
@cindex Getting program version number
@opindex version
@cindex Version of the @command{tar} program
Being careful, the first thing is really checking that you are using
@GNUTAR{}, indeed. The @option{--version} option
causes @command{tar} to print information about its name, version,
origin and legal status, all on standard output, and then exit
successfully. For example, @w{@samp{tar --version}} might print:
@smallexample
tar (GNU tar) @value{VERSION}
Copyright (C) 2013-2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
Written by John Gilmore and Jay Fenlason.
@end smallexample
@noindent
The first occurrence of @samp{tar} in the result above is the program
name in the package (for example, @command{rmt} is another program),
while the second occurrence of @samp{tar} is the name of the package
itself, containing possibly many programs. The package is currently
named @samp{tar}, after the name of the main program it
contains@footnote{There are plans to merge the @command{cpio} and
@command{tar} packages into a single one which would be called
@code{paxutils}. So, who knows if, one of this days, the
@option{--version} would not output @w{@samp{tar (@acronym{GNU}
paxutils) 3.2}}.}.
@cindex Obtaining help
@cindex Listing all @command{tar} options
@xopindex{help, introduction}
Another thing you might want to do is checking the spelling or meaning
of some particular @command{tar} option, without resorting to this
manual, for once you have carefully read it. @GNUTAR{}
has a short help feature, triggerable through the
@option{--help} option. By using this option, @command{tar} will
print a usage message listing all available options on standard
output, then exit successfully, without doing anything else and
ignoring all other options. Even if this is only a brief summary, it
may be several screens long. So, if you are not using some kind of
scrollable window, you might prefer to use something like:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --help | less}
@end smallexample
@noindent
presuming, here, that you like using @command{less} for a pager. Other
popular pagers are @command{more} and @command{pg}. If you know about some
@var{keyword} which interests you and do not want to read all the
@option{--help} output, another common idiom is doing:
@smallexample
tar --help | grep @var{keyword}
@end smallexample
@noindent
for getting only the pertinent lines. Notice, however, that some
@command{tar} options have long description lines and the above
command will list only the first of them.
The exact look of the option summary displayed by @kbd{tar --help} is
configurable. @xref{Configuring Help Summary}, for a detailed description.
@opindex usage
If you only wish to check the spelling of an option, running @kbd{tar
--usage} may be a better choice. This will display a terse list of
@command{tar} options without accompanying explanations.
The short help output is quite succinct, and you might have to get
back to the full documentation for precise points. If you are reading
this paragraph, you already have the @command{tar} manual in some
form. This manual is available in a variety of forms from
@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/tar/manual}. It may be printed out of the @GNUTAR{}
distribution, provided you have @TeX{} already installed somewhere,
and a laser printer around. Just configure the distribution, execute
the command @w{@samp{make dvi}}, then print @file{doc/tar.dvi} the
usual way (contact your local guru to know how). If @GNUTAR{}
has been conveniently installed at your place, this
manual is also available in interactive, hypertextual form as an Info
file. Just call @w{@samp{info tar}} or, if you do not have the
@command{info} program handy, use the Info reader provided within
@acronym{GNU} Emacs, calling @samp{tar} from the main Info menu.
There is currently no @code{man} page for @GNUTAR{}.
If you observe such a @code{man} page on the system you are running,
either it does not belong to @GNUTAR{}, or it has not
been produced by @acronym{GNU}. Some package maintainers convert
@kbd{tar --help} output to a man page, using @command{help2man}. In
any case, please bear in mind that the authoritative source of
information about @GNUTAR{} is this Texinfo documentation.
@node defaults
@section Obtaining @GNUTAR{} default values
@opindex show-defaults
@GNUTAR{} has some predefined defaults that are used when you do not
explicitly specify another values. To obtain a list of such
defaults, use @option{--show-defaults} option. This will output the
values in the form of @command{tar} command line options:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar --show-defaults}
--format=gnu -f- -b20 --quoting-style=escape
--rmt-command=/etc/rmt --rsh-command=/usr/bin/rsh
@end group
@end smallexample
@noindent
Notice, that this option outputs only one line. The example output above
has been split to fit page boundaries.
@noindent
The above output shows that this version of @GNUTAR{} defaults to
using @samp{gnu} archive format (@pxref{Formats}), it uses standard
output as the archive, if no @option{--file} option has been given
(@pxref{file tutorial}), the default blocking factor is 20
(@pxref{Blocking Factor}). It also shows the default locations where
@command{tar} will look for @command{rmt} and @command{rsh} binaries.
@node verbose
@section Checking @command{tar} progress
Typically, @command{tar} performs most operations without reporting any
information to the user except error messages. When using @command{tar}
with many options, particularly ones with complicated or
difficult-to-predict behavior, it is possible to make serious mistakes.
@command{tar} provides several options that make observing @command{tar}
easier. These options cause @command{tar} to print information as it
progresses in its job, and you might want to use them just for being
more careful about what is going on, or merely for entertaining
yourself. If you have encountered a problem when operating on an
archive, however, you may need more information than just an error
message in order to solve the problem. The following options can be
helpful diagnostic tools.
@cindex Verbose operation
@opindex verbose
Normally, the @option{--list} (@option{-t}) command to list an archive
prints just the file names (one per line) and the other commands are
silent. When used with most operations, the @option{--verbose}
(@option{-v}) option causes @command{tar} to print the name of each
file or archive member as it is processed. This and the other options
which make @command{tar} print status information can be useful in
monitoring @command{tar}.
With @option{--create} or @option{--extract}, @option{--verbose} used
once just prints the names of the files or members as they are processed.
Using it twice causes @command{tar} to print a longer listing
(@xref{verbose member listing}, for the description) for each member.
Since @option{--list} already prints the names of the members,
@option{--verbose} used once with @option{--list} causes @command{tar}
to print an @samp{ls -l} type listing of the files in the archive.
The following examples both extract members with long list output:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --extract --file=archive.tar --verbose --verbose}
$ @kbd{tar xvvf archive.tar}
@end smallexample
Verbose output appears on the standard output except when an archive is
being written to the standard output, as with @samp{tar --create
--file=- --verbose} (@samp{tar cvf -}, or even @samp{tar cv}---if the
installer let standard output be the default archive). In that case
@command{tar} writes verbose output to the standard error stream.
If @option{--index-file=@var{file}} is specified, @command{tar} sends
verbose output to @var{file} rather than to standard output or standard
error.
@anchor{totals}
@cindex Obtaining total status information
@opindex totals
The @option{--totals} option causes @command{tar} to print on the
standard error the total amount of bytes transferred when processing
an archive. When creating or appending to an archive, this option
prints the number of bytes written to the archive and the average
speed at which they have been written, e.g.:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar --totals /home}
Total bytes written: 7924664320 (7.4GiB, 85MiB/s)
@end group
@end smallexample
When reading an archive, this option displays the number of bytes
read:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar -x -f archive.tar --totals}
Total bytes read: 7924664320 (7.4GiB, 95MiB/s)
@end group
@end smallexample
Finally, when deleting from an archive, the @option{--totals} option
displays both numbers plus number of bytes removed from the archive:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar --delete -f foo.tar --totals --wildcards '*~'}
Total bytes read: 9543680 (9.2MiB, 201MiB/s)
Total bytes written: 3829760 (3.7MiB, 81MiB/s)
Total bytes deleted: 1474048
@end group
@end smallexample
You can also obtain this information on request. When
@option{--totals} is used with an argument, this argument is
interpreted as a symbolic name of a signal, upon delivery of which the
statistics is to be printed:
@table @option
@item --totals=@var{signo}
Print statistics upon delivery of signal @var{signo}. Valid arguments
are: @code{SIGHUP}, @code{SIGQUIT}, @code{SIGINT}, @code{SIGUSR1} and
@code{SIGUSR2}. Shortened names without @samp{SIG} prefix are also
accepted.
@end table
Both forms of @option{--totals} option can be used simultaneously.
Thus, @kbd{tar -x --totals --totals=USR1} instructs @command{tar} to
extract all members from its default archive and print statistics
after finishing the extraction, as well as when receiving signal
@code{SIGUSR1}.
@anchor{Progress information}
@cindex Progress information
The @option{--checkpoint} option prints an occasional message
as @command{tar} reads or writes the archive. It is designed for
those who don't need the more detailed (and voluminous) output of
@option{--block-number} (@option{-R}), but do want visual confirmation
that @command{tar} is actually making forward progress. By default it
prints a message each 10 records read or written. This can be changed
by giving it a numeric argument after an equal sign:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c --checkpoint=1000} /var
tar: Write checkpoint 1000
tar: Write checkpoint 2000
tar: Write checkpoint 3000
@end smallexample
This example shows the default checkpoint message used by
@command{tar}. If you place a dot immediately after the equal
sign, it will print a @samp{.} at each checkpoint@footnote{This is
actually a shortcut for @option{--checkpoint=@var{n}
--checkpoint-action=dot}. @xref{checkpoints, dot}.}. For example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c --checkpoint=.1000} /var
...
@end smallexample
The @option{--checkpoint} option provides a flexible mechanism for
executing arbitrary actions upon hitting checkpoints, see the next
section (@pxref{checkpoints}), for more information on it.
@opindex show-omitted-dirs
@anchor{show-omitted-dirs}
The @option{--show-omitted-dirs} option, when reading an archive---with
@option{--list} or @option{--extract}, for example---causes a message
to be printed for each directory in the archive which is skipped.
This happens regardless of the reason for skipping: the directory might
not have been named on the command line (implicitly or explicitly),
it might be excluded by the use of the
@option{--exclude=@var{pattern}} option, or some other reason.
@opindex block-number
@cindex Block number where error occurred
@anchor{block-number}
If @option{--block-number} (@option{-R}) is used, @command{tar} prints, along with
every message it would normally produce, the block number within the
archive where the message was triggered. Also, supplementary messages
are triggered when reading blocks full of NULs, or when hitting end of
file on the archive. As of now, if the archive is properly terminated
with a NUL block, the reading of the file may stop before end of file
is met, so the position of end of file will not usually show when
@option{--block-number} (@option{-R}) is used. Note that @GNUTAR{}
drains the archive before exiting when reading the
archive from a pipe.
@cindex Error message, block number of
This option is especially useful when reading damaged archives, since
it helps pinpoint the damaged sections. It can also be used with
@option{--list} (@option{-t}) when listing a file-system backup tape, allowing you to
choose among several backup tapes when retrieving a file later, in
favor of the tape where the file appears earliest (closest to the
front of the tape). @xref{backup}.
@node checkpoints
@section Checkpoints
@cindex checkpoints, defined
@opindex checkpoint
@opindex checkpoint-action
A @dfn{checkpoint} is a moment of time before writing @var{n}th record to
the archive (a @dfn{write checkpoint}), or before reading @var{n}th record
from the archive (a @dfn{read checkpoint}). Checkpoints allow to
periodically execute arbitrary actions.
The checkpoint facility is enabled using the following option:
@table @option
@xopindex{checkpoint, defined}
@item --checkpoint[=@var{n}]
Schedule checkpoints before writing or reading each @var{n}th record.
The default value for @var{n} is 10.
@end table
A list of arbitrary @dfn{actions} can be executed at each checkpoint.
These actions include: pausing, displaying textual messages, and
executing arbitrary external programs. Actions are defined using
the @option{--checkpoint-action} option.
@table @option
@xopindex{checkpoint-action, defined}
@item --checkpoint-action=@var{action}
Execute an @var{action} at each checkpoint.
@end table
@cindex @code{echo}, checkpoint action
The simplest value of @var{action} is @samp{echo}. It instructs
@command{tar} to display the default message on the standard error
stream upon arriving at each checkpoint. The default message is (in
@acronym{POSIX} locale) @samp{Write checkpoint @var{n}}, for write
checkpoints, and @samp{Read checkpoint @var{n}}, for read checkpoints.
Here, @var{n} represents ordinal number of the checkpoint.
In another locales, translated versions of this message are used.
This is the default action, so running:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c --checkpoint=1000 --checkpoint-action=echo} /var
@end smallexample
@noindent
is equivalent to:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c --checkpoint=1000} /var
@end smallexample
The @samp{echo} action also allows to supply a customized message.
You do so by placing an equals sign and the message right after it,
e.g.:
@smallexample
--checkpoint-action="echo=Hit %s checkpoint #%u"
@end smallexample
The @samp{%s} and @samp{%u} in the above example are
@dfn{format specifiers}. The @samp{%s} specifier is replaced with
the @dfn{type} of the checkpoint: @samp{write} or
@samp{read} (or a corresponding translated version in locales other
than @acronym{POSIX}). The @samp{%u} specifier is replaced with
the ordinal number of the checkpoint. Thus, the above example could
produce the following output when used with the @option{--create}
option:
@smallexample
tar: Hit write checkpoint #10
tar: Hit write checkpoint #20
tar: Hit write checkpoint #30
@end smallexample
The complete list of available format specifiers follows. Some of
them can take optional arguments. These arguments, if given, are
supplied in curly braces between the percent sign and the specifier
letter.
@table @samp
@item %s
Print type of the checkpoint (@samp{write} or @samp{read}).
@item %u
Print number of the checkpoint.
@item %@{r,w,d@}T
Print number of bytes transferred so far and approximate transfer
speed. Optional arguments supply prefixes to be used before number
of bytes read, written and deleted, correspondingly. If absent,
they default to @samp{R}. @samp{W}, @samp{D}. Any or all of them can
be omitted, so, that e.g. @samp{%@{@}T} means to print corresponding
statistics without any prefixes. Any surplus arguments, if present,
are silently ignored.
@example
$ @kbd{tar --delete -f f.tar --checkpoint-action=echo="#%u: %T" main.c}
tar: #1: R: 0 (0B, 0B/s),W: 0 (0B, 0B/s),D: 0
tar: #2: R: 10240 (10KiB, 19MiB/s),W: 0 (0B, 0B/s),D: 10240
@end example
@noindent
See also the @samp{totals} action, described below.
@item %@{@var{fmt}@}t
Output current local time using @var{fmt} as format for @command{strftime}
(@pxref{strftime, strftime,,strftime(3), strftime(3) man page}). The
@samp{@{@var{fmt}@}} part is optional. If not present, the default
format is @samp{%c}, i.e. the preferred date and time representation
for the current locale.
@item %@{@var{n}@}*
Pad output with spaces to the @var{n}th column. If the
@samp{@{@var{n}@}} part is omitted, the current screen width
is assumed.
@item %c
This is a shortcut for @samp{%@{%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S@}t: %ds, %@{read,wrote@}T%*\r},
intended mainly for use with @samp{ttyout} action (see below).
@end table
Aside from format expansion, the message string is subject to
@dfn{unquoting}, during which the backslash @dfn{escape sequences} are
replaced with their corresponding @acronym{ASCII} characters
(@pxref{escape sequences}). E.g. the following action will produce an
audible bell and the message described above at each checkpoint:
@smallexample
--checkpoint-action='echo=\aHit %s checkpoint #%u'
@end smallexample
@cindex @code{bell}, checkpoint action
There is also a special action which produces an audible signal:
@samp{bell}. It is not equivalent to @samp{echo='\a'}, because
@samp{bell} sends the bell directly to the console (@file{/dev/tty}),
whereas @samp{echo='\a'} sends it to the standard error.
@cindex @code{ttyout}, checkpoint action
The @samp{ttyout=@var{string}} action outputs @var{string} to
@file{/dev/tty}, so it can be used even if the standard output is
redirected elsewhere. The @var{string} is subject to the same
modifications as with @samp{echo} action. In contrast to the latter,
@samp{ttyout} does not prepend @command{tar} executable name to the
string, nor does it output a newline after it. For example, the
following action will print the checkpoint message at the same screen
line, overwriting any previous message:
@smallexample
--checkpoint-action="ttyout=Hit %s checkpoint #%u%*\r"
@end smallexample
@noindent
Notice the use of @samp{%*} specifier to clear out any eventual
remains of the prior output line. As as more complex example,
consider this:
@smallexample
--checkpoint-action=ttyout='%@{%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S@}t (%d sec): #%u, %T%*\r'
@end smallexample
@noindent
This prints the current local time, number of seconds expired since
tar was started, the checkpoint ordinal number, transferred bytes and
average computed I/O speed.
@cindex @code{dot}, checkpoint action
Another available checkpoint action is @samp{dot} (or @samp{.}). It
instructs @command{tar} to print a single dot on the standard listing
stream, e.g.:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c --checkpoint=1000 --checkpoint-action=dot} /var
...
@end smallexample
For compatibility with previous @GNUTAR{} versions, this action can
be abbreviated by placing a dot in front of the checkpoint frequency,
as shown in the previous section.
@cindex @code{totals}, checkpoint action
The @samp{totals} action prints the total number of bytes transferred
so far. The format of the data is the same as for the
@option{--totals} option (@pxref{totals}). See also @samp{%T} format
specifier of the @samp{echo} or @samp{ttyout} action.
@cindex @code{sleep}, checkpoint action
Yet another action, @samp{sleep}, pauses @command{tar} for a specified
amount of seconds. The following example will stop for 30 seconds at each
checkpoint:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c --checkpoint=1000 --checkpoint-action=sleep=30}
@end smallexample
@anchor{checkpoint wait}
@cindex @code{wait}, checkpoint action
The @code{wait=@var{signo}} action stops further execution until the
signal @var{signo} is delivered. Valid values for @var{signo} are:
@code{SIGHUP}, @code{SIGQUIT}, @code{SIGINT}, @code{SIGUSR1} and
@code{SIGUSR2}. The @samp{SIG} prefix is optional. For example:
@example
$ @kbd{tar -c -f arc --checkpoint=1000 --checkpoint-action wait=USR1 .}
@end example
In this example, @GNUTAR{} will stop archivation at each 1000th
checkpoint. wait until the @samp{SIGUSR1} signal is delivered,
and resume processing.
This action is used by the @command{genfile} utility to perform
modifications on the input files upon hitting certain checkpoints
(@pxref{Exec Mode, genfile}).
@anchor{checkpoint exec}
@cindex @code{exec}, checkpoint action
Finally, the @code{exec} action executes a given external command.
For example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c --checkpoint=1000 --checkpoint-action=exec=/sbin/cpoint}
@end smallexample
The supplied command can be any valid command invocation, with or
without additional command line arguments. If it does contain
arguments, don't forget to quote it to prevent it from being split by
the shell. @xref{external, Running External Commands}, for more detail.
The command gets a copy of @command{tar}'s environment plus the
following variables:
@table @env
@vrindex TAR_VERSION, checkpoint script environment
@item TAR_VERSION
@GNUTAR{} version number.
@vrindex TAR_ARCHIVE, checkpoint script environment
@item TAR_ARCHIVE
The name of the archive @command{tar} is processing.
@vrindex TAR_BLOCKING_FACTOR, checkpoint script environment
@item TAR_BLOCKING_FACTOR
Current blocking factor (@pxref{Blocking}).
@vrindex TAR_CHECKPOINT, checkpoint script environment
@item TAR_CHECKPOINT
Number of the checkpoint.
@vrindex TAR_SUBCOMMAND, checkpoint script environment
@item TAR_SUBCOMMAND
A short option describing the operation @command{tar} is executing.
@xref{Operations}, for a complete list of subcommand options.
@vrindex TAR_FORMAT, checkpoint script environment
@item TAR_FORMAT
Format of the archive being processed. @xref{Formats}, for a complete
list of archive format names.
@end table
These environment variables can also be passed as arguments to the
command, provided that they are properly escaped, for example:
@smallexample
@kbd{tar -c -f arc.tar \
--checkpoint-action='exec=/sbin/cpoint $TAR_CHECKPOINT'}
@end smallexample
@noindent
Notice single quotes to prevent variable names from being expanded by
the shell when invoking @command{tar}.
Any number of actions can be defined, by supplying several
@option{--checkpoint-action} options in the command line. For
example, the command below displays two messages, pauses
execution for 30 seconds and executes the @file{/sbin/cpoint} script:
@example
@group
$ @kbd{tar -c -f arc.tar \
--checkpoint-action='\aecho=Hit %s checkpoint #%u' \
--checkpoint-action='echo=Sleeping for 30 seconds' \
--checkpoint-action='sleep=30' \
--checkpoint-action='exec=/sbin/cpoint'}
@end group
@end example
This example also illustrates the fact that
@option{--checkpoint-action} can be used without
@option{--checkpoint}. In this case, the default checkpoint frequency
(at each 10th record) is assumed.
@node warnings
@section Controlling Warning Messages
Sometimes, while performing the requested task, @GNUTAR{} notices
some conditions that are not exactly errors, but which the user
should be aware of. When this happens, @command{tar} issues a
@dfn{warning message} describing the condition. Warning messages
are output to the standard error and they do not affect the exit
code of @command{tar} command.
@xopindex{warning, explained}
@GNUTAR{} allows the user to suppress some or all of its warning
messages:
@table @option
@item --warning=@var{keyword}
Control display of the warning messages identified by @var{keyword}.
If @var{keyword} starts with the prefix @samp{no-}, such messages are
suppressed. Otherwise, they are enabled.
Multiple @option{--warning} options accumulate.
@end table
By default, @GNUTAR enables all messages, except those that are
enabled in verbose mode (@pxref{verbose tutorial}). @xref{Warning
Defaults}, for details.
The subsections below discuss allowed values for @var{keyword} along with the
warning messages they control.
@menu
* General Warnings:: Keywords applicable for @command{tar --create}.
* Archive Creation Warnings:: Keywords applicable for @command{tar --create}.
* Archive Extraction Warnings:: Keywords applicable for @command{tar --extract}.
* Incremental Extraction Warnings:: Keywords controlling incremental extraction.
* Warning Classes:: Convenience keywords control multiple warnings.
* Warning Defaults:: Default settings for warnings.
@end menu
@node General Warnings
@subsection Keywords controlling @command{tar} operation
These keywords control warnings that may appear in any @GNUTAR{}
operation mode:
@defvr {warning} filename-with-nuls
@cindex @samp{file name read contains nul character}, warning message
@samp{file name read contains nul character}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} filename-with-nuls
@cindex @samp{file name read contains nul character}, warning message
@samp{%s: file name read contains nul character}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} alone-zero-block
@cindex @samp{A lone zero block at}, warning message
@samp{A lone zero block at %s}. Notice, that this warning is
suppressed if @option{--ignore-zeros} is in effect (@pxref{Ignore
Zeros}).
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} missing-zero-blocks
@cindex @samp{Terminating zero blocks missing}, warning message.
@samp{Terminating zero blocks missing at %s}. This warning is
suppressed if @option{--ignore-zeros} is in effect (@pxref{Ignore
Zeros}).
@end defvr
@node Archive Creation Warnings
@subsection Keywords applicable for @command{tar --create}
The following keywords control messages that can be issued while
creating archives.
@defvr {warning} cachedir
@cindex @samp{contains a cache directory tag}, warning message
@samp{%s: contains a cache directory tag %s; %s}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} file-shrank
@cindex @samp{File shrank by %s bytes}, warning message
@samp{%s: File shrank by %s bytes; padding with zeros}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} xdev
@cindex @samp{file is on a different filesystem}, warning message
@samp{%s: file is on a different filesystem; not dumped}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} file-ignored
@cindex @samp{Unknown file type; file ignored}, warning message
@cindex @samp{socket ignored}, warning message
@cindex @samp{door ignored}, warning message
@samp{%s: Unknown file type; file ignored}
@*@samp{%s: socket ignored}
@*@samp{%s: door ignored}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} file-unchanged
@cindex @samp{file is unchanged; not dumped}, warning message
@samp{%s: file is unchanged; not dumped}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} ignore-archive
@cindex @samp{archive cannot contain itself; not dumped}, warning message
@samp{%s: archive cannot contain itself; not dumped}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} file-removed
@cindex @samp{File removed before we read it}, warning message
@samp{%s: File removed before we read it}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} file-changed
@cindex @samp{file changed as we read it}, warning message
@samp{%s: file changed as we read it}
Suppresses warnings about read failures, which can occur if files
or directories are unreadable, or if they change while being read. This
keyword applies only if used together with the @option{--ignore-failed-read}
option. @xref{Ignore Failed Read}.
@end defvr
@node Archive Extraction Warnings
@subsection Keywords applicable for @command{tar --extract}
The following keywords control warnings that can be issued during
archive extraction.
@defvr {warning} existing-file
@cindex @samp{%s: skipping existing file}, warning message
@samp{%s: skipping existing file}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} timestamp
@cindex @samp{implausibly old time stamp %s}, warning message
@cindex @samp{time stamp %s is %s s in the future}, warning message
@samp{%s: implausibly old time stamp %s}
@*@samp{%s: time stamp %s is %s s in the future}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} contiguous-cast
@cindex @samp{Extracting contiguous files as regular files}, warning message
@samp{Extracting contiguous files as regular files}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} symlink-cast
@samp{Attempting extraction of symbolic links as hard links}, warning message
@samp{Attempting extraction of symbolic links as hard links}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} unknown-cast
@cindex @samp{Unknown file type '%c', extracted as normal file}, warning message
@samp{%s: Unknown file type '%c', extracted as normal file}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} ignore-newer
@cindex @samp{Current %s is newer or same age}, warning message
@samp{Current %s is newer or same age}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} unknown-keyword
@cindex @samp{Ignoring unknown extended header keyword '%s'}, warning message
@samp{Ignoring unknown extended header keyword '%s'}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} decompress-program
Controls verbose description of failures occurring when trying to run
alternative decompressor programs (@pxref{alternative decompression
programs}). This warning is disabled by default (unless
@option{--verbose} is used). A common example of what you can get
when using this warning is:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --warning=decompress-program -x -f archive.Z}
tar (child): cannot run compress: No such file or directory
tar (child): trying gzip
@end smallexample
This means that @command{tar} first tried to decompress
@file{archive.Z} using @command{compress}, and, when that
failed, switched to @command{gzip}.
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} record-size
@cindex @samp{Record size = %lu blocks}, warning message
@samp{Record size = %lu blocks}
@end defvr
@node Incremental Extraction Warnings
@subsection Keywords controlling incremental extraction
These keywords control warnings that may appear when extracting from
incremental archives.
@defvr {warning} rename-directory
@cindex @samp{%s: Directory has been renamed from %s}, warning message
@cindex @samp{%s: Directory has been renamed}, warning message
@samp{%s: Directory has been renamed from %s}
@*@samp{%s: Directory has been renamed}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} new-directory
@cindex @samp{%s: Directory is new}, warning message
@samp{%s: Directory is new}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} xdev
@cindex @samp{%s: directory is on a different device: not purging}, warning message
@samp{%s: directory is on a different device: not purging}
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} bad-dumpdir
@cindex @samp{Malformed dumpdir: 'X' never used}, warning message
@samp{Malformed dumpdir: 'X' never used}
@end defvr
@node Warning Classes
@subsection Warning Classes
These convenience keywords define @dfn{warning classes}. When used,
they affect several warnings at once.
@defvr {warning} all
Enable all warning messages.
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} none
Disable all warning messages.
@end defvr
@defvr {warning} verbose
A shorthand for all messages enabled when @option{--verbose}
(@pxref{verbose tutorial}) is in effect. These are:
@code{decompress-program}, @code{existing-file}, @code{new-directory},
@code{record-size}, @code{rename-directory}.
@end defvr
@node Warning Defaults
@subsection Default Warning Settings
@GNUTAR default settings correspond to:
@example
--warning=all --warning=no-verbose --warning=no-missing-zero-blocks
@end example
@node interactive
@section Asking for Confirmation During Operations
@cindex Interactive operation
Typically, @command{tar} carries out a command without stopping for
further instructions. In some situations however, you may want to
exclude some files and archive members from the operation (for instance
if disk or storage space is tight). You can do this by excluding
certain files automatically (@pxref{Choosing}), or by performing
an operation interactively, using the @option{--interactive} (@option{-w}) option.
@command{tar} also accepts @option{--confirmation} for this option.
@opindex interactive
When the @option{--interactive} (@option{-w}) option is specified, before
reading, writing, or deleting files, @command{tar} first prints a message
for each such file, telling what operation it intends to take, then asks
for confirmation on the terminal. The actions which require
confirmation include adding a file to the archive, extracting a file
from the archive, deleting a file from the archive, and deleting a file
from disk. To confirm the action, you must type a line of input
beginning with @samp{y}. If your input line begins with anything other
than @samp{y}, @command{tar} skips that file.
If @command{tar} is reading the archive from the standard input,
@command{tar} opens the file @file{/dev/tty} to support the interactive
communications.
Verbose output is normally sent to standard output, separate from
other error messages. However, if the archive is produced directly
on standard output, then verbose output is mixed with errors on
@code{stderr}. Producing the archive on standard output may be used
as a way to avoid using disk space, when the archive is soon to be
consumed by another process reading it, say. Some people felt the need
of producing an archive on stdout, still willing to segregate between
verbose output and error output. A possible approach would be using a
named pipe to receive the archive, and having the consumer process to
read from that named pipe. This has the advantage of letting standard
output free to receive verbose output, all separate from errors.
@node external
@section Running External Commands
Certain @GNUTAR{} operations imply running external commands that you
supply on the command line. One of such operations is checkpointing,
described above (@pxref{checkpoint exec}). Another example of this
feature is the @option{-I} option, which allows you to supply the
program to use for compressing or decompressing the archive
(@pxref{use-compress-program}).
Whenever such operation is requested, @command{tar} first splits the
supplied command into words much like the shell does. It then treats
the first word as the name of the program or the shell script to execute
and the rest of words as its command line arguments. The program,
unless given as an absolute file name, is searched in the shell's
@env{PATH}.
Any additional information is normally supplied to external commands
in environment variables, specific to each particular operation. For
example, the @option{--checkpoint-action=exec} option, defines the
@env{TAR_ARCHIVE} variable to the name of the archive being worked
upon. You can, should the need be, use these variables in the
command line of the external command. For example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -x -f archive.tar \
--checkpoint-action=exec='printf "%04d in %32s\r" $TAR_CHECKPOINT $TAR_ARCHIVE'}
@end smallexample
@noindent
This command prints for each checkpoint its number and the name of the
archive, using the same output line on the screen.
Notice the use of single quotes to prevent variable names from being
expanded by the shell when invoking @command{tar}.
@node operations
@chapter @GNUTAR{} Operations
@menu
* Basic tar::
* Advanced tar::
* create options::
* extract options::
* backup::
* looking ahead::
@end menu
@node Basic tar
@section Basic @GNUTAR{} Operations
The basic @command{tar} operations, @option{--create} (@option{-c}),
@option{--list} (@option{-t}) and @option{--extract} (@option{--get},
@option{-x}), are currently presented and described in the tutorial
chapter of this manual. This section provides some complementary notes
for these operations.
@table @option
@xopindex{create, complementary notes}
@item --create
@itemx -c
Creating an empty archive would have some kind of elegance. One can
initialize an empty archive and later use @option{--append}
(@option{-r}) for adding all members. Some applications would not
welcome making an exception in the way of adding the first archive
member. On the other hand, many people reported that it is
dangerously too easy for @command{tar} to destroy a magnetic tape with
an empty archive@footnote{This is well described in @cite{Unix-haters
Handbook}, by Simson Garfinkel, Daniel Weise & Steven Strassmann, IDG
Books, ISBN 1-56884-203-1.}. The two most common errors are:
@enumerate
@item
Mistakingly using @code{create} instead of @code{extract}, when the
intent was to extract the full contents of an archive. This error
is likely: keys @kbd{c} and @kbd{x} are right next to each other on
the QWERTY keyboard. Instead of being unpacked, the archive then
gets wholly destroyed. When users speak about @dfn{exploding} an
archive, they usually mean something else :-).
@item
Forgetting the argument to @code{file}, when the intent was to create
an archive with a single file in it. This error is likely because a
tired user can easily add the @kbd{f} key to the cluster of option
letters, by the mere force of habit, without realizing the full
consequence of doing so. The usual consequence is that the single
file, which was meant to be saved, is rather destroyed.
@end enumerate
So, recognizing the likelihood and the catastrophic nature of these
errors, @GNUTAR{} now takes some distance from elegance, and
cowardly refuses to create an archive when @option{--create} option is
given, there are no arguments besides options, and
@option{--files-from} (@option{-T}) option is @emph{not} used. To get
around the cautiousness of @GNUTAR{} and nevertheless create an
archive with nothing in it, one may still use, as the value for the
@option{--files-from} option, a file with no names in it, as shown in
the following commands:
@smallexample
@kbd{tar --create --file=empty-archive.tar --files-from=/dev/null}
@kbd{tar -cf empty-archive.tar -T /dev/null}
@end smallexample
@xopindex{extract, complementary notes}
@item --extract
@itemx --get
@itemx -x
A socket is stored, within a @GNUTAR{} archive, as a pipe.
@item @option{--list} (@option{-t})
@GNUTAR{} now shows dates as @samp{1996-08-30},
while it used to show them as @samp{Aug 30 1996}. Preferably,
people should get used to ISO 8601 dates. Local American dates should
be made available again with full date localization support, once
ready. In the meantime, programs not being localizable for dates
should prefer international dates, that's really the way to go.
Look up @url{http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/@/~mgk25/@/iso-time.html} if you
are curious, it contains a detailed explanation of the ISO 8601 standard.
@end table
@node Advanced tar
@section Advanced @GNUTAR{} Operations
Now that you have learned the basics of using @GNUTAR{}, you may want
to learn about further ways in which @command{tar} can help you.
This chapter presents five, more advanced operations which you probably
won't use on a daily basis, but which serve more specialized functions.
We also explain the different styles of options and why you might want
to use one or another, or a combination of them in your @command{tar}
commands. Additionally, this chapter includes options which allow you to
define the output from @command{tar} more carefully, and provide help and
error correction in special circumstances.
@FIXME{check this after the chapter is actually revised to make sure
it still introduces the info in the chapter correctly : ).}
@menu
* Operations::
* append::
* update::
* concatenate::
* delete::
* compare::
@end menu
@node Operations
@subsection The Five Advanced @command{tar} Operations
@cindex basic operations
In the last chapter, you learned about the first three operations to
@command{tar}. This chapter presents the remaining five operations to
@command{tar}: @option{--append}, @option{--update}, @option{--concatenate},
@option{--delete}, and @option{--compare}.
You are not likely to use these operations as frequently as those
covered in the last chapter; however, since they perform specialized
functions, they are quite useful when you do need to use them. We
will give examples using the same directory and files that you created
in the last chapter. As you may recall, the directory is called
@file{practice}, the files are @samp{jazz}, @samp{blues}, @samp{folk},
and the two archive files you created are
@samp{collection.tar} and @samp{music.tar}.
We will also use the archive files @samp{afiles.tar} and
@samp{bfiles.tar}. The archive @samp{afiles.tar} contains the members @samp{apple},
@samp{angst}, and @samp{aspic}; @samp{bfiles.tar} contains the members
@samp{./birds}, @samp{baboon}, and @samp{./box}.
Unless we state otherwise, all practicing you do and examples you follow
in this chapter will take place in the @file{practice} directory that
you created in the previous chapter; see @ref{prepare for examples}.
(Below in this section, we will remind you of the state of the examples
where the last chapter left them.)
The five operations that we will cover in this chapter are:
@table @option
@item --append
@itemx -r
Add new entries to an archive that already exists.
@item --update
@itemx -u
Add more recent copies of archive members to the end of an archive, if
they exist.
@item --concatenate
@itemx --catenate
@itemx -A
Add one or more pre-existing archives to the end of another archive.
@item --delete
Delete items from an archive (does not work on tapes).
@item --compare
@itemx --diff
@itemx -d
Compare archive members to their counterparts in the file system.
@end table
@node append
@subsection How to Add Files to Existing Archives: @option{--append}
@cindex appending files to existing archive
@opindex append
If you want to add files to an existing archive, you don't need to
create a new archive; you can use @option{--append} (@option{-r}).
The archive must already exist in order to use @option{--append}. (A
related operation is the @option{--update} operation; you can use this
to add newer versions of archive members to an existing archive. To learn how to
do this with @option{--update}, @pxref{update}.)
If you use @option{--append} to add a file that has the same name as an
archive member to an archive containing that archive member, then the
old member is not deleted. What does happen, however, is somewhat
complex. @command{tar} @emph{allows} you to have infinite number of files
with the same name. Some operations treat these same-named members no
differently than any other set of archive members: for example, if you
view an archive with @option{--list} (@option{-t}), you will see all
of those members listed, with their data modification times, owners, etc.
Other operations don't deal with these members as perfectly as you might
prefer; if you were to use @option{--extract} to extract the archive,
only the most recently added copy of a member with the same name as
other members would end up in the working directory. This is because
@option{--extract} extracts an archive in the order the members appeared
in the archive; the most recently archived members will be extracted
last. Additionally, an extracted member will @emph{replace} a file of
the same name which existed in the directory already, and @command{tar}
will not prompt you about this@footnote{Unless you give it
@option{--keep-old-files} (or @option{--skip-old-files}) option, or
the disk copy is newer than the one in the archive and you invoke
@command{tar} with @option{--keep-newer-files} option.}. Thus, only
the most recently archived member will end up being extracted, as it
will replace the one extracted before it, and so on.
@cindex extracting @var{n}th copy of the file
@xopindex{occurrence, described}
There exists a special option that allows you to get around this
behavior and extract (or list) only a particular copy of the file.
This is @option{--occurrence} option. If you run @command{tar} with
this option, it will extract only the first copy of the file. You
may also give this option an argument specifying the number of
copy to be extracted. Thus, for example if the archive
@file{archive.tar} contained three copies of file @file{myfile}, then
the command
@smallexample
tar --extract --file archive.tar --occurrence=2 myfile
@end smallexample
@noindent
would extract only the second copy. @xref{Option
Summary,---occurrence}, for the description of @option{--occurrence}
option.
@FIXME{ hag -- you might want to incorporate some of the above into the
MMwtSN node; not sure. i didn't know how to make it simpler...
There are a few ways to get around this. Xref to Multiple Members
with the Same Name, maybe.}
@cindex Members, replacing with other members
@cindex Replacing members with other members
@xopindex{delete, using before --append}
If you want to replace an archive member, use @option{--delete} to
delete the member you want to remove from the archive, and then use
@option{--append} to add the member you want to be in the archive. Note
that you can not change the order of the archive; the most recently
added member will still appear last. In this sense, you cannot truly
``replace'' one member with another. (Replacing one member with another
will not work on certain types of media, such as tapes; see @ref{delete}
and @ref{Media}, for more information.)
@menu
* appending files:: Appending Files to an Archive
* multiple::
@end menu
@node appending files
@subsubsection Appending Files to an Archive
@cindex Adding files to an Archive
@cindex Appending files to an Archive
@cindex Archives, Appending files to
@opindex append
The simplest way to add a file to an already existing archive is the
@option{--append} (@option{-r}) operation, which writes specified
files into the archive whether or not they are already among the
archived files.
When you use @option{--append}, you @emph{must} specify file name
arguments, as there is no default. If you specify a file that already
exists in the archive, another copy of the file will be added to the
end of the archive. As with other operations, the member names of the
newly added files will be exactly the same as their names given on the
command line. The @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) option will print
out the names of the files as they are written into the archive.
@option{--append} cannot be performed on some tape drives, unfortunately,
due to deficiencies in the formats those tape drives use. The archive
must be a valid @command{tar} archive, or else the results of using this
operation will be unpredictable. @xref{Media}.
To demonstrate using @option{--append} to add a file to an archive,
create a file called @file{rock} in the @file{practice} directory.
Make sure you are in the @file{practice} directory. Then, run the
following @command{tar} command to add @file{rock} to
@file{collection.tar}:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --append --file=collection.tar rock}
@end smallexample
@noindent
If you now use the @option{--list} (@option{-t}) operation, you will see that
@file{rock} has been added to the archive:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --list --file=collection.tar}
-rw-r--r-- me/user 28 1996-10-18 16:31 jazz
-rw-r--r-- me/user 21 1996-09-23 16:44 blues
-rw-r--r-- me/user 20 1996-09-23 16:44 folk
-rw-r--r-- me/user 20 1996-09-23 16:44 rock
@end smallexample
@node multiple
@subsubsection Multiple Members with the Same Name
@cindex members, multiple
@cindex multiple members
You can use @option{--append} (@option{-r}) to add copies of files
which have been updated since the archive was created. (However, we
do not recommend doing this since there is another @command{tar}
option called @option{--update}; @xref{update}, for more information.
We describe this use of @option{--append} here for the sake of
completeness.) When you extract the archive, the older version will
be effectively lost. This works because files are extracted from an
archive in the order in which they were archived. Thus, when the
archive is extracted, a file archived later in time will replace a
file of the same name which was archived earlier, even though the
older version of the file will remain in the archive unless you delete
all versions of the file.
Supposing you change the file @file{blues} and then append the changed
version to @file{collection.tar}. As you saw above, the original
@file{blues} is in the archive @file{collection.tar}. If you change the
file and append the new version of the file to the archive, there will
be two copies in the archive. When you extract the archive, the older
version of the file will be extracted first, and then replaced by the
newer version when it is extracted.
You can append the new, changed copy of the file @file{blues} to the
archive in this way:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --append --verbose --file=collection.tar blues}
blues
@end smallexample
@noindent
Because you specified the @option{--verbose} option, @command{tar} has
printed the name of the file being appended as it was acted on. Now
list the contents of the archive:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --list --verbose --file=collection.tar}
-rw-r--r-- me/user 28 1996-10-18 16:31 jazz
-rw-r--r-- me/user 21 1996-09-23 16:44 blues
-rw-r--r-- me/user 20 1996-09-23 16:44 folk
-rw-r--r-- me/user 20 1996-09-23 16:44 rock
-rw-r--r-- me/user 58 1996-10-24 18:30 blues
@end smallexample
@noindent
The newest version of @file{blues} is now at the end of the archive
(note the different creation dates and file sizes). If you extract
the archive, the older version of the file @file{blues} will be
replaced by the newer version. You can confirm this by extracting
the archive and running @samp{ls} on the directory.
If you wish to extract the first occurrence of the file @file{blues}
from the archive, use @option{--occurrence} option, as shown in
the following example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --extract -vv --occurrence --file=collection.tar blues}
-rw-r--r-- me/user 21 1996-09-23 16:44 blues
@end smallexample
@xref{Writing}, for more information on @option{--extract} and
see @ref{Option Summary, --occurrence}, for a description of
@option{--occurrence} option.
@node update
@subsection Updating an Archive
@cindex Updating an archive
@opindex update
In the previous section, you learned how to use @option{--append} to
add a file to an existing archive. A related operation is
@option{--update} (@option{-u}). The @option{--update} operation
updates a @command{tar} archive by comparing the date of the specified
archive members against the date of the file with the same name. If
the file has been modified more recently than the archive member, then
the newer version of the file is added to the archive (as with
@option{--append}).
Unfortunately, you cannot use @option{--update} with magnetic tape drives.
The operation will fail.
@FIXME{other examples of media on which --update will fail? need to ask
charles and/or mib/thomas/dave shevett..}
Both @option{--update} and @option{--append} work by adding to the end
of the archive. When you extract a file from the archive, only the
version stored last will wind up in the file system, unless you use
the @option{--backup} option. @xref{multiple}, for a detailed discussion.
@menu
* how to update::
@end menu
@node how to update
@subsubsection How to Update an Archive Using @option{--update}
@opindex update
You must use file name arguments with the @option{--update}
(@option{-u}) operation. If you don't specify any files,
@command{tar} won't act on any files and won't tell you that it didn't
do anything (which may end up confusing you).
@c note: the above parenthetical added because in fact, this
@c behavior just confused the author. :-)
To see the @option{--update} option at work, create a new file,
@file{classical}, in your practice directory, and some extra text to the
file @file{blues}, using any text editor. Then invoke @command{tar} with
the @samp{update} operation and the @option{--verbose} (@option{-v})
option specified, using the names of all the files in the @file{practice}
directory as file name arguments:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --update -v -f collection.tar blues folk rock classical}
blues
classical
$
@end smallexample
@noindent
Because we have specified verbose mode, @command{tar} prints out the names
of the files it is working on, which in this case are the names of the
files that needed to be updated. If you run @samp{tar --list} and look
at the archive, you will see @file{blues} and @file{classical} at its
end. There will be a total of two versions of the member @samp{blues};
the one at the end will be newer and larger, since you added text before
updating it.
The reason @command{tar} does not overwrite the older file when updating
it is that writing to the middle of a section of tape is a difficult
process. Tapes are not designed to go backward. @xref{Media}, for more
information about tapes.
@option{--update} (@option{-u}) is not suitable for performing backups for two
reasons: it does not change directory content entries, and it
lengthens the archive every time it is used. The @GNUTAR{}
options intended specifically for backups are more
efficient. If you need to run backups, please consult @ref{Backups}.
@node concatenate
@subsection Combining Archives with @option{--concatenate}
@cindex Adding archives to an archive
@cindex Concatenating Archives
@opindex concatenate
@opindex catenate
@c @cindex @option{-A} described
Sometimes it may be convenient to add a second archive onto the end of
an archive rather than adding individual files to the archive. To add
one or more archives to the end of another archive, you should use the
@option{--concatenate} (@option{--catenate}, @option{-A}) operation.
To use @option{--concatenate}, give the first archive with
@option{--file} option and name the rest of archives to be
concatenated on the command line. The members, and their member
names, will be copied verbatim from those archives to the first
one@footnote{This can cause multiple members to have the same name. For
information on how this affects reading the archive, see @ref{multiple}.}.
The new, concatenated archive will be called by the same name as the
one given with the @option{--file} option. As usual, if you omit
@option{--file}, @command{tar} will use the value of the environment
variable @env{TAPE}, or, if this has not been set, the default archive name.
@FIXME{There is no way to specify a new name...}
To demonstrate how @option{--concatenate} works, create two small archives
called @file{bluesrock.tar} and @file{folkjazz.tar}, using the relevant
files from @file{practice}:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -cvf bluesrock.tar blues rock}
blues
rock
$ @kbd{tar -cvf folkjazz.tar folk jazz}
folk
jazz
@end smallexample
@noindent
If you like, you can run @samp{tar --list} to make sure the archives
contain what they are supposed to:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -tvf bluesrock.tar}
-rw-r--r-- melissa/user 105 1997-01-21 19:42 blues
-rw-r--r-- melissa/user 33 1997-01-20 15:34 rock
$ @kbd{tar -tvf jazzfolk.tar}
-rw-r--r-- melissa/user 20 1996-09-23 16:44 folk
-rw-r--r-- melissa/user 65 1997-01-30 14:15 jazz
@end smallexample
We can concatenate these two archives with @command{tar}:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{cd ..}
$ @kbd{tar --concatenate --file=bluesrock.tar jazzfolk.tar}
@end smallexample
If you now list the contents of the @file{bluesrock.tar}, you will see
that now it also contains the archive members of @file{jazzfolk.tar}:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --list --file=bluesrock.tar}
blues
rock
folk
jazz
@end smallexample
When you use @option{--concatenate}, the source and target archives must
already exist and must have been created using compatible format
parameters. Notice, that @command{tar} does not check whether the
archives it concatenates have compatible formats, it does not
even check if the files are really tar archives.
Like @option{--append} (@option{-r}), this operation cannot be performed on some
tape drives, due to deficiencies in the formats those tape drives use.
@cindex @code{concatenate} vs @command{cat}
@cindex @command{cat} vs @code{concatenate}
It may seem more intuitive to you to want or try to use @command{cat} to
concatenate two archives instead of using the @option{--concatenate}
operation; after all, @command{cat} is the utility for combining files.
However, @command{tar} archives incorporate an end-of-file marker which
must be removed if the concatenated archives are to be read properly as
one archive. @option{--concatenate} removes the end-of-archive marker
from the target archive before each new archive is appended. If you use
@command{cat} to combine the archives, the result will not be a valid
@command{tar} format archive. If you need to retrieve files from an
archive that was added to using the @command{cat} utility, use the
@option{--ignore-zeros} (@option{-i}) option. @xref{Ignore Zeros}, for further
information on dealing with archives improperly combined using the
@command{cat} shell utility.
@node delete
@subsection Removing Archive Members Using @option{--delete}
@cindex Deleting files from an archive
@cindex Removing files from an archive
@opindex delete
You can remove members from an archive by using the @option{--delete}
option. Specify the name of the archive with @option{--file}
(@option{-f}) and then specify the names of the members to be deleted;
if you list no member names, nothing will be deleted. The
@option{--verbose} option will cause @command{tar} to print the names
of the members as they are deleted. As with @option{--extract}, you
must give the exact member names when using @samp{tar --delete}.
@option{--delete} will remove all versions of the named file from the
archive. The @option{--delete} operation can run very slowly.
Unlike other operations, @option{--delete} has no short form.
@cindex Tapes, using @option{--delete} and
@cindex Deleting from tape archives
This operation will rewrite the archive. You can only use
@option{--delete} on an archive if the archive device allows you to
write to any point on the media, such as a disk; because of this, it
does not work on magnetic tapes. Do not try to delete an archive member
from a magnetic tape; the action will not succeed, and you will be
likely to scramble the archive and damage your tape. There is no safe
way (except by completely re-writing the archive) to delete files from
most kinds of magnetic tape. @xref{Media}.
To delete all versions of the file @file{blues} from the archive
@file{collection.tar} in the @file{practice} directory, make sure you
are in that directory, and then,
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --list --file=collection.tar}
blues
folk
jazz
rock
$ @kbd{tar --delete --file=collection.tar blues}
$ @kbd{tar --list --file=collection.tar}
folk
jazz
rock
@end smallexample
@FIXME{Check if the above listing is actually produced after running
all the examples on collection.tar.}
The @option{--delete} option has been reported to work properly when
@command{tar} acts as a filter from @code{stdin} to @code{stdout}.
@node compare
@subsection Comparing Archive Members with the File System
@cindex Verifying the currency of an archive
@opindex compare
The @option{--compare} (@option{-d}), or @option{--diff} operation compares
specified archive members against files with the same names, and then
reports differences in file size, mode, owner, modification date and
contents. You should @emph{only} specify archive member names, not file
names. If you do not name any members, then @command{tar} will compare the
entire archive. If a file is represented in the archive but does not
exist in the file system, @command{tar} reports a difference.
You have to specify the record size of the archive when modifying an
archive with a non-default record size.
@command{tar} ignores files in the file system that do not have
corresponding members in the archive.
The following example compares the archive members @file{rock},
@file{blues} and @file{funk} in the archive @file{bluesrock.tar} with
files of the same name in the file system. (Note that there is no file,
@file{funk}; @command{tar} will report an error message.)
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --compare --file=bluesrock.tar rock blues funk}
rock
blues
tar: funk not found in archive
@end smallexample
The spirit behind the @option{--compare} (@option{--diff},
@option{-d}) option is to check whether the archive represents the
current state of files on disk, more than validating the integrity of
the archive media. For this latter goal, see @ref{verify}.
@node create options
@section Options Used by @option{--create}
@xopindex{create, additional options}
The previous chapter described the basics of how to use
@option{--create} (@option{-c}) to create an archive from a set of files.
@xref{create}. This section described advanced options to be used with
@option{--create}.
@menu
* override:: Overriding File Metadata.
* Extended File Attributes::
* Ignore Failed Read::
@end menu
@node override
@subsection Overriding File Metadata
As described above, a @command{tar} archive keeps, for each member it contains,
its @dfn{metadata}, such as modification time, mode and ownership of
the file. @GNUTAR{} allows to replace these data with other values
when adding files to the archive. The options described in this
section affect creation of archives of any type. For POSIX archives,
see also @ref{PAX keywords}, for additional ways of controlling
metadata, stored in the archive.
@table @option
@opindex mode
@item --mode=@var{permissions}
When adding files to an archive, @command{tar} will use
@var{permissions} for the archive members, rather than the permissions
from the files. @var{permissions} can be specified either as an octal
number or as symbolic permissions, like with
@command{chmod} (@xref{File permissions, Permissions, File
permissions, fileutils, @acronym{GNU} file utilities}. This reference
also has useful information for those not being overly familiar with
the UNIX permission system). Using latter syntax allows for
more flexibility. For example, the value @samp{a+rw} adds read and write
permissions for everybody, while retaining executable bits on directories
or on any other file already marked as executable:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar --mode='a+rw' .}
@end smallexample
@item --mtime=@var{date}
@opindex mtime
When adding files to an archive, @command{tar} will use @var{date} as
the modification time of members when creating archives, instead of
their actual modification times. The argument @var{date} can be
either a textual date representation in almost arbitrary format
(@pxref{Date input formats}) or a name of an existing file, starting
with @samp{/} or @samp{.}. In the latter case, the modification time
of that file will be used.
The following example will set the modification date to 00:00:00,
January 1, 1970:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar --mtime='1970-01-01' .}
@end smallexample
@noindent
When used with @option{--verbose} (@pxref{verbose tutorial}) @GNUTAR{}
will try to convert the specified date back to its textual
representation and compare it with the one given with
@option{--mtime} options. If the two dates differ, @command{tar} will
print a warning saying what date it will use. This is to help user
ensure he is using the right date.
For example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar -v --mtime=yesterday .}
tar: Option --mtime: Treating date 'yesterday' as 2006-06-20
13:06:29.152478
@dots{}
@end smallexample
@noindent
When used with @option{--clamp-mtime} @GNUTAR{} will only set the
modification date to @var{date} on files whose actual modification
date is later than @var{date}. This is to make it easy to build
reproducible archives given a common timestamp for generated files
while still retaining the original timestamps of untouched files.
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar --clamp-mtime --mtime=@@$SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH .}
@end smallexample
@item --owner=@var{user}
@opindex owner
Specifies that @command{tar} should use @var{user} as the owner of members
when creating archives, instead of the user associated with the source
file.
If @var{user} contains a colon, it is taken to be of the form
@var{name}:@var{id} where a nonempty @var{name} specifies the user
name and a nonempty @var{id} specifies the decimal numeric user
@acronym{ID}. If @var{user} does not contain a colon, it is taken to
be a user number if it is one or more decimal digits; otherwise it is
taken to be a user name.
If a name is given but no number, the number is inferred from the
current host's user database if possible, and the file's user number
is used otherwise. If a number is given but no name, the name is
inferred from the number if possible, and an empty name is used
otherwise. If both name and number are given, the user database is
not consulted, and the name and number need not be valid on the
current host.
There is no value indicating a missing number, and @samp{0} usually means
@code{root}. Some people like to force @samp{0} as the value to offer in
their distributions for the owner of files, because the @code{root} user is
anonymous anyway, so that might as well be the owner of anonymous
archives. For example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar --owner=0 .}
@end smallexample
@noindent
or:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar --owner=root .}
@end smallexample
@item --group=@var{group}
@opindex group
Files added to the @command{tar} archive will have a group @acronym{ID} of @var{group},
rather than the group from the source file. As with @option{--owner},
the argument @var{group} can be an existing group symbolic name, or a
decimal numeric group @acronym{ID}, or @var{name}:@var{id}.
@end table
The @option{--owner} and @option{--group} options affect all files
added to the archive. @GNUTAR{} provides also two options that allow
for more detailed control over owner translation:
@table @option
@item --owner-map=@var{file}
Read UID translation map from @var{file}.
When reading, empty lines are ignored. The @samp{#} sign, unless
quoted, introduces a comment, which extends to the end of the line.
Each nonempty line defines mapping for a single UID. It must consist
of two fields separated by any amount of whitespace. The first field
defines original username and UID. It can be a valid user name or
a valid UID prefixed with a plus sign. In both cases the
corresponding UID or user name is inferred from the current host's
user database.
The second field defines the UID and username to map the original one
to. Its format can be the same as described above. Otherwise, it can
have the form @var{newname}:@var{newuid}, in which case neither
@var{newname} nor @var{newuid} are required to be valid as per the
user database.
For example, consider the following file:
@example
+10 bin
smith root:0
@end example
@noindent
Given this file, each input file that is owner by UID 10 will be
stored in archive with owner name @samp{bin} and owner UID
corresponding to @samp{bin}. Each file owned by user @samp{smith}
will be stored with owner name @samp{root} and owner ID 0. Other
files will remain unchanged.
When used together with @option{--owner-map}, the @option{--owner}
option affects only files whose owner is not listed in the map file.
@item --group-map=@var{file}
Read GID translation map from @var{file}.
The format of @var{file} is the same as for @option{--owner-map}
option:
Each nonempty line defines mapping for a single GID. It must consist
of two fields separated by any amount of whitespace. The first field
defines original group name and GID. It can be a valid group name or
a valid GID prefixed with a plus sign. In both cases the
corresponding GID or user name is inferred from the current host's
group database.
The second field defines the GID and group name to map the original one
to. Its format can be the same as described above. Otherwise, it can
have the form @var{newname}:@var{newgid}, in which case neither
@var{newname} nor @var{newgid} are required to be valid as per the
group database.
When used together with @option{--group-map}, the @option{--group}
option affects only files whose owner group is not rewritten using the
map file.
@end table
@node Extended File Attributes
@subsection Extended File Attributes
Extended file attributes are name-value pairs that can be
associated with each node in a file system. Despite the fact that
POSIX.1e draft which proposed them has been withdrawn, the extended
file attributes are supported by many file systems. @GNUTAR{} can
store extended file attributes along with the files. This feature is
controlled by the following command line arguments:
@table @option
@item --xattrs
Enable extended attributes support. When used with @option{--create},
this option instructs @GNUTAR{} to store extended file attribute in the
created archive. This implies POSIX.1-2001 archive format
(@option{--format=pax}).
When used with @option{--extract}, this option tells @command{tar},
for each file extracted, to read stored attributes from the archive
and to apply them to the file.
@item --no-xattrs
Disable extended attributes support. This is the default.
@end table
Attribute names are strings prefixed by a @dfn{namespace} name and a dot.
Currently, four namespaces exist: @samp{user}, @samp{trusted},
@samp{security} and @samp{system}. By default, when @option{--xattr}
is used, all names are stored in the archive (or extracted, if using
@option{--extract}). This can be controlled using the following
options:
@table @option
@item --xattrs-exclude=@var{pattern}
Specify exclude pattern for extended attributes.
@item --xattrs-include=@var{pattern}
Specify include pattern for extended attributes.
@end table
Here, the @var{pattern} is a globbing pattern. For example, the
following command:
@example
$ @kbd{tar --xattrs --xattrs-exclude='user.*' -cf a.tar .}
@end example
will include in the archive @file{a.tar} all attributes, except those
from the @samp{user} namespace.
Any number of these options can be given, thereby creating lists of
include and exclude patterns.
When both options are used, first @option{--xattrs-include} is applied
to select the set of attribute names to keep, and then
@option{--xattrs-exclude} is applied to the resulting set. In other
words, only those attributes will be stored, whose names match one
of the regexps in @option{--xattrs-include} and don't match any of
the regexps from @option{--xattrs-exclude}.
When listing the archive, if both @option{--xattrs} and
@option{--verbose} options are given, files that have extended
attributes are marked with an asterisk following their permission
mask. For example:
@example
-rw-r--r--* smith/users 110 2016-03-16 16:07 file
@end example
When two or more @option{--verbose} options are given, a detailed
listing of extended attributes is printed after each file entry. Each
attribute is listed on a separate line, which begins with two spaces
and the letter @samp{x} indicating extended attribute. It is followed
by a colon, length of the attribute and its name, e.g.:
@example
-rw-r--r--* smith/users 110 2016-03-16 16:07 file
x: 7 user.mime_type
x: 32 trusted.md5sum
@end example
File access control lists (@dfn{ACL}) are another actively used feature
proposed by the POSIX.1e standard. Each ACL consists of a set of ACL
entries, each of which describes the access permissions on the file for
an individual user or a group of users as a combination of read, write
and search/execute permissions.
Whether or not to use ACLs is controlled by the following two options:
@table @option
@item --acls
Enable POSIX ACLs support. When used with @option{--create},
this option instructs @GNUTAR{} to store ACLs in the
created archive. This implies POSIX.1-2001 archive format
(@option{--format=pax}).
When used with @option{--extract}, this option tells @command{tar},
to restore ACLs for each file extracted (provided they are present
in the archive).
@item --no-acls
Disable POSIX ACLs support. This is the default.
@end table
When listing the archive, if both @option{--acls} and
@option{--verbose} options are given, files that have ACLs are marked
with a plus sign following their permission mask. For example:
@example
-rw-r--r--+ smith/users 110 2016-03-16 16:07 file
@end example
When two or more @option{--verbose} options are given, a detailed
listing of ACL is printed after each file entry:
@example
@group
-rw-r--r--+ smith/users 110 2016-03-16 16:07 file
a: user::rw-,user:gray:-w-,group::r--,mask::rw-,other::r--
@end group
@end example
@dfn{Security-Enhanced Linux} (@dfn{SELinux} for short) is a Linux
kernel security module that provides a mechanism for supporting access
control security policies, including so-called mandatory access
controls (@dfn{MAC}). Support for SELinux attributes is controlled by
the following command line options:
@table @option
@item --selinux
Enable the SELinux context support.
@item --no-selinux
Disable SELinux context support.
@end table
@node Ignore Failed Read
@subsection Ignore Failed Read
@table @option
@item --ignore-failed-read
@opindex ignore-failed-read
Do not exit with nonzero if there are mild problems while reading.
@end table
This option has effect only during creation. It instructs tar to
treat as mild conditions any missing or unreadable files (directories),
or files that change while reading.
Such failures don't affect the program exit code, and the
corresponding diagnostic messages are marked as warnings, not errors.
These warnings can be suppressed using the
@option{--warning=failed-read} option (@pxref{warnings}).
@node extract options
@section Options Used by @option{--extract}
@cindex options for use with @option{--extract}
@xopindex{extract, additional options}
The previous chapter showed how to use @option{--extract} to extract
an archive into the file system. Various options cause @command{tar} to
extract more information than just file contents, such as the owner,
the permissions, the modification date, and so forth. This section
presents options to be used with @option{--extract} when certain special
considerations arise. You may review the information presented in
@ref{extract} for more basic information about the
@option{--extract} operation.
@menu
* Reading:: Options to Help Read Archives
* Writing:: Changing How @command{tar} Writes Files
* Scarce:: Coping with Scarce Resources
@end menu
@node Reading
@subsection Options to Help Read Archives
@cindex Options when reading archives
@cindex Reading incomplete records
@cindex Records, incomplete
@opindex read-full-records
Normally, @command{tar} will request data in full record increments from
an archive storage device. If the device cannot return a full record,
@command{tar} will report an error. However, some devices do not always
return full records, or do not require the last record of an archive to
be padded out to the next record boundary. To keep reading until you
obtain a full record, or to accept an incomplete record if it contains
an end-of-archive marker, specify the @option{--read-full-records} (@option{-B}) option
in conjunction with the @option{--extract} or @option{--list} operations.
@xref{Blocking}.
The @option{--read-full-records} (@option{-B}) option is turned on by default when
@command{tar} reads an archive from standard input, or from a remote
machine. This is because on @acronym{BSD} Unix systems, attempting to read a
pipe returns however much happens to be in the pipe, even if it is
less than was requested. If this option were not enabled, @command{tar}
would fail as soon as it read an incomplete record from the pipe.
If you're not sure of the blocking factor of an archive, you can
read the archive by specifying @option{--read-full-records} (@option{-B}) and
@option{--blocking-factor=@var{512-size}} (@option{-b
@var{512-size}}), using a blocking factor larger than what the archive
uses. This lets you avoid having to determine the blocking factor
of an archive. @xref{Blocking Factor}.
@menu
* read full records::
* Ignore Zeros::
@end menu
@node read full records
@unnumberedsubsubsec Reading Full Records
@FIXME{need sentence or so of intro here}
@table @option
@opindex read-full-records
@item --read-full-records
@item -B
Use in conjunction with @option{--extract} (@option{--get},
@option{-x}) to read an archive which contains incomplete records, or
one which has a blocking factor less than the one specified.
@end table
@node Ignore Zeros
@unnumberedsubsubsec Ignoring Blocks of Zeros
@cindex End-of-archive blocks, ignoring
@cindex Ignoring end-of-archive blocks
@opindex ignore-zeros
Normally, @command{tar} stops reading when it encounters a block of zeros
between file entries (which usually indicates the end of the archive).
@option{--ignore-zeros} (@option{-i}) allows @command{tar} to
completely read an archive which contains a block of zeros before the
end (i.e., a damaged archive, or one that was created by concatenating
several archives together). This option also suppresses warnings
about missing or incomplete zero blocks at the end of the archive.
This can be turned on, if the need be, using the
@option{--warning=alone-zero-block --warning=missing-zero-blocks}
options (@pxref{warnings}).
The @option{--ignore-zeros} (@option{-i}) option is turned off by default because many
versions of @command{tar} write garbage after the end-of-archive entry,
since that part of the media is never supposed to be read. @GNUTAR{}
does not write after the end of an archive, but seeks to
maintain compatibility among archiving utilities.
@table @option
@item --ignore-zeros
@itemx -i
To ignore blocks of zeros (i.e., end-of-archive entries) which may be
encountered while reading an archive. Use in conjunction with
@option{--extract} or @option{--list}.
@end table
@node Writing
@subsection Changing How @command{tar} Writes Files
@UNREVISED{}
@FIXME{Introductory paragraph}
@menu
* Dealing with Old Files::
* Overwrite Old Files::
* Keep Old Files::
* Keep Newer Files::
* Unlink First::
* Recursive Unlink::
* Data Modification Times::
* Setting Access Permissions::
* Directory Modification Times and Permissions::
* Writing to Standard Output::
* Writing to an External Program::
* remove files::
@end menu
@node Dealing with Old Files
@unnumberedsubsubsec Options Controlling the Overwriting of Existing Files
@xopindex{overwrite-dir, introduced}
When extracting files, if @command{tar} discovers that the extracted
file already exists, it normally replaces the file by removing it before
extracting it, to prevent confusion in the presence of hard or symbolic
links. (If the existing file is a symbolic link, it is removed, not
followed.) However, if a directory cannot be removed because it is
nonempty, @command{tar} normally overwrites its metadata (ownership,
permission, etc.). The @option{--overwrite-dir} option enables this
default behavior. To be more cautious and preserve the metadata of
such a directory, use the @option{--no-overwrite-dir} option.
@cindex Overwriting old files, prevention
@xopindex{keep-old-files, introduced}
To be even more cautious and prevent existing files from being replaced, use
the @option{--keep-old-files} (@option{-k}) option. It causes
@command{tar} to refuse to replace or update a file that already
exists, i.e., a file with the same name as an archive member prevents
extraction of that archive member. Instead, it reports an error. For
example:
@example
$ @kbd{ls}
blues
$ @kbd{tar -x -k -f archive.tar}
tar: blues: Cannot open: File exists
tar: Exiting with failure status due to previous errors
@end example
@xopindex{skip-old-files, introduced}
If you wish to preserve old files untouched, but don't want
@command{tar} to treat them as errors, use the
@option{--skip-old-files} option. This option causes @command{tar} to
silently skip extracting over existing files.
@xopindex{overwrite, introduced}
To be more aggressive about altering existing files, use the
@option{--overwrite} option. It causes @command{tar} to overwrite
existing files and to follow existing symbolic links when extracting.
@cindex Protecting old files
Some people argue that @GNUTAR{} should not hesitate
to overwrite files with other files when extracting. When extracting
a @command{tar} archive, they expect to see a faithful copy of the
state of the file system when the archive was created. It is debatable
that this would always be a proper behavior. For example, suppose one
has an archive in which @file{usr/local} is a link to
@file{usr/local2}. Since then, maybe the site removed the link and
renamed the whole hierarchy from @file{/usr/local2} to
@file{/usr/local}. Such things happen all the time. I guess it would
not be welcome at all that @GNUTAR{} removes the
whole hierarchy just to make room for the link to be reinstated
(unless it @emph{also} simultaneously restores the full
@file{/usr/local2}, of course!) @GNUTAR{} is indeed
able to remove a whole hierarchy to reestablish a symbolic link, for
example, but @emph{only if} @option{--recursive-unlink} is specified
to allow this behavior. In any case, single files are silently
removed.
@xopindex{unlink-first, introduced}
Finally, the @option{--unlink-first} (@option{-U}) option can improve performance in
some cases by causing @command{tar} to remove files unconditionally
before extracting them.
@node Overwrite Old Files
@unnumberedsubsubsec Overwrite Old Files
@table @option
@opindex overwrite
@item --overwrite
Overwrite existing files and directory metadata when extracting files
from an archive.
This causes @command{tar} to write extracted files into the file system without
regard to the files already on the system; i.e., files with the same
names as archive members are overwritten when the archive is extracted.
It also causes @command{tar} to extract the ownership, permissions,
and time stamps onto any preexisting files or directories.
If the name of a corresponding file name is a symbolic link, the file
pointed to by the symbolic link will be overwritten instead of the
symbolic link itself (if this is possible). Moreover, special devices,
empty directories and even symbolic links are automatically removed if
they are in the way of extraction.
Be careful when using the @option{--overwrite} option, particularly when
combined with the @option{--absolute-names} (@option{-P}) option, as this combination
can change the contents, ownership or permissions of any file on your
system. Also, many systems do not take kindly to overwriting files that
are currently being executed.
@opindex overwrite-dir
@item --overwrite-dir
Overwrite the metadata of directories when extracting files from an
archive, but remove other files before extracting.
@end table
@node Keep Old Files
@unnumberedsubsubsec Keep Old Files
@GNUTAR{} provides two options to control its actions in a situation
when it is about to extract a file which already exists on disk.
@table @option
@opindex keep-old-files
@item --keep-old-files
@itemx -k
Do not replace existing files from archive. When such a file is
encountered, @command{tar} issues an error message. Upon end of
extraction, @command{tar} exits with code 2 (@pxref{exit status}).
@item --skip-old-files
Do not replace existing files from archive, but do not treat that
as error. Such files are silently skipped and do not affect
@command{tar} exit status.
Additional verbosity can be obtained using @option{--warning=existing-file}
together with that option (@pxref{warnings}).
@end table
@node Keep Newer Files
@unnumberedsubsubsec Keep Newer Files
@table @option
@opindex keep-newer-files
@item --keep-newer-files
Do not replace existing files that are newer than their archive
copies. This option is meaningless with @option{--list} (@option{-t}).
@end table
@node Unlink First
@unnumberedsubsubsec Unlink First
@table @option
@opindex unlink-first
@item --unlink-first
@itemx -U
Remove files before extracting over them.
This can make @command{tar} run a bit faster if you know in advance
that the extracted files all need to be removed. Normally this option
slows @command{tar} down slightly, so it is disabled by default.
@end table
@node Recursive Unlink
@unnumberedsubsubsec Recursive Unlink
@table @option
@opindex recursive-unlink
@item --recursive-unlink
When this option is specified, try removing files and directory hierarchies
before extracting over them. @emph{This is a dangerous option!}
@end table
If you specify the @option{--recursive-unlink} option,
@command{tar} removes @emph{anything} that keeps you from extracting a file
as far as current permissions will allow it. This could include removal
of the contents of a full directory hierarchy.
@node Data Modification Times
@unnumberedsubsubsec Setting Data Modification Times
@cindex Data modification times of extracted files
@cindex Modification times of extracted files
Normally, @command{tar} sets the data modification times of extracted
files to the corresponding times recorded for the files in the archive, but
limits the permissions of extracted files by the current @code{umask}
setting.
To set the data modification times of extracted files to the time when
the files were extracted, use the @option{--touch} (@option{-m}) option in
conjunction with @option{--extract} (@option{--get}, @option{-x}).
@table @option
@opindex touch
@item --touch
@itemx -m
Sets the data modification time of extracted archive members to the time
they were extracted, not the time recorded for them in the archive.
Use in conjunction with @option{--extract} (@option{--get}, @option{-x}).
@end table
@node Setting Access Permissions
@unnumberedsubsubsec Setting Access Permissions
@cindex Permissions of extracted files
@cindex Modes of extracted files
To set the modes (access permissions) of extracted files to those
recorded for those files in the archive, use @option{--same-permissions}
in conjunction with the @option{--extract} (@option{--get},
@option{-x}) operation.
@table @option
@opindex preserve-permissions
@opindex same-permissions
@item --preserve-permissions
@itemx --same-permissions
@c @itemx --ignore-umask
@itemx -p
Set modes of extracted archive members to those recorded in the
archive, instead of current umask settings. Use in conjunction with
@option{--extract} (@option{--get}, @option{-x}).
@end table
@node Directory Modification Times and Permissions
@unnumberedsubsubsec Directory Modification Times and Permissions
After successfully extracting a file member, @GNUTAR{} normally
restores its permissions and modification times, as described in the
previous sections. This cannot be done for directories, because
after extracting a directory @command{tar} will almost certainly
extract files into that directory and this will cause the directory
modification time to be updated. Moreover, restoring that directory
permissions may not permit file creation within it. Thus, restoring
directory permissions and modification times must be delayed at least
until all files have been extracted into that directory. @GNUTAR{}
restores directories using the following approach.
The extracted directories are created with the mode specified in the
archive, as modified by the umask of the user, which gives sufficient
permissions to allow file creation. The meta-information about the
directory is recorded in the temporary list of directories. When
preparing to extract next archive member, @GNUTAR{} checks if the
directory prefix of this file contains the remembered directory. If
it does not, the program assumes that all files have been extracted
into that directory, restores its modification time and permissions
and removes its entry from the internal list. This approach allows
to correctly restore directory meta-information in the majority of
cases, while keeping memory requirements sufficiently small. It is
based on the fact, that most @command{tar} archives use the predefined
order of members: first the directory, then all the files and
subdirectories in that directory.
However, this is not always true. The most important exception are
incremental archives (@pxref{Incremental Dumps}). The member order in
an incremental archive is reversed: first all directory members are
stored, followed by other (non-directory) members. So, when extracting
from incremental archives, @GNUTAR{} alters the above procedure. It
remembers all restored directories, and restores their meta-data
only after the entire archive has been processed. Notice, that you do
not need to specify any special options for that, as @GNUTAR{}
automatically detects archives in incremental format.
There may be cases, when such processing is required for normal archives
too. Consider the following example:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar --no-recursion -cvf archive \
foo foo/file1 bar bar/file foo/file2}
foo/
foo/file1
bar/
bar/file
foo/file2
@end group
@end smallexample
During the normal operation, after encountering @file{bar}
@GNUTAR{} will assume that all files from the directory @file{foo}
were already extracted and will therefore restore its timestamp and
permission bits. However, after extracting @file{foo/file2} the
directory timestamp will be offset again.
To correctly restore directory meta-information in such cases, use
the @option{--delay-directory-restore} command line option:
@table @option
@opindex delay-directory-restore
@item --delay-directory-restore
Delays restoring of the modification times and permissions of extracted
directories until the end of extraction. This way, correct
meta-information is restored even if the archive has unusual member
ordering.
@opindex no-delay-directory-restore
@item --no-delay-directory-restore
Cancel the effect of the previous @option{--delay-directory-restore}.
Use this option if you have used @option{--delay-directory-restore} in
@env{TAR_OPTIONS} variable (@pxref{TAR_OPTIONS}) and wish to
temporarily disable it.
@end table
@node Writing to Standard Output
@unnumberedsubsubsec Writing to Standard Output
@cindex Writing extracted files to standard output
@cindex Standard output, writing extracted files to
To write the extracted files to the standard output, instead of
creating the files on the file system, use @option{--to-stdout} (@option{-O}) in
conjunction with @option{--extract} (@option{--get}, @option{-x}). This option is useful if you are
extracting files to send them through a pipe, and do not need to
preserve them in the file system. If you extract multiple members,
they appear on standard output concatenated, in the order they are
found in the archive.
@table @option
@opindex to-stdout
@item --to-stdout
@itemx -O
Writes files to the standard output. Use only in conjunction with
@option{--extract} (@option{--get}, @option{-x}). When this option is
used, instead of creating the files specified, @command{tar} writes
the contents of the files extracted to its standard output. This may
be useful if you are only extracting the files in order to send them
through a pipe. This option is meaningless with @option{--list}
(@option{-t}).
@end table
This can be useful, for example, if you have a tar archive containing
a big file and don't want to store the file on disk before processing
it. You can use a command like this:
@smallexample
tar -xOzf foo.tgz bigfile | process
@end smallexample
or even like this if you want to process the concatenation of the files:
@smallexample
tar -xOzf foo.tgz bigfile1 bigfile2 | process
@end smallexample
However, @option{--to-command} may be more convenient for use with
multiple files. See the next section.
@node Writing to an External Program
@unnumberedsubsubsec Writing to an External Program
You can instruct @command{tar} to send the contents of each extracted
file to the standard input of an external program:
@table @option
@opindex to-command
@item --to-command=@var{command}
Extract files and pipe their contents to the standard input of
@var{command}. When this option is used, instead of creating the
files specified, @command{tar} invokes @var{command} and pipes the
contents of the files to its standard output. The @var{command} may
contain command line arguments (see @ref{external, Running External Commands},
for more detail).
Notice, that @var{command} is executed once for each regular file
extracted. Non-regular files (directories, etc.)@: are ignored when this
option is used.
@end table
The command can obtain the information about the file it processes
from the following environment variables:
@table @env
@vrindex TAR_FILETYPE, to-command environment
@item TAR_FILETYPE
Type of the file. It is a single letter with the following meaning:
@multitable @columnfractions 0.10 0.90
@item f @tab Regular file
@item d @tab Directory
@item l @tab Symbolic link
@item h @tab Hard link
@item b @tab Block device
@item c @tab Character device
@end multitable
Currently only regular files are supported.
@vrindex TAR_MODE, to-command environment
@item TAR_MODE
File mode, an octal number.
@vrindex TAR_FILENAME, to-command environment
@item TAR_FILENAME
The name of the file.
@vrindex TAR_REALNAME, to-command environment
@item TAR_REALNAME
Name of the file as stored in the archive.
@vrindex TAR_UNAME, to-command environment
@item TAR_UNAME
Name of the file owner.
@vrindex TAR_GNAME, to-command environment
@item TAR_GNAME
Name of the file owner group.
@vrindex TAR_ATIME, to-command environment
@item TAR_ATIME
Time of last access. It is a decimal number, representing seconds
since the Epoch. If the archive provides times with nanosecond
precision, the nanoseconds are appended to the timestamp after a
decimal point.
@vrindex TAR_MTIME, to-command environment
@item TAR_MTIME
Time of last modification.
@vrindex TAR_CTIME, to-command environment
@item TAR_CTIME
Time of last status change.
@vrindex TAR_SIZE, to-command environment
@item TAR_SIZE
Size of the file.
@vrindex TAR_UID, to-command environment
@item TAR_UID
UID of the file owner.
@vrindex TAR_GID, to-command environment
@item TAR_GID
GID of the file owner.
@end table
Additionally, the following variables contain information about
tar mode and the archive being processed:
@table @env
@vrindex TAR_VERSION, to-command environment
@item TAR_VERSION
@GNUTAR{} version number.
@vrindex TAR_ARCHIVE, to-command environment
@item TAR_ARCHIVE
The name of the archive @command{tar} is processing.
@vrindex TAR_BLOCKING_FACTOR, to-command environment
@item TAR_BLOCKING_FACTOR
Current blocking factor (@pxref{Blocking}).
@vrindex TAR_VOLUME, to-command environment
@item TAR_VOLUME
Ordinal number of the volume @command{tar} is processing.
@vrindex TAR_FORMAT, to-command environment
@item TAR_FORMAT
Format of the archive being processed. @xref{Formats}, for a complete
list of archive format names.
@end table
These variables are defined prior to executing the command, so you can
pass them as arguments, if you prefer. For example, if the command
@var{proc} takes the member name and size as its arguments, then you
could do:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -x -f archive.tar \
--to-command='proc $TAR_FILENAME $TAR_SIZE'}
@end smallexample
@noindent
Notice single quotes to prevent variable names from being expanded by
the shell when invoking @command{tar}.
If @var{command} exits with a non-0 status, @command{tar} will print
an error message similar to the following:
@smallexample
tar: 2345: Child returned status 1
@end smallexample
Here, @samp{2345} is the PID of the finished process.
If this behavior is not wanted, use @option{--ignore-command-error}:
@table @option
@opindex ignore-command-error
@item --ignore-command-error
Ignore exit codes of subprocesses. Notice that if the program
exits on signal or otherwise terminates abnormally, the error message
will be printed even if this option is used.
@opindex no-ignore-command-error
@item --no-ignore-command-error
Cancel the effect of any previous @option{--ignore-command-error}
option. This option is useful if you have set
@option{--ignore-command-error} in @env{TAR_OPTIONS}
(@pxref{TAR_OPTIONS}) and wish to temporarily cancel it.
@end table
@node remove files
@unnumberedsubsubsec Removing Files
@FIXME{The section is too terse. Something more to add? An example,
maybe?}
@table @option
@opindex remove-files
@item --remove-files
Remove files after adding them to the archive.
@end table
@node Scarce
@subsection Coping with Scarce Resources
@UNREVISED{}
@cindex Small memory
@cindex Running out of space
@menu
* Starting File::
* Same Order::
@end menu
@node Starting File
@unnumberedsubsubsec Starting File
@table @option
@opindex starting-file
@item --starting-file=@var{name}
@itemx -K @var{name}
Starts an operation in the middle of an archive. Use in conjunction
with @option{--extract} (@option{--get}, @option{-x}) or @option{--list} (@option{-t}).
@end table
@cindex Middle of the archive, starting in the
If a previous attempt to extract files failed due to lack of disk
space, you can use @option{--starting-file=@var{name}} (@option{-K
@var{name}}) to start extracting only after member @var{name} of the
archive. This assumes, of course, that there is now free space, or
that you are now extracting into a different file system. (You could
also choose to suspend @command{tar}, remove unnecessary files from
the file system, and then resume the same @command{tar} operation.
In this case, @option{--starting-file} is not necessary.) See also
@ref{interactive}, and @ref{exclude}.
@node Same Order
@unnumberedsubsubsec Same Order
@table @option
@cindex Large lists of file names on small machines
@opindex same-order
@opindex preserve-order
@item --same-order
@itemx --preserve-order
@itemx -s
To process large lists of file names on machines with small amounts of
memory. Use in conjunction with @option{--compare} (@option{--diff},
@option{-d}), @option{--list} (@option{-t}) or @option{--extract}
(@option{--get}, @option{-x}).
@end table
The @option{--same-order} (@option{--preserve-order}, @option{-s}) option tells @command{tar} that the list of file
names to be listed or extracted is sorted in the same order as the
files in the archive. This allows a large list of names to be used,
even on a small machine that would not otherwise be able to hold all
the names in memory at the same time. Such a sorted list can easily be
created by running @samp{tar -t} on the archive and editing its output.
This option is probably never needed on modern computer systems.
@node backup
@section Backup options
@cindex backup options
@GNUTAR{} offers options for making backups of files
before writing new versions. These options control the details of
these backups. They may apply to the archive itself before it is
created or rewritten, as well as individual extracted members. Other
@acronym{GNU} programs (@command{cp}, @command{install}, @command{ln},
and @command{mv}, for example) offer similar options.
Backup options may prove unexpectedly useful when extracting archives
containing many members having identical name, or when extracting archives
on systems having file name limitations, making different members appear
as having similar names through the side-effect of name truncation.
@FIXME{This is true only if we have a good scheme for truncated backup names,
which I'm not sure at all: I suspect work is needed in this area.}
When any existing file is backed up before being overwritten by extraction,
then clashing files are automatically be renamed to be unique, and the
true name is kept for only the last file of a series of clashing files.
By using verbose mode, users may track exactly what happens.
At the detail level, some decisions are still experimental, and may
change in the future, we are waiting comments from our users. So, please
do not learn to depend blindly on the details of the backup features.
For example, currently, directories themselves are never renamed through
using these options, so, extracting a file over a directory still has
good chances to fail. Also, backup options apply to created archives,
not only to extracted members. For created archives, backups will not
be attempted when the archive is a block or character device, or when it
refers to a remote file.
For the sake of simplicity and efficiency, backups are made by renaming old
files prior to creation or extraction, and not by copying. The original
name is restored if the file creation fails. If a failure occurs after a
partial extraction of a file, both the backup and the partially extracted
file are kept.
@table @samp
@item --backup[=@var{method}]
@opindex backup
@vindex VERSION_CONTROL
@cindex backups
Back up files that are about to be overwritten or removed.
Without this option, the original versions are destroyed.
Use @var{method} to determine the type of backups made.
If @var{method} is not specified, use the value of the @env{VERSION_CONTROL}
environment variable. And if @env{VERSION_CONTROL} is not set,
use the @samp{existing} method.
@vindex version-control @r{Emacs variable}
This option corresponds to the Emacs variable @samp{version-control};
the same values for @var{method} are accepted as in Emacs. This option
also allows more descriptive names. The valid @var{method}s are:
@table @samp
@item t
@itemx numbered
@cindex numbered @r{backup method}
Always make numbered backups.
@item nil
@itemx existing
@cindex existing @r{backup method}
Make numbered backups of files that already have them, simple backups
of the others.
@item never
@itemx simple
@cindex simple @r{backup method}
Always make simple backups.
@end table
@item --suffix=@var{suffix}
@opindex suffix
@cindex backup suffix
@vindex SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX
Append @var{suffix} to each backup file made with @option{--backup}. If this
option is not specified, the value of the @env{SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX}
environment variable is used. And if @env{SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX} is not
set, the default is @samp{~}, just as in Emacs.
@end table
@node looking ahead
@section Looking Ahead: The Rest of this Manual
You have now seen how to use all eight of the operations available to
@command{tar}, and a number of the possible options. The next chapter
explains how to choose and change file and archive names, how to use
files to store names of other files which you can then call as
arguments to @command{tar} (this can help you save time if you expect to
archive the same list of files a number of times), and so forth.
@FIXME{in case it's not obvious, i'm making this up in some sense
based on my limited memory of what the next chapter *really* does. i
just wanted to flesh out this final section a little bit so i'd
remember to stick it in here. :-)}
If there are too many files to conveniently list on the command line,
you can list the names in a file, and @command{tar} will read that file.
@xref{files}.
There are various ways of causing @command{tar} to skip over some files,
and not archive them. @xref{Choosing}.
@node Backups
@chapter Performing Backups and Restoring Files
@cindex backups
@GNUTAR{} is distributed along with the scripts for performing backups
and restores. Even if there is a good chance those scripts may be
satisfying to you, they are not the only scripts or methods available for doing
backups and restore. You may well create your own, or use more
sophisticated packages dedicated to that purpose.
Some users are enthusiastic about @code{Amanda} (The Advanced Maryland
Automatic Network Disk Archiver), a backup system developed by James
da Silva @file{jds@@cs.umd.edu} and available on many Unix systems.
This is free software, and it is available from @uref{http://www.amanda.org}.
@FIXME{
Here is a possible plan for a future documentation about the backuping
scripts which are provided within the @GNUTAR{}
distribution.
@itemize @bullet
@item dumps
@itemize @minus
@item what are dumps
@item different levels of dumps
@itemize +
@item full dump = dump everything
@item level 1, level 2 dumps etc
A level @var{n} dump dumps everything changed since the last level
@var{n}-1 dump (?)
@end itemize
@item how to use scripts for dumps (ie, the concept)
@itemize +
@item scripts to run after editing backup specs (details)
@end itemize
@item Backup Specs, what is it.
@itemize +
@item how to customize
@item actual text of script [/sp/dump/backup-specs]
@end itemize
@item Problems
@itemize +
@item rsh doesn't work
@item rtape isn't installed
@item (others?)
@end itemize
@item the @option{--incremental} option of tar
@item tapes
@itemize +
@item write protection
@item types of media, different sizes and types, useful for different things
@item files and tape marks
one tape mark between files, two at end.
@item positioning the tape
MT writes two at end of write,
backspaces over one when writing again.
@end itemize
@end itemize
@end itemize
}
This chapter documents both the provided shell scripts and @command{tar}
options which are more specific to usage as a backup tool.
To @dfn{back up} a file system means to create archives that contain
all the files in that file system. Those archives can then be used to
restore any or all of those files (for instance if a disk crashes or a
file is accidentally deleted). File system @dfn{backups} are also
called @dfn{dumps}.
@menu
* Full Dumps:: Using @command{tar} to Perform Full Dumps
* Incremental Dumps:: Using @command{tar} to Perform Incremental Dumps
* 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
@end menu
@node Full Dumps
@section Using @command{tar} to Perform Full Dumps
@UNREVISED{}
@cindex full dumps
@cindex dumps, full
@cindex corrupted archives
Full dumps should only be made when no other people or programs
are modifying files in the file system. If files are modified while
@command{tar} is making the backup, they may not be stored properly in
the archive, in which case you won't be able to restore them if you
have to. (Files not being modified are written with no trouble, and do
not corrupt the entire archive.)
You will want to use the @option{--label=@var{archive-label}}
(@option{-V @var{archive-label}}) option to give the archive a
volume label, so you can tell what this archive is even if the label
falls off the tape, or anything like that.
Unless the file system you are dumping is guaranteed to fit on
one volume, you will need to use the @option{--multi-volume} (@option{-M}) option.
Make sure you have enough tapes on hand to complete the backup.
If you want to dump each file system separately you will need to use
the @option{--one-file-system} option to prevent
@command{tar} from crossing file system boundaries when storing
(sub)directories.
The @option{--incremental} (@option{-G}) (@pxref{Incremental Dumps})
option is not needed, since this is a complete copy of everything in
the file system, and a full restore from this backup would only be
done onto a completely
empty disk.
Unless you are in a hurry, and trust the @command{tar} program (and your
tapes), it is a good idea to use the @option{--verify} (@option{-W})
option, to make sure your files really made it onto the dump properly.
This will also detect cases where the file was modified while (or just
after) it was being archived. Not all media (notably cartridge tapes)
are capable of being verified, unfortunately.
@node Incremental Dumps
@section Using @command{tar} to Perform Incremental Dumps
@dfn{Incremental backup} is a special form of @GNUTAR{} archive that
stores additional metadata so that exact state of the file system
can be restored when extracting the archive.
@GNUTAR{} currently offers two options for handling incremental
backups: @option{--listed-incremental=@var{snapshot-file}} (@option{-g
@var{snapshot-file}}) and @option{--incremental} (@option{-G}).
@xopindex{listed-incremental, described}
The option @option{--listed-incremental} instructs tar to operate on
an incremental archive with additional metadata stored in a standalone
file, called a @dfn{snapshot file}. The purpose of this file is to help
determine which files have been changed, added or deleted since the
last backup, so that the next incremental backup will contain only
modified files. The name of the snapshot file is given as an argument
to the option:
@table @option
@item --listed-incremental=@var{file}
@itemx -g @var{file}
Handle incremental backups with snapshot data in @var{file}.
@end table
To create an incremental backup, you would use
@option{--listed-incremental} together with @option{--create}
(@pxref{create}). For example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --create \
--file=archive.1.tar \
--listed-incremental=/var/log/usr.snar \
/usr}
@end smallexample
This will create in @file{archive.1.tar} an incremental backup of
the @file{/usr} file system, storing additional metadata in the file
@file{/var/log/usr.snar}. If this file does not exist, it will be
created. The created archive will then be a @dfn{level 0 backup};
please see the next section for more on backup levels.
Otherwise, if the file @file{/var/log/usr.snar} exists, it
determines which files are modified. In this case only these files will be
stored in the archive. Suppose, for example, that after running the
above command, you delete file @file{/usr/doc/old} and create
directory @file{/usr/local/db} with the following contents:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{ls /usr/local/db}
/usr/local/db/data
/usr/local/db/index
@end smallexample
Some time later you create another incremental backup. You will
then see:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --create \
--file=archive.2.tar \
--listed-incremental=/var/log/usr.snar \
/usr}
tar: usr/local/db: Directory is new
usr/local/db/
usr/local/db/data
usr/local/db/index
@end smallexample
@noindent
The created archive @file{archive.2.tar} will contain only these
three members. This archive is called a @dfn{level 1 backup}. Notice
that @file{/var/log/usr.snar} will be updated with the new data, so if
you plan to create more @samp{level 1} backups, it is necessary to
create a working copy of the snapshot file before running
@command{tar}. The above example will then be modified as follows:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{cp /var/log/usr.snar /var/log/usr.snar-1}
$ @kbd{tar --create \
--file=archive.2.tar \
--listed-incremental=/var/log/usr.snar-1 \
/usr}
@end smallexample
@anchor{--level=0}
@xopindex{level, described}
You can force @samp{level 0} backups either by removing the snapshot
file before running @command{tar}, or by supplying the
@option{--level=0} option, e.g.:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --create \
--file=archive.2.tar \
--listed-incremental=/var/log/usr.snar-0 \
--level=0 \
/usr}
@end smallexample
Incremental dumps depend crucially on time stamps, so the results are
unreliable if you modify a file's time stamps during dumping (e.g.,
with the @option{--atime-preserve=replace} option), or if you set the clock
backwards.
@anchor{device numbers}
@cindex Device numbers, using in incremental backups
Metadata stored in snapshot files include device numbers, which,
obviously are supposed to be non-volatile values. However, it turns
out that @acronym{NFS} devices have undependable values when an automounter
gets in the picture. This can lead to a great deal of spurious
redumping in incremental dumps, so it is somewhat useless to compare
two @acronym{NFS} devices numbers over time. The solution implemented
currently is to consider all @acronym{NFS} devices as being equal
when it comes to comparing directories; this is fairly gross, but
there does not seem to be a better way to go.
Apart from using @acronym{NFS}, there are a number of cases where
relying on device numbers can cause spurious redumping of unmodified
files. For example, this occurs when archiving @acronym{LVM} snapshot
volumes. To avoid this, use @option{--no-check-device} option:
@table @option
@xopindex{no-check-device, described}
@item --no-check-device
Do not rely on device numbers when preparing a list of changed files
for an incremental dump.
@xopindex{check-device, described}
@item --check-device
Use device numbers when preparing a list of changed files
for an incremental dump. This is the default behavior. The purpose
of this option is to undo the effect of the @option{--no-check-device}
if it was given in @env{TAR_OPTIONS} environment variable
(@pxref{TAR_OPTIONS}).
@end table
There is also another way to cope with changing device numbers. It is
described in detail in @ref{Fixing Snapshot Files}.
Note that incremental archives use @command{tar} extensions and may
not be readable by non-@acronym{GNU} versions of the @command{tar} program.
@xopindex{listed-incremental, using with @option{--extract}}
@xopindex{extract, using with @option{--listed-incremental}}
To extract from the incremental dumps, use
@option{--listed-incremental} together with @option{--extract}
option (@pxref{extracting files}). In this case, @command{tar} does
not need to access snapshot file, since all the data necessary for
extraction are stored in the archive itself. So, when extracting, you
can give whatever argument to @option{--listed-incremental}, the usual
practice is to use @option{--listed-incremental=/dev/null}.
Alternatively, you can use @option{--incremental}, which needs no
arguments. In general, @option{--incremental} (@option{-G}) can be
used as a shortcut for @option{--listed-incremental} when listing or
extracting incremental backups (for more information regarding this
option, @pxref{incremental-op}).
When extracting from the incremental backup @GNUTAR{} attempts to
restore the exact state the file system had when the archive was
created. In particular, it will @emph{delete} those files in the file
system that did not exist in their directories when the archive was
created. If you have created several levels of incremental files,
then in order to restore the exact contents the file system had when
the last level was created, you will need to restore from all backups
in turn. Continuing our example, to restore the state of @file{/usr}
file system, one would do@footnote{Notice, that since both archives
were created without @option{-P} option (@pxref{absolute}), these
commands should be run from the root file system.}:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --extract \
--listed-incremental=/dev/null \
--file archive.1.tar}
$ @kbd{tar --extract \
--listed-incremental=/dev/null \
--file archive.2.tar}
@end smallexample
To list the contents of an incremental archive, use @option{--list}
(@pxref{list}), as usual. To obtain more information about the
archive, use @option{--listed-incremental} or @option{--incremental}
combined with two @option{--verbose} options@footnote{Two
@option{--verbose} options were selected to avoid breaking usual
verbose listing output (@option{--list --verbose}) when using in
scripts.
@xopindex{incremental, using with @option{--list}}
@xopindex{listed-incremental, using with @option{--list}}
@xopindex{list, using with @option{--incremental}}
@xopindex{list, using with @option{--listed-incremental}}
Versions of @GNUTAR{} up to 1.15.1 used to dump verbatim binary
contents of the DUMPDIR header (with terminating nulls) when
@option{--incremental} or @option{--listed-incremental} option was
given, no matter what the verbosity level. This behavior, and,
especially, the binary output it produced were considered inconvenient
and were changed in version 1.16.}:
@smallexample
@kbd{tar --list --incremental --verbose --verbose --file archive.tar}
@end smallexample
This command will print, for each directory in the archive, the list
of files in that directory at the time the archive was created. This
information is put out in a format which is both human-readable and
unambiguous for a program: each file name is printed as
@smallexample
@var{x} @var{file}
@end smallexample
@noindent
where @var{x} is a letter describing the status of the file: @samp{Y}
if the file is present in the archive, @samp{N} if the file is not
included in the archive, or a @samp{D} if the file is a directory (and
is included in the archive). @xref{Dumpdir}, for the detailed
description of dumpdirs and status codes. Each such
line is terminated by a newline character. The last line is followed
by an additional newline to indicate the end of the data.
@anchor{incremental-op}The option @option{--incremental} (@option{-G})
gives the same behavior as @option{--listed-incremental} when used
with @option{--list} and @option{--extract} options. When used with
@option{--create} option, it creates an incremental archive without
creating snapshot file. Thus, it is impossible to create several
levels of incremental backups with @option{--incremental} option.
@node Backup Levels
@section Levels of Backups
An archive containing all the files in the file system is called a
@dfn{full backup} or @dfn{full dump}. You could insure your data by
creating a full dump every day. This strategy, however, would waste a
substantial amount of archive media and user time, as unchanged files
are daily re-archived.
It is more efficient to do a full dump only occasionally. To back up
files between full dumps, you can use @dfn{incremental dumps}. A @dfn{level
one} dump archives all the files that have changed since the last full
dump.
A typical dump strategy would be to perform a full dump once a week,
and a level one dump once a day. This means some versions of files
will in fact be archived more than once, but this dump strategy makes
it possible to restore a file system to within one day of accuracy by
only extracting two archives---the last weekly (full) dump and the
last daily (level one) dump. The only information lost would be in
files changed or created since the last daily backup. (Doing dumps
more than once a day is usually not worth the trouble.)
@GNUTAR{} comes with scripts you can use to do full
and level-one (actually, even level-two and so on) dumps. Using
scripts (shell programs) to perform backups and restoration is a
convenient and reliable alternative to typing out file name lists
and @command{tar} commands by hand.
Before you use these scripts, you need to edit the file
@file{backup-specs}, which specifies parameters used by the backup
scripts and by the restore script. This file is usually located
in @file{/etc/backup} directory. @xref{Backup Parameters}, for its
detailed description. Once the backup parameters are set, you can
perform backups or restoration by running the appropriate script.
The name of the backup script is @code{backup}. The name of the
restore script is @code{restore}. The following sections describe
their use in detail.
@emph{Please Note:} The backup and restoration scripts are
designed to be used together. While it is possible to restore files by
hand from an archive which was created using a backup script, and to create
an archive by hand which could then be extracted using the restore script,
it is easier to use the scripts. @xref{Incremental Dumps}, before
making such an attempt.
@node Backup Parameters
@section Setting Parameters for Backups and Restoration
The file @file{backup-specs} specifies backup parameters for the
backup and restoration scripts provided with @command{tar}. You must
edit @file{backup-specs} to fit your system configuration and schedule
before using these scripts.
Syntactically, @file{backup-specs} is a shell script, containing
mainly variable assignments. However, any valid shell construct
is allowed in this file. Particularly, you may wish to define
functions within that script (e.g., see @code{RESTORE_BEGIN} below).
For more information about shell script syntax, please refer to
@url{http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399/utilities/xcu_chap02.html#ta
g_02, the definition of the Shell Command Language}. See also
@ref{Top,,Bash Features,bashref,Bash Reference Manual}.
The shell variables controlling behavior of @code{backup} and
@code{restore} are described in the following subsections.
@menu
* General-Purpose Variables::
* Magnetic Tape Control::
* User Hooks::
* backup-specs example:: An Example Text of @file{Backup-specs}
@end menu
@node General-Purpose Variables
@subsection General-Purpose Variables
@defvr {Backup variable} ADMINISTRATOR
The user name of the backup administrator. @code{Backup} scripts
sends a backup report to this address.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} BACKUP_HOUR
The hour at which the backups are done. This can be a number from 0
to 23, or the time specification in form @var{hours}:@var{minutes},
or the string @samp{now}.
This variable is used by @code{backup}. Its value may be overridden
using @option{--time} option (@pxref{Scripted Backups}).
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} TAPE_FILE
The device @command{tar} writes the archive to. If @var{TAPE_FILE}
is a remote archive (@pxref{remote-dev}), backup script will suppose
that your @command{mt} is able to access remote devices. If @var{RSH}
(@pxref{RSH}) is set, @option{--rsh-command} option will be added to
invocations of @command{mt}.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} BLOCKING
The blocking factor @command{tar} will use when writing the dump archive.
@xref{Blocking Factor}.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} BACKUP_DIRS
A list of file systems to be dumped (for @code{backup}), or restored
(for @code{restore}). You can include any directory
name in the list --- subdirectories on that file system will be
included, regardless of how they may look to other networked machines.
Subdirectories on other file systems will be ignored.
The host name specifies which host to run @command{tar} on, and should
normally be the host that actually contains the file system. However,
the host machine must have @GNUTAR{} installed, and
must be able to access the directory containing the backup scripts and
their support files using the same file name that is used on the
machine where the scripts are run (i.e., what @command{pwd} will print
when in that directory on that machine). If the host that contains
the file system does not have this capability, you can specify another
host as long as it can access the file system through @acronym{NFS}.
If the list of file systems is very long you may wish to put it
in a separate file. This file is usually named
@file{/etc/backup/dirs}, but this name may be overridden in
@file{backup-specs} using @code{DIRLIST} variable.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} DIRLIST
The name of the file that contains a list of file systems to backup
or restore. By default it is @file{/etc/backup/dirs}.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} BACKUP_FILES
A list of individual files to be dumped (for @code{backup}), or restored
(for @code{restore}). These should be accessible from the machine on
which the backup script is run.
If the list of individual files is very long you may wish to store it
in a separate file. This file is usually named
@file{/etc/backup/files}, but this name may be overridden in
@file{backup-specs} using @code{FILELIST} variable.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} FILELIST
The name of the file that contains a list of individual files to backup
or restore. By default it is @file{/etc/backup/files}.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} MT
Full file name of @command{mt} binary.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} RSH
@anchor{RSH}
Full file name of @command{rsh} binary or its equivalent. You may wish to
set it to @code{ssh}, to improve security. In this case you will have
to use public key authentication.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} RSH_COMMAND
Full file name of @command{rsh} binary on remote machines. This will
be passed via @option{--rsh-command} option to the remote invocation
of @GNUTAR{}.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} VOLNO_FILE
Name of temporary file to hold volume numbers. This needs to be accessible
by all the machines which have file systems to be dumped.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} XLIST
Name of @dfn{exclude file list}. An @dfn{exclude file list} is a file
located on the remote machine and containing the list of files to
be excluded from the backup. Exclude file lists are searched in
/etc/tar-backup directory. A common use for exclude file lists
is to exclude files containing security-sensitive information
(e.g., @file{/etc/shadow} from backups).
This variable affects only @code{backup}.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} SLEEP_TIME
Time to sleep between dumps of any two successive file systems
This variable affects only @code{backup}.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} DUMP_REMIND_SCRIPT
Script to be run when it's time to insert a new tape in for the next
volume. Administrators may want to tailor this script for their site.
If this variable isn't set, @GNUTAR{} will display its built-in
prompt, and will expect confirmation from the console. For the
description of the default prompt, see @ref{change volume prompt}.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} SLEEP_MESSAGE
Message to display on the terminal while waiting for dump time. Usually
this will just be some literal text.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} TAR
Full file name of the @GNUTAR{} executable. If this is not set, backup
scripts will search @command{tar} in the current shell path.
@end defvr
@node Magnetic Tape Control
@subsection Magnetic Tape Control
Backup scripts access tape device using special @dfn{hook functions}.
These functions take a single argument --- the name of the tape
device. Their names are kept in the following variables:
@defvr {Backup variable} MT_BEGIN
The name of @dfn{begin} function. This function is called before
accessing the drive. By default it retensions the tape:
@smallexample
MT_BEGIN=mt_begin
mt_begin() @{
mt -f "$1" retension
@}
@end smallexample
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} MT_REWIND
The name of @dfn{rewind} function. The default definition is as
follows:
@smallexample
MT_REWIND=mt_rewind
mt_rewind() @{
mt -f "$1" rewind
@}
@end smallexample
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} MT_OFFLINE
The name of the function switching the tape off line. By default
it is defined as follows:
@smallexample
MT_OFFLINE=mt_offline
mt_offline() @{
mt -f "$1" offl
@}
@end smallexample
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} MT_STATUS
The name of the function used to obtain the status of the archive device,
including error count. Default definition:
@smallexample
MT_STATUS=mt_status
mt_status() @{
mt -f "$1" status
@}
@end smallexample
@end defvr
@node User Hooks
@subsection User Hooks
@dfn{User hooks} are shell functions executed before and after
each @command{tar} invocation. Thus, there are @dfn{backup
hooks}, which are executed before and after dumping each file
system, and @dfn{restore hooks}, executed before and
after restoring a file system. Each user hook is a shell function
taking four arguments:
@deffn {User Hook Function} hook @var{level} @var{host} @var{fs} @var{fsname}
Its arguments are:
@table @var
@item level
Current backup or restore level.
@item host
Name or IP address of the host machine being dumped or restored.
@item fs
Full file name of the file system being dumped or restored.
@item fsname
File system name with directory separators replaced with colons. This
is useful, e.g., for creating unique files.
@end table
@end deffn
Following variables keep the names of user hook functions:
@defvr {Backup variable} DUMP_BEGIN
Dump begin function. It is executed before dumping the file system.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} DUMP_END
Executed after dumping the file system.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} RESTORE_BEGIN
Executed before restoring the file system.
@end defvr
@defvr {Backup variable} RESTORE_END
Executed after restoring the file system.
@end defvr
@node backup-specs example
@subsection An Example Text of @file{Backup-specs}
The following is an example of @file{backup-specs}:
@smallexample
# site-specific parameters for file system backup.
ADMINISTRATOR=friedman
BACKUP_HOUR=1
TAPE_FILE=/dev/nrsmt0
# Use @code{ssh} instead of the less secure @code{rsh}
RSH=/usr/bin/ssh
RSH_COMMAND=/usr/bin/ssh
# Override MT_STATUS function:
my_status() @{
mts -t $TAPE_FILE
@}
MT_STATUS=my_status
# Disable MT_OFFLINE function
MT_OFFLINE=:
BLOCKING=124
BACKUP_DIRS="
albert:/fs/fsf
apple-gunkies:/gd
albert:/fs/gd2
albert:/fs/gp
geech:/usr/jla
churchy:/usr/roland
albert:/
albert:/usr
apple-gunkies:/
apple-gunkies:/usr
gnu:/hack
gnu:/u
apple-gunkies:/com/mailer/gnu
apple-gunkies:/com/archive/gnu"
BACKUP_FILES="/com/mailer/aliases /com/mailer/league*[a-z]"
@end smallexample
@node Scripted Backups
@section Using the Backup Scripts
The syntax for running a backup script is:
@smallexample
backup --level=@var{level} --time=@var{time}
@end smallexample
The @option{--level} option requests the dump level. Thus, to produce
a full dump, specify @code{--level=0} (this is the default, so
@option{--level} may be omitted if its value is
@code{0})@footnote{For backward compatibility, the @code{backup} will also
try to deduce the requested dump level from the name of the
script itself. If the name consists of a string @samp{level-}
followed by a single decimal digit, that digit is taken as
the dump level number. Thus, you may create a link from @code{backup}
to @code{level-1} and then run @code{level-1} whenever you need to
create a level one dump.}.
The @option{--time} option determines when should the backup be
run. @var{Time} may take three forms:
@table @asis
@item @var{hh}:@var{mm}
The dump must be run at @var{hh} hours @var{mm} minutes.
@item @var{hh}
The dump must be run at @var{hh} hours.
@item now
The dump must be run immediately.
@end table
You should start a script with a tape or disk mounted. Once you
start a script, it prompts you for new tapes or disks as it
needs them. Media volumes don't have to correspond to archive
files --- a multi-volume archive can be started in the middle of a
tape that already contains the end of another multi-volume archive.
The @code{restore} script prompts for media by its archive volume,
so to avoid an error message you should keep track of which tape
(or disk) contains which volume of the archive (@pxref{Scripted
Restoration}).
The backup scripts write two files on the file system. The first is a
record file in @file{/etc/tar-backup/}, which is used by the scripts
to store and retrieve information about which files were dumped. This
file is not meant to be read by humans, and should not be deleted by
them. @xref{Snapshot Files}, for a more detailed explanation of this
file.
The second file is a log file containing the names of the file systems
and files dumped, what time the backup was made, and any error
messages that were generated, as well as how much space was left in
the media volume after the last volume of the archive was written.
You should check this log file after every backup. The file name is
@file{log-@var{mm-dd-yyyy}-level-@var{n}}, where @var{mm-dd-yyyy}
represents current date, and @var{n} represents current dump level number.
The script also prints the name of each system being dumped to the
standard output.
Following is the full list of options accepted by @code{backup}
script:
@table @option
@item -l @var{level}
@itemx --level=@var{level}
Do backup level @var{level} (default 0).
@item -f
@itemx --force
Force backup even if today's log file already exists.
@item -v[@var{level}]
@itemx --verbose[=@var{level}]
Set verbosity level. The higher the level is, the more debugging
information will be output during execution. Default @var{level}
is 100, which means the highest debugging level.
@item -t @var{start-time}
@itemx --time=@var{start-time}
Wait till @var{time}, then do backup.
@item -h
@itemx --help
Display short help message and exit.
@item -V
@itemx --version
Display information about the program's name, version, origin and legal
status, all on standard output, and then exit successfully.
@end table
@node Scripted Restoration
@section Using the Restore Script
To restore files that were archived using a scripted backup, use the
@code{restore} script. Its usage is quite straightforward. In the
simplest form, invoke @code{restore --all}, it will
then restore all the file systems and files specified in
@file{backup-specs} (@pxref{General-Purpose Variables,BACKUP_DIRS}).
You may select the file systems (and/or files) to restore by
giving @code{restore} a list of @dfn{patterns} in its command
line. For example, running
@smallexample
restore 'albert:*'
@end smallexample
@noindent
will restore all file systems on the machine @samp{albert}. A more
complicated example:
@smallexample
restore 'albert:*' '*:/var'
@end smallexample
@noindent
This command will restore all file systems on the machine @samp{albert}
as well as @file{/var} file system on all machines.
By default @code{restore} will start restoring files from the lowest
available dump level (usually zero) and will continue through
all available dump levels. There may be situations where such a
thorough restore is not necessary. For example, you may wish to
restore only files from the recent level one backup. To do so,
use @option{--level} option, as shown in the example below:
@smallexample
restore --level=1
@end smallexample
The full list of options accepted by @code{restore} follows:
@table @option
@item -a
@itemx --all
Restore all file systems and files specified in @file{backup-specs}.
@item -l @var{level}
@itemx --level=@var{level}
Start restoring from the given backup level, instead of the default 0.
@item -v[@var{level}]
@itemx --verbose[=@var{level}]
Set verbosity level. The higher the level is, the more debugging
information will be output during execution. Default @var{level}
is 100, which means the highest debugging level.
@item -h
@itemx --help
Display short help message and exit.
@item -V
@itemx --version
Display information about the program's name, version, origin and legal
status, all on standard output, and then exit successfully.
@end table
You should start the restore script with the media containing the
first volume of the archive mounted. The script will prompt for other
volumes as they are needed. If the archive is on tape, you don't need
to rewind the tape to to its beginning---if the tape head is
positioned past the beginning of the archive, the script will rewind
the tape as needed. @xref{Tape Positioning}, for a discussion of tape
positioning.
@quotation
@strong{Warning:} The script will delete files from the active file
system if they were not in the file system when the archive was made.
@end quotation
@xref{Incremental Dumps}, for an explanation of how the script makes
that determination.
@node Choosing
@chapter Choosing Files and Names for @command{tar}
Certain options to @command{tar} enable you to specify a name for your
archive. Other options let you decide which files to include or exclude
from the archive, based on when or whether files were modified, whether
the file names do or don't match specified patterns, or whether files
are in specified directories.
This chapter discusses these options in detail.
@menu
* file:: Choosing the Archive's Name
* Selecting Archive Members::
* files:: Reading Names from a File
* exclude:: Excluding Some Files
* wildcards:: Wildcards Patterns and Matching
* quoting styles:: Ways of Quoting Special Characters in Names
* transform:: Modifying File and Member Names
* after:: Operating Only on New Files
* recurse:: Descending into Directories
* one:: Crossing File System Boundaries
@end menu
@node file
@section Choosing and Naming Archive Files
@cindex Naming an archive
@cindex Archive Name
@cindex Choosing an archive file
@cindex Where is the archive?
@opindex file
By default, @command{tar} uses an archive file name that was compiled when
it was built on the system; usually this name refers to some physical
tape drive on the machine. However, the person who installed @command{tar}
on the system may not have set the default to a meaningful value as far as
most users are concerned. As a result, you will usually want to tell
@command{tar} where to find (or create) the archive. The
@option{--file=@var{archive-name}} (@option{-f @var{archive-name}})
option allows you to either specify or name a file to use as the archive
instead of the default archive file location.
@table @option
@xopindex{file, short description}
@item --file=@var{archive-name}
@itemx -f @var{archive-name}
Name the archive to create or operate on. Use in conjunction with
any operation.
@end table
For example, in this @command{tar} command,
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -cvf collection.tar blues folk jazz}
@end smallexample
@noindent
@file{collection.tar} is the name of the archive. It must directly
follow the @option{-f} option, since whatever directly follows @option{-f}
@emph{will} end up naming the archive. If you neglect to specify an
archive name, you may end up overwriting a file in the working directory
with the archive you create since @command{tar} will use this file's name
for the archive name.
An archive can be saved as a file in the file system, sent through a
pipe or over a network, or written to an I/O device such as a tape,
floppy disk, or CD write drive.
@cindex Writing new archives
@cindex Archive creation
If you do not name the archive, @command{tar} uses the value of the
environment variable @env{TAPE} as the file name for the archive. If
that is not available, @command{tar} uses a default, compiled-in archive
name, usually that for tape unit zero (i.e., @file{/dev/tu00}).
@cindex Standard input and output
@cindex tar to standard input and output
If you use @file{-} as an @var{archive-name}, @command{tar} reads the
archive from standard input (when listing or extracting files), or
writes it to standard output (when creating an archive). If you use
@file{-} as an @var{archive-name} when modifying an archive,
@command{tar} reads the original archive from its standard input and
writes the entire new archive to its standard output.
The following example is a convenient way of copying directory
hierarchy from @file{sourcedir} to @file{targetdir}.
@smallexample
$ @kbd{(cd sourcedir; tar -cf - .) | (cd targetdir; tar -xpf -)}
@end smallexample
The @option{-C} option allows to avoid using subshells:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -C sourcedir -cf - . | tar -C targetdir -xpf -}
@end smallexample
In both examples above, the leftmost @command{tar} invocation archives
the contents of @file{sourcedir} to the standard output, while the
rightmost one reads this archive from its standard input and
extracts it. The @option{-p} option tells it to restore permissions
of the extracted files.
@cindex Remote devices
@cindex tar to a remote device
@anchor{remote-dev}
To specify an archive file on a device attached to a remote machine,
use the following:
@smallexample
@kbd{--file=@var{hostname}:/@var{dev}/@var{file-name}}
@end smallexample
@noindent
@command{tar} will set up the remote connection, if possible, and
prompt you for a username and password. If you use
@option{--file=@@@var{hostname}:/@var{dev}/@var{file-name}}, @command{tar}
will attempt to set up the remote connection using your username
as the username on the remote machine.
@cindex Local and remote archives
@anchor{local and remote archives}
If the archive file name includes a colon (@samp{:}), then it is assumed
to be a file on another machine. If the archive file is
@samp{@var{user}@@@var{host}:@var{file}}, then @var{file} is used on the
host @var{host}. The remote host is accessed using the @command{rsh}
program, with a username of @var{user}. If the username is omitted
(along with the @samp{@@} sign), then your user name will be used.
(This is the normal @command{rsh} behavior.) It is necessary for the
remote machine, in addition to permitting your @command{rsh} access, to
have the @file{rmt} program installed (this command is included in
the @GNUTAR{} distribution and by default is installed under
@file{@var{prefix}/libexec/rmt}, where @var{prefix} means your
installation prefix). If you need to use a file whose name includes a
colon, then the remote tape drive behavior
can be inhibited by using the @option{--force-local} option.
When the archive is being created to @file{/dev/null}, @GNUTAR{}
tries to minimize input and output operations. The Amanda backup
system, when used with @GNUTAR{}, has an initial sizing pass which
uses this feature.
@node Selecting Archive Members
@section Selecting Archive Members
@cindex Specifying files to act on
@cindex Specifying archive members
@dfn{File Name arguments} specify which files in the file system
@command{tar} operates on, when creating or adding to an archive, or which
archive members @command{tar} operates on, when reading or deleting from
an archive. @xref{Operations}.
To specify file names, you can include them as the last arguments on
the command line, as follows:
@smallexample
@kbd{tar} @var{operation} [@var{option1} @var{option2} @dots{}] [@var{file name-1} @var{file name-2} @dots{}]
@end smallexample
If a file name begins with dash (@samp{-}), precede it with
@option{--add-file} option to prevent it from being treated as an
option.
@anchor{input name quoting}
By default @GNUTAR{} attempts to @dfn{unquote} each file or member
name, replacing @dfn{escape sequences} according to the following
table:
@multitable @columnfractions 0.20 0.60
@headitem Escape @tab Replaced with
@item \a @tab Audible bell (@acronym{ASCII} 7)
@item \b @tab Backspace (@acronym{ASCII} 8)
@item \f @tab Form feed (@acronym{ASCII} 12)
@item \n @tab New line (@acronym{ASCII} 10)
@item \r @tab Carriage return (@acronym{ASCII} 13)
@item \t @tab Horizontal tabulation (@acronym{ASCII} 9)
@item \v @tab Vertical tabulation (@acronym{ASCII} 11)
@item \? @tab @acronym{ASCII} 127
@item \@var{n} @tab @acronym{ASCII} @var{n} (@var{n} should be an octal number
of up to 3 digits)
@end multitable
A backslash followed by any other symbol is retained.
This default behavior is controlled by the following command line
option:
@table @option
@opindex unquote
@item --unquote
Enable unquoting input file or member names (default).
@opindex no-unquote
@item --no-unquote
Disable unquoting input file or member names.
@end table
If you specify a directory name as a file name argument, all the files
in that directory are operated on by @command{tar}.
If you do not specify files, @command{tar} behavior differs depending
on the operation mode as described below:
When @command{tar} is invoked with @option{--create} (@option{-c}),
@command{tar} will stop immediately, reporting the following:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar cf a.tar}
tar: Cowardly refusing to create an empty archive
Try 'tar --help' or 'tar --usage' for more information.
@end group
@end smallexample
If you specify either @option{--list} (@option{-t}) or
@option{--extract} (@option{--get}, @option{-x}), @command{tar}
operates on all the archive members in the archive.
If run with @option{--diff} option, tar will compare the archive with
the contents of the current working directory.
If you specify any other operation, @command{tar} does nothing.
By default, @command{tar} takes file names from the command line. However,
there are other ways to specify file or member names, or to modify the
manner in which @command{tar} selects the files or members upon which to
operate. In general, these methods work both for specifying the names
of files and archive members.
@node files
@section Reading Names from a File
@cindex Reading file names from a file
@cindex Lists of file names
@cindex File Name arguments, alternatives
@cindex @command{find}, using with @command{tar}
Instead of giving the names of files or archive members on the command
line, you can put the names into a file, and then use the
@option{--files-from=@var{file-of-names}} (@option{-T
@var{file-of-names}}) option to @command{tar}. Give the name of the
file which contains the list of files to include as the argument to
@option{--files-from}. In the list, the file names should be separated by
newlines. You will frequently use this option when you have generated
the list of files to archive with the @command{find} utility.
@table @option
@opindex files-from
@item --files-from=@var{file-name}
@itemx -T @var{file-name}
Get names to extract or create from file @var{file-name}.
@end table
If you give a single dash as a file name for @option{--files-from}, (i.e.,
you specify either @code{--files-from=-} or @code{-T -}), then the file
names are read from standard input.
Unless you are running @command{tar} with @option{--create}, you cannot use
both @code{--files-from=-} and @code{--file=-} (@code{-f -}) in the same
command.
Any number of @option{-T} options can be given in the command line.
The following example shows how to use @command{find} to generate a list of
files smaller than 400 blocks in length@footnote{A file system block
is usually 512 bytes, so this amounts to 200K. Use the @samp{c}
suffix to specify size in @emph{bytes}. Also, when using
GNU find, you can specify other size units, such as @samp{k},
@samp{m}, etc. @xref{Size,,,find.info,GNU Findutils}, for details.} and put that list into a file
called @file{small-files}. You can then use the @option{-T} option to
@command{tar} to specify the files from that file, @file{small-files}, to
create the archive @file{little.tgz}. (The @option{-z} option to
@command{tar} compresses the archive with @command{gzip}; @pxref{gzip} for
more information.)
@smallexample
$ @kbd{find . -size -400 -print > small-files}
$ @kbd{tar -c -v -z -T small-files -f little.tgz}
@end smallexample
@noindent
By default, each line read from the file list is first stripped off
any leading and trailing whitespace. If the resulting string begins
with @samp{-} character, it is considered a @command{tar} option and is
processed accordingly@footnote{Versions of @GNUTAR{} up to 1.15.1
recognized only @option{-C} option in file lists, and only if the
option and its argument occupied two consecutive lines.}. Only a
subset of @GNUTAR{} options is allowed for use in file lists. For
a list of such options, @ref{Position-Sensitive Options}.
For example, the common use of this feature is to change to another
directory by specifying @option{-C} option:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{cat list}
-C/etc
passwd
hosts
-C/lib
libc.a
$ @kbd{tar -c -f foo.tar --files-from list}
@end group
@end smallexample
@noindent
In this example, @command{tar} will first switch to @file{/etc}
directory and add files @file{passwd} and @file{hosts} to the
archive. Then it will change to @file{/lib} directory and will archive
the file @file{libc.a}. Thus, the resulting archive @file{foo.tar} will
contain:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar tf foo.tar}
passwd
hosts
libc.a
@end group
@end smallexample
Note, that any options used in the file list remain in effect for the
rest of the command line. For example, using the same @file{list}
file as above, the following command
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c -f foo.tar --files-from list libcurses.a}
@end smallexample
@noindent
will look for file @file{libcurses.a} in the directory @file{/lib},
because it was used with the last @option{-C} option
(@pxref{Position-Sensitive Options}).
@anchor{verbatim-files-from}
@opindex verbatim-files-from
If such option handling is undesirable, use the
@option{--verbatim-files-from} option. When this option is in effect,
each line read from the file list is treated as a file name. Notice,
that this means, in particular, that no whitespace trimming is
performed.
@anchor{no-verbatim-files-from}
@opindex no-verbatim-files-from
The @option{--verbatim-files-from} affects all @option{-T} options
that follow it in the command line. The default behavior can be
restored using @option{--no-verbatim-files-from} option.
@opindex add-file
To disable option handling for a single file name, use the
@option{--add-file} option, e.g.: @code{--add-file=--my-file}.
You can use any @GNUTAR{} command line options in the file list file,
including @option{--files-from} option itself. This allows for
including contents of a file list into another file list file.
Note however, that options that control file list processing, such as
@option{--verbatim-files-from} or @option{--null} won't affect the
file they appear in. They will affect next @option{--files-from}
option, if there is any.
@menu
* nul::
@end menu
@node nul
@subsection @code{NUL}-Terminated File Names
@cindex File names, terminated by @code{NUL}
@cindex @code{NUL}-terminated file names
The @option{--null} option causes
@option{--files-from=@var{file-of-names}} (@option{-T @var{file-of-names}})
to read file names terminated by a @code{NUL} instead of a newline, so
files whose names contain newlines can be archived using
@option{--files-from}.
@table @option
@xopindex{null, described}
@item --null
Only consider @code{NUL}-terminated file names, instead of files that
terminate in a newline.
@xopindex{no-null, described}
@item --no-null
Undo the effect of any previous @option{--null} option.
@end table
The @option{--null} option is just like the one in @acronym{GNU}
@command{xargs} and @command{cpio}, and is useful with the
@option{-print0} predicate of @acronym{GNU} @command{find}. In
@command{tar}, @option{--null} also disables special handling for
file names that begin with dash (similar to
@option{--verbatim-files-from} option).
This example shows how to use @command{find} to generate a list of files
larger than 800 blocks in length and put that list into a file called
@file{long-files}. The @option{-print0} option to @command{find} is just
like @option{-print}, except that it separates files with a @code{NUL}
rather than with a newline. You can then run @command{tar} with both the
@option{--null} and @option{-T} options to specify that @command{tar} gets the
files from that file, @file{long-files}, to create the archive
@file{big.tgz}. The @option{--null} option to @command{tar} will cause
@command{tar} to recognize the @code{NUL} separator between files.
@smallexample
$ @kbd{find . -size +800 -print0 > long-files}
$ @kbd{tar -c -v --null --files-from=long-files --file=big.tar}
@end smallexample
The @option{--no-null} option can be used if you need to read both
@code{NUL}-terminated and newline-terminated files on the same command line.
For example, if @file{flist} is a newline-terminated file, then the
following command can be used to combine it with the above command:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{find . -size +800 -print0 |
tar -c -f big.tar --null -T - --no-null -T flist}
@end group
@end smallexample
This example uses short options for typographic reasons, to avoid
very long lines.
@GNUTAR{} is tries to automatically detect @code{NUL}-terminated file
lists, so in many cases it is safe to use them even without the
@option{--null} option. In this case @command{tar} will print a
warning and continue reading such a file as if @option{--null} were
actually given:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{find . -size +800 -print0 | tar -c -f big.tar -T -}
tar: -: file name read contains nul character
@end group
@end smallexample
The null terminator, however, remains in effect only for this
particular file, any following @option{-T} options will assume
newline termination. Of course, the null autodetection applies
to these eventual surplus @option{-T} options as well.
@node exclude
@section Excluding Some Files
@cindex File names, excluding files by
@cindex Excluding files by name and pattern
@cindex Excluding files by file system
@opindex exclude
@opindex exclude-from
To avoid operating on files whose names match a particular pattern,
use the @option{--exclude} or @option{--exclude-from} options.
@table @option
@opindex exclude
@item --exclude=@var{pattern}
Causes @command{tar} to ignore files that match the @var{pattern}.
@end table
@findex exclude
The @option{--exclude=@var{pattern}} option prevents any file or
member whose name matches the shell wildcard (@var{pattern}) from
being operated on.
For example, to create an archive with all the contents of the directory
@file{src} except for files whose names end in @file{.o}, use the
command @samp{tar -cf src.tar --exclude='*.o' src}.
You may give multiple @option{--exclude} options.
@table @option
@opindex exclude-from
@item --exclude-from=@var{file}
@itemx -X @var{file}
Causes @command{tar} to ignore files that match the patterns listed in
@var{file}.
@end table
@findex exclude-from
Use the @option{--exclude-from} option to read a
list of patterns, one per line, from @var{file}; @command{tar} will
ignore files matching those patterns. Thus if @command{tar} is
called as @w{@samp{tar -c -X foo .}} and the file @file{foo} contains a
single line @file{*.o}, no files whose names end in @file{.o} will be
added to the archive.
Notice, that lines from @var{file} are read verbatim. One of the
frequent errors is leaving some extra whitespace after a file name,
which is difficult to catch using text editors.
However, empty lines are OK.
@cindex VCS, excluding patterns from ignore files
@cindex VCS, ignore files
@cindex CVS, ignore files
@cindex Git, ignore files
@cindex Bazaar, ignore files
@cindex Mercurial, ignore files
When archiving directories that are under some version control system (VCS),
it is often convenient to read exclusion patterns from this VCS'
ignore files (e.g. @file{.cvsignore}, @file{.gitignore}, etc.) The
following options provide such possibility:
@table @option
@anchor{exclude-vcs-ignores}
@opindex exclude-vcs-ignores
@item --exclude-vcs-ignores
Before archiving a directory, see if it contains any of the following
files: @file{cvsignore}, @file{.gitignore}, @file{.bzrignore}, or
@file{.hgignore}. If so, read ignore patterns from these files.
The patterns are treated much as the corresponding VCS would treat
them, i.e.:
@table @file
@findex .cvsignore
@item .cvsignore
Contains shell-style globbing patterns that apply only to the
directory where this file resides. No comments are allowed in the
file. Empty lines are ignored.
@findex .gitignore
@item .gitignore
Contains shell-style globbing patterns. Applies to the directory
where @file{.gitfile} is located and all its subdirectories.
Any line beginning with a @samp{#} is a comment. Backslash escapes
the comment character.
@findex .bzrignore
@item .bzrignore
Contains shell globbing-patterns and regular expressions (if prefixed
with @samp{RE:}@footnote{According to the Bazaar docs,
globbing-patterns are Korn-shell style and regular expressions are
perl-style. As of @GNUTAR{} version @value{VERSION}, these are
treated as shell-style globs and posix extended regexps. This will be
fixed in future releases.}. Patterns affect the directory and all its
subdirectories.
Any line beginning with a @samp{#} is a comment.
@findex .hgignore
@item .hgignore
Contains posix regular expressions@footnote{Support for perl-style
regexps will appear in future releases.}. The line @samp{syntax:
glob} switches to shell globbing patterns. The line @samp{syntax:
regexp} switches back. Comments begin with a @samp{#}. Patterns
affect the directory and all its subdirectories.
@end table
@opindex exclude-ignore
@item --exclude-ignore=@var{file}
Before dumping a directory, @command{tar} checks if it contains
@var{file}. If so, exclusion patterns are read from this file.
The patterns affect only the directory itself.
@opindex exclude-ignore-recursive
@item --exclude-ignore-recursive=@var{file}
Same as @option{--exclude-ignore}, except that the patterns read
affect both the directory where @var{file} resides and all its
subdirectories.
@end table
@table @option
@cindex version control system, excluding files
@cindex VCS, excluding files
@cindex SCCS, excluding files
@cindex RCS, excluding files
@cindex CVS, excluding files
@cindex SVN, excluding files
@cindex git, excluding files
@cindex Bazaar, excluding files
@cindex Arch, excluding files
@cindex Mercurial, excluding files
@cindex Darcs, excluding files
@anchor{exclude-vcs}
@opindex exclude-vcs
@item --exclude-vcs
Exclude files and directories used by following version control
systems: @samp{CVS}, @samp{RCS}, @samp{SCCS}, @samp{SVN}, @samp{Arch},
@samp{Bazaar}, @samp{Mercurial}, and @samp{Darcs}.
As of version @value{VERSION}, the following files are excluded:
@itemize @bullet
@item @file{CVS/}, and everything under it
@item @file{RCS/}, and everything under it
@item @file{SCCS/}, and everything under it
@item @file{.git/}, and everything under it
@item @file{.gitignore}
@item @file{.gitmodules}
@item @file{.gitattributes}
@item @file{.cvsignore}
@item @file{.svn/}, and everything under it
@item @file{.arch-ids/}, and everything under it
@item @file{@{arch@}/}, and everything under it
@item @file{=RELEASE-ID}
@item @file{=meta-update}
@item @file{=update}
@item @file{.bzr}
@item @file{.bzrignore}
@item @file{.bzrtags}
@item @file{.hg}
@item @file{.hgignore}
@item @file{.hgrags}
@item @file{_darcs}
@end itemize
@opindex exclude-backups
@item --exclude-backups
Exclude backup and lock files. This option causes exclusion of files
that match the following shell globbing patterns:
@table @asis
@item .#*
@item *~
@item #*#
@end table
@end table
@findex exclude-caches
When creating an archive, the @option{--exclude-caches} option family
causes @command{tar} to exclude all directories that contain a @dfn{cache
directory tag}. A cache directory tag is a short file with the
well-known name @file{CACHEDIR.TAG} and having a standard header
specified in @url{http://www.brynosaurus.com/cachedir/spec.html}.
Various applications write cache directory tags into directories they
use to hold regenerable, non-precious data, so that such data can be
more easily excluded from backups.
There are three @samp{exclude-caches} options, each providing a different
exclusion semantics:
@table @option
@opindex exclude-caches
@item --exclude-caches
Do not archive the contents of the directory, but archive the
directory itself and the @file{CACHEDIR.TAG} file.
@opindex exclude-caches-under
@item --exclude-caches-under
Do not archive the contents of the directory, nor the
@file{CACHEDIR.TAG} file, archive only the directory itself.
@opindex exclude-caches-all
@item --exclude-caches-all
Omit directories containing @file{CACHEDIR.TAG} file entirely.
@end table
@findex exclude-tag
Another option family, @option{--exclude-tag}, provides a generalization of
this concept. It takes a single argument, a file name to look for.
Any directory that contains this file will be excluded from the dump.
Similarly to @samp{exclude-caches}, there are three options in this
option family:
@table @option
@opindex exclude-tag
@item --exclude-tag=@var{file}
Do not dump the contents of the directory, but dump the
directory itself and the @var{file}.
@opindex exclude-tag-under
@item --exclude-tag-under=@var{file}
Do not dump the contents of the directory, nor the
@var{file}, archive only the directory itself.
@opindex exclude-tag-all
@item --exclude-tag-all=@var{file}
Omit directories containing @var{file} file entirely.
@end table
Multiple @option{--exclude-tag*} options can be given.
For example, given this directory:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{find dir}
dir
dir/blues
dir/jazz
dir/folk
dir/folk/tagfile
dir/folk/sanjuan
dir/folk/trote
@end group
@end smallexample
The @option{--exclude-tag} will produce the following:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -cf archive.tar --exclude-tag=tagfile -v dir}
dir/
dir/blues
dir/jazz
dir/folk/
tar: dir/folk/: contains a cache directory tag tagfile;
contents not dumped
dir/folk/tagfile
@end smallexample
Both the @file{dir/folk} directory and its tagfile are preserved in
the archive, however the rest of files in this directory are not.
Now, using the @option{--exclude-tag-under} option will exclude
@file{tagfile} from the dump, while still preserving the directory
itself, as shown in this example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -cf archive.tar --exclude-tag-under=tagfile -v dir}
dir/
dir/blues
dir/jazz
dir/folk/
./tar: dir/folk/: contains a cache directory tag tagfile;
contents not dumped
@end smallexample
Finally, using @option{--exclude-tag-all} omits the @file{dir/folk}
directory entirely:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -cf archive.tar --exclude-tag-all=tagfile -v dir}
dir/
dir/blues
dir/jazz
./tar: dir/folk/: contains a cache directory tag tagfile;
directory not dumped
@end smallexample
@menu
* problems with exclude::
@end menu
@node problems with exclude
@unnumberedsubsec Problems with Using the @code{exclude} Options
@xopindex{exclude, potential problems with}
Some users find @samp{exclude} options confusing. Here are some common
pitfalls:
@itemize @bullet
@item
The main operating mode of @command{tar} does not act on a file name
explicitly listed on the command line, if one of its file name
components is excluded. In the example above, if
you create an archive and exclude files that end with @samp{*.o}, but
explicitly name the file @samp{dir.o/foo} after all the options have been
listed, @samp{dir.o/foo} will be excluded from the archive.
@item
You can sometimes confuse the meanings of @option{--exclude} and
@option{--exclude-from}. Be careful: use @option{--exclude} when files
to be excluded are given as a pattern on the command line. Use
@option{--exclude-from} to introduce the name of a file which contains
a list of patterns, one per line; each of these patterns can exclude
zero, one, or many files.
@item
When you use @option{--exclude=@var{pattern}}, be sure to quote the
@var{pattern} parameter, so @GNUTAR{} sees wildcard characters
like @samp{*}. If you do not do this, the shell might expand the
@samp{*} itself using files at hand, so @command{tar} might receive a
list of files instead of one pattern, or none at all, making the
command somewhat illegal. This might not correspond to what you want.
For example, write:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c -f @var{archive.tar} --exclude '*.o' @var{directory}}
@end smallexample
@noindent
rather than:
@smallexample
# @emph{Wrong!}
$ @kbd{tar -c -f @var{archive.tar} --exclude *.o @var{directory}}
@end smallexample
@item
You must use use shell syntax, or globbing, rather than @code{regexp}
syntax, when using exclude options in @command{tar}. If you try to use
@code{regexp} syntax to describe files to be excluded, your command
might fail.
@item
@FIXME{The change in semantics must have occurred before 1.11,
so I doubt if it is worth mentioning at all. Anyway, should at
least specify in which version the semantics changed.}
In earlier versions of @command{tar}, what is now the
@option{--exclude-from} option was called @option{--exclude} instead.
Now, @option{--exclude} applies to patterns listed on the command
line and @option{--exclude-from} applies to patterns listed in a
file.
@end itemize
@node wildcards
@section Wildcards Patterns and Matching
@dfn{Globbing} is the operation by which @dfn{wildcard} characters,
@samp{*} or @samp{?} for example, are replaced and expanded into all
existing files matching the given pattern. @GNUTAR{} can use wildcard
patterns for matching (or globbing) archive members when extracting
from or listing an archive. Wildcard patterns are also used for
verifying volume labels of @command{tar} archives. This section has the
purpose of explaining wildcard syntax for @command{tar}.
@FIXME{the next few paragraphs need work.}
A @var{pattern} should be written according to shell syntax, using wildcard
characters to effect globbing. Most characters in the pattern stand
for themselves in the matched string, and case is significant: @samp{a}
will match only @samp{a}, and not @samp{A}. The character @samp{?} in the
pattern matches any single character in the matched string. The character
@samp{*} in the pattern matches zero, one, or more single characters in
the matched string. The character @samp{\} says to take the following
character of the pattern @emph{literally}; it is useful when one needs to
match the @samp{?}, @samp{*}, @samp{[} or @samp{\} characters, themselves.
The character @samp{[}, up to the matching @samp{]}, introduces a character
class. A @dfn{character class} is a list of acceptable characters
for the next single character of the matched string. For example,
@samp{[abcde]} would match any of the first five letters of the alphabet.
Note that within a character class, all of the ``special characters''
listed above other than @samp{\} lose their special meaning; for example,
@samp{[-\\[*?]]} would match any of the characters, @samp{-}, @samp{\},
@samp{[}, @samp{*}, @samp{?}, or @samp{]}. (Due to parsing constraints,
the characters @samp{-} and @samp{]} must either come @emph{first} or
@emph{last} in a character class.)
@cindex Excluding characters from a character class
@cindex Character class, excluding characters from
If the first character of the class after the opening @samp{[}
is @samp{!} or @samp{^}, then the meaning of the class is reversed.
Rather than listing character to match, it lists those characters which
are @emph{forbidden} as the next single character of the matched string.
Other characters of the class stand for themselves. The special
construction @samp{[@var{a}-@var{e}]}, using an hyphen between two
letters, is meant to represent all characters between @var{a} and
@var{e}, inclusive.
@FIXME{need to add a sentence or so here to make this clear for those
who don't have dan around.}
Periods (@samp{.}) or forward slashes (@samp{/}) are not considered
special for wildcard matches. However, if a pattern completely matches
a directory prefix of a matched string, then it matches the full matched
string: thus, excluding a directory also excludes all the files beneath it.
@menu
* controlling pattern-matching::
@end menu
@node controlling pattern-matching
@unnumberedsubsec Controlling Pattern-Matching
For the purposes of this section, we call @dfn{exclusion members} all
member names obtained while processing @option{--exclude} and
@option{--exclude-from} options, and @dfn{inclusion members} those
member names that were given in the command line or read from the file
specified with @option{--files-from} option.
These two pairs of member lists are used in the following operations:
@option{--diff}, @option{--extract}, @option{--list},
@option{--update}.
There are no inclusion members in create mode (@option{--create} and
@option{--append}), since in this mode the names obtained from the
command line refer to @emph{files}, not archive members.
By default, inclusion members are compared with archive members
literally @footnote{Notice that earlier @GNUTAR{} versions used
globbing for inclusion members, which contradicted to UNIX98
specification and was not documented. @xref{Changes}, for more
information on this and other changes.} and exclusion members are
treated as globbing patterns. For example:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar tf foo.tar}
a.c
b.c
a.txt
[remarks]
# @i{Member names are used verbatim:}
$ @kbd{tar -xf foo.tar -v '[remarks]'}
[remarks]
# @i{Exclude member names are globbed:}
$ @kbd{tar -xf foo.tar -v --exclude '*.c'}
a.txt
[remarks]
@end group
@end smallexample
This behavior can be altered by using the following options:
@table @option
@opindex wildcards
@item --wildcards
Treat all member names as wildcards.
@opindex no-wildcards
@item --no-wildcards
Treat all member names as literal strings.
@end table
Thus, to extract files whose names end in @samp{.c}, you can use:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -xf foo.tar -v --wildcards '*.c'}
a.c
b.c
@end smallexample
@noindent
Notice quoting of the pattern to prevent the shell from interpreting
it.
The effect of @option{--wildcards} option is canceled by
@option{--no-wildcards}. This can be used to pass part of
the command line arguments verbatim and other part as globbing
patterns. For example, the following invocation:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -xf foo.tar --wildcards '*.txt' --no-wildcards '[remarks]'}
@end smallexample
@noindent
instructs @command{tar} to extract from @file{foo.tar} all files whose
names end in @samp{.txt} and the file named @file{[remarks]}.
Normally, a pattern matches a name if an initial subsequence of the
name's components matches the pattern, where @samp{*}, @samp{?}, and
@samp{[...]} are the usual shell wildcards, @samp{\} escapes wildcards,
and wildcards can match @samp{/}.
Other than optionally stripping leading @samp{/} from names
(@pxref{absolute}), patterns and names are used as-is. For
example, trailing @samp{/} is not trimmed from a user-specified name
before deciding whether to exclude it.
However, this matching procedure can be altered by the options listed
below. These options accumulate. For example:
@smallexample
--ignore-case --exclude='makefile' --no-ignore-case ---exclude='readme'
@end smallexample
@noindent
ignores case when excluding @samp{makefile}, but not when excluding
@samp{readme}.
@table @option
@anchor{anchored patterns}
@opindex anchored
@opindex no-anchored
@item --anchored
@itemx --no-anchored
If anchored, a pattern must match an initial subsequence
of the name's components. Otherwise, the pattern can match any
subsequence. Default is @option{--no-anchored} for exclusion members
and @option{--anchored} inclusion members.
@anchor{case-insensitive matches}
@opindex ignore-case
@opindex no-ignore-case
@item --ignore-case
@itemx --no-ignore-case
When ignoring case, upper-case patterns match lower-case names and vice versa.
When not ignoring case (the default), matching is case-sensitive.
@opindex wildcards-match-slash
@opindex no-wildcards-match-slash
@item --wildcards-match-slash
@itemx --no-wildcards-match-slash
When wildcards match slash (the default for exclusion members), a
wildcard like @samp{*} in the pattern can match a @samp{/} in the
name. Otherwise, @samp{/} is matched only by @samp{/}.
@end table
The @option{--recursion} and @option{--no-recursion} options
(@pxref{recurse}) also affect how member patterns are interpreted. If
recursion is in effect, a pattern matches a name if it matches any of
the name's parent directories.
The following table summarizes pattern-matching default values:
@multitable @columnfractions .3 .7
@headitem Members @tab Default settings
@item Inclusion @tab @option{--no-wildcards --anchored --no-wildcards-match-slash}
@item Exclusion @tab @option{--wildcards --no-anchored --wildcards-match-slash}
@end multitable
@node quoting styles
@section Quoting Member Names
When displaying member names, @command{tar} takes care to avoid
ambiguities caused by certain characters. This is called @dfn{name
quoting}. The characters in question are:
@itemize @bullet
@item Non-printable control characters:
@anchor{escape sequences}
@multitable @columnfractions 0.20 0.10 0.60
@headitem Character @tab @acronym{ASCII} @tab Character name
@item \a @tab 7 @tab Audible bell
@item \b @tab 8 @tab Backspace
@item \f @tab 12 @tab Form feed
@item \n @tab 10 @tab New line
@item \r @tab 13 @tab Carriage return
@item \t @tab 9 @tab Horizontal tabulation
@item \v @tab 11 @tab Vertical tabulation
@end multitable
@item Space (@acronym{ASCII} 32)
@item Single and double quotes (@samp{'} and @samp{"})
@item Backslash (@samp{\})
@end itemize
The exact way @command{tar} uses to quote these characters depends on
the @dfn{quoting style}. The default quoting style, called
@dfn{escape} (see below), uses backslash notation to represent control
characters and backslash.
@GNUTAR{} offers seven distinct quoting styles, which can be selected
using @option{--quoting-style} option:
@table @option
@item --quoting-style=@var{style}
@opindex quoting-style
Sets quoting style. Valid values for @var{style} argument are:
literal, shell, shell-always, c, escape, locale, clocale.
@end table
These styles are described in detail below. To illustrate their
effect, we will use an imaginary tar archive @file{arch.tar}
containing the following members:
@smallexample
@group
# 1. Contains horizontal tabulation character.
a tab
# 2. Contains newline character
a
newline
# 3. Contains a space
a space
# 4. Contains double quotes
a"double"quote
# 5. Contains single quotes
a'single'quote
# 6. Contains a backslash character:
a\backslash
@end group
@end smallexample
Here is how usual @command{ls} command would have listed them, if they
had existed in the current working directory:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{ls}
a\ttab
a\nnewline
a\ space
a"double"quote
a'single'quote
a\\backslash
@end group
@end smallexample
Quoting styles:
@table @samp
@item literal
No quoting, display each character as is:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=literal}
./
./a space
./a'single'quote
./a"double"quote
./a\backslash
./a tab
./a
newline
@end group
@end smallexample
@item shell
Display characters the same way Bourne shell does:
control characters, except @samp{\t} and @samp{\n}, are printed using
backslash escapes, @samp{\t} and @samp{\n} are printed as is, and a
single quote is printed as @samp{\'}. If a name contains any quoted
characters, it is enclosed in single quotes. In particular, if a name
contains single quotes, it is printed as several single-quoted strings:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=shell}
./
'./a space'
'./a'\''single'\''quote'
'./a"double"quote'
'./a\backslash'
'./a tab'
'./a
newline'
@end group
@end smallexample
@item shell-always
Same as @samp{shell}, but the names are always enclosed in single
quotes:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=shell-always}
'./'
'./a space'
'./a'\''single'\''quote'
'./a"double"quote'
'./a\backslash'
'./a tab'
'./a
newline'
@end group
@end smallexample
@item c
Use the notation of the C programming language. All names are
enclosed in double quotes. Control characters are quoted using
backslash notations, double quotes are represented as @samp{\"},
backslash characters are represented as @samp{\\}. Single quotes and
spaces are not quoted:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=c}
"./"
"./a space"
"./a'single'quote"
"./a\"double\"quote"
"./a\\backslash"
"./a\ttab"
"./a\nnewline"
@end group
@end smallexample
@item escape
Control characters are printed using backslash notation, and a
backslash as @samp{\\}. This is the default quoting style, unless it
was changed when configured the package.
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=escape}
./
./a space
./a'single'quote
./a"double"quote
./a\\backslash
./a\ttab
./a\nnewline
@end group
@end smallexample
@item locale
Control characters, single quote and backslash are printed using
backslash notation. All names are quoted using left and right
quotation marks, appropriate to the current locale. If it does not
define quotation marks, use @samp{'} as left and as right
quotation marks. Any occurrences of the right quotation mark in a
name are escaped with @samp{\}, for example:
For example:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=locale}
'./'
'./a space'
'./a\'single\'quote'
'./a"double"quote'
'./a\\backslash'
'./a\ttab'
'./a\nnewline'
@end group
@end smallexample
@item clocale
Same as @samp{locale}, but @samp{"} is used for both left and right
quotation marks, if not provided by the currently selected locale:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=clocale}
"./"
"./a space"
"./a'single'quote"
"./a\"double\"quote"
"./a\\backslash"
"./a\ttab"
"./a\nnewline"
@end group
@end smallexample
@end table
You can specify which characters should be quoted in addition to those
implied by the current quoting style:
@table @option
@item --quote-chars=@var{string}
Always quote characters from @var{string}, even if the selected
quoting style would not quote them.
@end table
For example, using @samp{escape} quoting (compare with the usual
escape listing above):
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=escape --quote-chars=' "'}
./
./a\ space
./a'single'quote
./a\"double\"quote
./a\\backslash
./a\ttab
./a\nnewline
@end group
@end smallexample
To disable quoting of such additional characters, use the following
option:
@table @option
@item --no-quote-chars=@var{string}
Remove characters listed in @var{string} from the list of quoted
characters set by the previous @option{--quote-chars} option.
@end table
This option is particularly useful if you have added
@option{--quote-chars} to your @env{TAR_OPTIONS} (@pxref{TAR_OPTIONS})
and wish to disable it for the current invocation.
Note, that @option{--no-quote-chars} does @emph{not} disable those
characters that are quoted by default in the selected quoting style.
@node transform
@section Modifying File and Member Names
@command{Tar} archives contain detailed information about files stored
in them and full file names are part of that information. When
storing a file to an archive, its file name is recorded in it,
along with the actual file contents. When restoring from an archive,
a file is created on disk with exactly the same name as that stored
in the archive. In the majority of cases this is the desired behavior
of a file archiver. However, there are some cases when it is not.
First of all, it is often unsafe to extract archive members with
absolute file names or those that begin with a @file{../}. @GNUTAR{}
takes special precautions when extracting such names and provides a
special option for handling them, which is described in
@ref{absolute}.
Secondly, you may wish to extract file names without some leading
directory components, or with otherwise modified names. In other
cases it is desirable to store files under differing names in the
archive.
@GNUTAR{} provides several options for these needs.
@table @option
@opindex strip-components
@item --strip-components=@var{number}
Strip given @var{number} of leading components from file names before
extraction.
@end table
For example, suppose you have archived whole @file{/usr} hierarchy to
a tar archive named @file{usr.tar}. Among other files, this archive
contains @file{usr/include/stdlib.h}, which you wish to extract to
the current working directory. To do so, you type:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -xf usr.tar --strip=2 usr/include/stdlib.h}
@end smallexample
The option @option{--strip=2} instructs @command{tar} to strip the
two leading components (@file{usr/} and @file{include/}) off the file
name.
If you add the @option{--verbose} (@option{-v}) option to the invocation
above, you will note that the verbose listing still contains the
full file name, with the two removed components still in place. This
can be inconvenient, so @command{tar} provides a special option for
altering this behavior:
@anchor{show-transformed-names}
@table @option
@opindex show-transformed-names
@item --show-transformed-names
Display file or member names with all requested transformations
applied.
@end table
@noindent
For example:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar -xf usr.tar -v --strip=2 usr/include/stdlib.h}
usr/include/stdlib.h
$ @kbd{tar -xf usr.tar -v --strip=2 --show-transformed usr/include/stdlib.h}
stdlib.h
@end group
@end smallexample
Notice that in both cases the file @file{stdlib.h} is extracted to the
current working directory, @option{--show-transformed-names} affects
only the way its name is displayed.
This option is especially useful for verifying whether the invocation
will have the desired effect. Thus, before running
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -x --strip=@var{n}}
@end smallexample
@noindent
it is often advisable to run
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -t -v --show-transformed --strip=@var{n}}
@end smallexample
@noindent
to make sure the command will produce the intended results.
In case you need to apply more complex modifications to the file name,
@GNUTAR{} provides a general-purpose transformation option:
@table @option
@opindex transform
@opindex xform
@item --transform=@var{expression}
@itemx --xform=@var{expression}
Modify file names using supplied @var{expression}.
@end table
@noindent
The @var{expression} is a @command{sed}-like replace expression of the
form:
@smallexample
s/@var{regexp}/@var{replace}/[@var{flags}]
@end smallexample
@noindent
where @var{regexp} is a @dfn{regular expression}, @var{replace} is a
replacement for each file name part that matches @var{regexp}. Both
@var{regexp} and @var{replace} are described in detail in
@ref{The "s" Command, The "s" Command, The `s' Command, sed, GNU sed}.
Any delimiter can be used in lieu of @samp{/}, the only requirement being
that it be used consistently throughout the expression. For example,
the following two expressions are equivalent:
@smallexample
@group
s/one/two/
s,one,two,
@end group
@end smallexample
Changing delimiters is often useful when the @var{regex} contains
slashes. For example, it is more convenient to write @code{s,/,-,} than
@code{s/\//-/}.
As in @command{sed}, you can give several replace expressions,
separated by a semicolon.
Supported @var{flags} are:
@table @samp
@item g
Apply the replacement to @emph{all} matches to the @var{regexp}, not
just the first.
@item i
Use case-insensitive matching.
@item x
@var{regexp} is an @dfn{extended regular expression} (@pxref{Extended
regexps, Extended regular expressions, Extended regular expressions,
sed, GNU sed}).
@item @var{number}
Only replace the @var{number}th match of the @var{regexp}.
Note: the @acronym{POSIX} standard does not specify what should happen
when you mix the @samp{g} and @var{number} modifiers. @GNUTAR{}
follows the GNU @command{sed} implementation in this regard, so
the interaction is defined to be: ignore matches before the
@var{number}th, and then match and replace all matches from the
@var{number}th on.
@end table
In addition, several @dfn{transformation scope} flags are supported,
that control to what files transformations apply. These are:
@table @samp
@item r
Apply transformation to regular archive members.
@item R
Do not apply transformation to regular archive members.
@item s
Apply transformation to symbolic link targets.
@item S
Do not apply transformation to symbolic link targets.
@item h
Apply transformation to hard link targets.
@item H
Do not apply transformation to hard link targets.
@end table
Default is @samp{rsh}, which means to apply transformations to both archive
members and targets of symbolic and hard links.
Default scope flags can also be changed using @samp{flags=} statement
in the transform expression. The flags set this way remain in force
until next @samp{flags=} statement or end of expression, whichever
occurs first. For example:
@smallexample
--transform 'flags=S;s|^|/usr/local/|'
@end smallexample
Here are several examples of @option{--transform} usage:
@enumerate
@item Extract @file{usr/} hierarchy into @file{usr/local/}:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --transform='s,usr/,usr/local/,' -x -f arch.tar}
@end smallexample
@item Strip two leading directory components (equivalent to
@option{--strip-components=2}):
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --transform='s,/*[^/]*/[^/]*/,,' -x -f arch.tar}
@end smallexample
@item Convert each file name to lower case:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --transform 's/.*/\L&/' -x -f arch.tar}
@end smallexample
@item Prepend @file{/prefix/} to each file name:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --transform 's,^,/prefix/,' -x -f arch.tar}
@end smallexample
@item Archive the @file{/lib} directory, prepending @samp{/usr/local}
to each archive member:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --transform 's,^,/usr/local/,S' -c -f arch.tar /lib}
@end smallexample
@end enumerate
Notice the use of flags in the last example. The @file{/lib}
directory often contains many symbolic links to files within it.
It may look, for example, like this:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{ls -l}
drwxr-xr-x root/root 0 2008-07-08 16:20 /lib/
-rwxr-xr-x root/root 1250840 2008-05-25 07:44 /lib/libc-2.3.2.so
lrwxrwxrwx root/root 0 2008-06-24 17:12 /lib/libc.so.6 -> libc-2.3.2.so
...
@end smallexample
Using the expression @samp{s,^,/usr/local/,} would mean adding
@samp{/usr/local} to both regular archive members and to link
targets. In this case, @file{/lib/libc.so.6} would become:
@smallexample
/usr/local/lib/libc.so.6 -> /usr/local/libc-2.3.2.so
@end smallexample
This is definitely not desired. To avoid this, the @samp{S} flag
is used, which excludes symbolic link targets from filename
transformations. The result is:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --transform 's,^,/usr/local/,S' -c -v -f arch.tar \
--show-transformed /lib}
drwxr-xr-x root/root 0 2008-07-08 16:20 /usr/local/lib/
-rwxr-xr-x root/root 1250840 2008-05-25 07:44 /usr/local/lib/libc-2.3.2.so
lrwxrwxrwx root/root 0 2008-06-24 17:12 /usr/local/lib/libc.so.6 \
-> libc-2.3.2.so
@end smallexample
Unlike @option{--strip-components}, @option{--transform} can be used
in any @GNUTAR{} operation mode. For example, the following command
adds files to the archive while replacing the leading @file{usr/}
component with @file{var/}:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -cf arch.tar --transform='s,^usr/,var/,' /}
@end smallexample
To test @option{--transform} effect we suggest using
@option{--show-transformed-names} option:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -cf arch.tar --transform='s,^usr/,var/,' \
--verbose --show-transformed-names /}
@end smallexample
If both @option{--strip-components} and @option{--transform} are used
together, then @option{--transform} is applied first, and the required
number of components is then stripped from its result.
You can use as many @option{--transform} options in a single command
line as you want. The specified expressions will then be applied in
order of their appearance. For example, the following two invocations
are equivalent:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -cf arch.tar --transform='s,/usr/var,/var/' \
--transform='s,/usr/local,/usr/,'}
$ @kbd{tar -cf arch.tar \
--transform='s,/usr/var,/var/;s,/usr/local,/usr/,'}
@end smallexample
@node after
@section Operating Only on New Files
@cindex Excluding file by age
@cindex Data Modification time, excluding files by
@cindex Modification time, excluding files by
@cindex Age, excluding files by
The @option{--after-date=@var{date}} (@option{--newer=@var{date}},
@option{-N @var{date}}) option causes @command{tar} to only work on
files whose data modification or status change times are newer than
the @var{date} given. If @var{date} starts with @samp{/} or @samp{.},
it is taken to be a file name; the data modification time of that file
is used as the date. If you use this option when creating or appending
to an archive, the archive will only include new files. If you use
@option{--after-date} when extracting an archive, @command{tar} will
only extract files newer than the @var{date} you specify.
If you only want @command{tar} to make the date comparison based on
modification of the file's data (rather than status
changes), then use the @option{--newer-mtime=@var{date}} option.
@cindex --after-date and --update compared
@cindex --newer-mtime and --update compared
You may use these options with any operation. Note that these options
differ from the @option{--update} (@option{-u}) operation in that they
allow you to specify a particular date against which @command{tar} can
compare when deciding whether or not to archive the files.
@table @option
@opindex after-date
@opindex newer
@item --after-date=@var{date}
@itemx --newer=@var{date}
@itemx -N @var{date}
Only store files newer than @var{date}.
Acts on files only if their data modification or status change times are
later than @var{date}. Use in conjunction with any operation.
If @var{date} starts with @samp{/} or @samp{.}, it is taken to be a file
name; the data modification time of that file is used as the date.
@opindex newer-mtime
@item --newer-mtime=@var{date}
Acts like @option{--after-date}, but only looks at data modification times.
@end table
These options limit @command{tar} to operate only on files which have
been modified after the date specified. A file's status is considered to have
changed if its contents have been modified, or if its owner,
permissions, and so forth, have been changed. (For more information on
how to specify a date, see @ref{Date input formats}; remember that the
entire date argument must be quoted if it contains any spaces.)
Gurus would say that @option{--after-date} tests both the data
modification time (@code{mtime}, the time the contents of the file
were last modified) and the status change time (@code{ctime}, the time
the file's status was last changed: owner, permissions, etc.@:)
fields, while @option{--newer-mtime} tests only the @code{mtime}
field.
To be precise, @option{--after-date} checks @emph{both} @code{mtime} and
@code{ctime} and processes the file if either one is more recent than
@var{date}, while @option{--newer-mtime} only checks @code{mtime} and
disregards @code{ctime}. Neither does it use @code{atime} (the last time the
contents of the file were looked at).
Date specifiers can have embedded spaces. Because of this, you may need
to quote date arguments to keep the shell from parsing them as separate
arguments. For example, the following command will add to the archive
all the files modified less than two days ago:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -cf foo.tar --newer-mtime '2 days ago'}
@end smallexample
When any of these options is used with the option @option{--verbose}
(@pxref{verbose tutorial}) @GNUTAR{} will try to convert the specified
date back to its textual representation and compare that with the
one given with the option. If the two dates differ, @command{tar} will
print a warning saying what date it will use. This is to help user
ensure he is using the right date. For example:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar --after-date='10 days ago' .}
tar: Option --after-date: Treating date '10 days ago' as 2006-06-11
13:19:37.232434
@end group
@end smallexample
@quotation
@strong{Please Note:} @option{--after-date} and @option{--newer-mtime}
should not be used for incremental backups. @xref{Incremental Dumps},
for proper way of creating incremental backups.
@end quotation
@node recurse
@section Descending into Directories
@cindex Avoiding recursion in directories
@cindex Descending directories, avoiding
@cindex Directories, avoiding recursion
@cindex Recursion in directories, avoiding
Usually, @command{tar} will recursively explore all directories (either
those given on the command line or through the @option{--files-from}
option) for the various files they contain. However, you may not always
want @command{tar} to act this way.
@opindex no-recursion
@cindex @command{find}, using with @command{tar}
The @option{--no-recursion} option inhibits @command{tar}'s recursive descent
into specified directories. If you specify @option{--no-recursion}, you can
use the @command{find} (@pxref{Top,, find, find, GNU Find Manual})
utility for hunting through levels of directories to
construct a list of file names which you could then pass to @command{tar}.
@command{find} allows you to be more selective when choosing which files to
archive; see @ref{files}, for more information on using @command{find} with
@command{tar}.
@table @option
@item --no-recursion
Prevents @command{tar} from recursively descending directories.
@opindex recursion
@item --recursion
Requires @command{tar} to recursively descend directories.
This is the default.
@end table
When you use @option{--no-recursion}, @GNUTAR{} grabs
directory entries themselves, but does not descend on them
recursively. Many people use @command{find} for locating files they
want to back up, and since @command{tar} @emph{usually} recursively
descends on directories, they have to use the @samp{@w{-not -type d}}
test in their @command{find} invocation (@pxref{Type, Type, Type test,
find, Finding Files}), as they usually do not want all the files in a
directory. They then use the @option{--files-from} option to archive
the files located via @command{find}.
The problem when restoring files archived in this manner is that the
directories themselves are not in the archive; so the
@option{--same-permissions} (@option{--preserve-permissions},
@option{-p}) option does not affect them---while users might really
like it to. Specifying @option{--no-recursion} is a way to tell
@command{tar} to grab only the directory entries given to it, adding
no new files on its own. To summarize, if you use @command{find} to
create a list of files to be stored in an archive, use it as follows:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{find @var{dir} @var{tests} | \
tar -cf @var{archive} --no-recursion -T -}
@end group
@end smallexample
The @option{--no-recursion} option also applies when extracting: it
causes @command{tar} to extract only the matched directory entries, not
the files under those directories.
The @option{--no-recursion} option also affects how globbing patterns
are interpreted (@pxref{controlling pattern-matching}).
The @option{--no-recursion} and @option{--recursion} options apply to
later options and operands, and can be overridden by later occurrences
of @option{--no-recursion} and @option{--recursion}. For example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -cf jams.tar --no-recursion grape --recursion grape/concord}
@end smallexample
@noindent
creates an archive with one entry for @file{grape}, and the recursive
contents of @file{grape/concord}, but no entries under @file{grape}
other than @file{grape/concord}.
@node one
@section Crossing File System Boundaries
@cindex File system boundaries, not crossing
@command{tar} will normally automatically cross file system boundaries in
order to archive files which are part of a directory tree. You can
change this behavior by running @command{tar} and specifying
@option{--one-file-system}. This option only affects files that are
archived because they are in a directory that is being archived;
@command{tar} will still archive files explicitly named on the command line
or through @option{--files-from}, regardless of where they reside.
@table @option
@opindex one-file-system
@item --one-file-system
Prevents @command{tar} from crossing file system boundaries when
archiving. Use in conjunction with any write operation.
@end table
The @option{--one-file-system} option causes @command{tar} to modify its
normal behavior in archiving the contents of directories. If a file in
a directory is not on the same file system as the directory itself, then
@command{tar} will not archive that file. If the file is a directory
itself, @command{tar} will not archive anything beneath it; in other words,
@command{tar} will not cross mount points.
This option is useful for making full or incremental archival backups of
a file system. If this option is used in conjunction with
@option{--verbose} (@option{-v}), files that are excluded are
mentioned by name on the standard error.
@menu
* directory:: Changing Directory
* absolute:: Absolute File Names
@end menu
@node directory
@subsection Changing the Working Directory
@FIXME{need to read over this node now for continuity; i've switched
things around some.}
@cindex Changing directory mid-stream
@cindex Directory, changing mid-stream
@cindex Working directory, specifying
To change the working directory in the middle of a list of file names,
either on the command line or in a file specified using
@option{--files-from} (@option{-T}), use @option{--directory} (@option{-C}).
This will change the working directory to the specified directory
after that point in the list.
@table @option
@opindex directory
@item --directory=@var{directory}
@itemx -C @var{directory}
Changes the working directory in the middle of a command line.
@end table
For example,
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c -f jams.tar grape prune -C food cherry}
@end smallexample
@noindent
will place the files @file{grape} and @file{prune} from the current
directory into the archive @file{jams.tar}, followed by the file
@file{cherry} from the directory @file{food}. This option is especially
useful when you have several widely separated files that you want to
store in the same archive.
Note that the file @file{cherry} is recorded in the archive under the
precise name @file{cherry}, @emph{not} @file{food/cherry}. Thus, the
archive will contain three files that all appear to have come from the
same directory; if the archive is extracted with plain @samp{tar
--extract}, all three files will be written in the current directory.
Contrast this with the command,
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c -f jams.tar grape prune -C food red/cherry}
@end smallexample
@noindent
which records the third file in the archive under the name
@file{red/cherry} so that, if the archive is extracted using
@samp{tar --extract}, the third file will be written in a subdirectory
named @file{red}.
You can use the @option{--directory} option to make the archive
independent of the original name of the directory holding the files.
The following command places the files @file{/etc/passwd},
@file{/etc/hosts}, and @file{/lib/libc.a} into the archive
@file{foo.tar}:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c -f foo.tar -C /etc passwd hosts -C /lib libc.a}
@end smallexample
@noindent
However, the names of the archive members will be exactly what they were
on the command line: @file{passwd}, @file{hosts}, and @file{libc.a}.
They will not appear to be related by file name to the original
directories where those files were located.
Note that @option{--directory} options are interpreted consecutively. If
@option{--directory} specifies a relative file name, it is interpreted
relative to the then current directory, which might not be the same as
the original current working directory of @command{tar}, due to a previous
@option{--directory} option.
When using @option{--files-from} (@pxref{files}), you can put various
@command{tar} options (including @option{-C}) in the file list. Notice,
however, that in this case the option and its argument may not be
separated by whitespace. If you use short option, its argument must
either follow the option letter immediately, without any intervening
whitespace, or occupy the next line. Otherwise, if you use long
option, separate its argument by an equal sign.
For instance, the file list for the above example will be:
@smallexample
@group
-C/etc
passwd
hosts
--directory=/lib
libc.a
@end group
@end smallexample
@noindent
To use it, you would invoke @command{tar} as follows:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c -f foo.tar --files-from list}
@end smallexample
The interpretation of options in file lists is disabled by
@option{--verbatim-files-from} and @option{--null} options.
@node absolute
@subsection Absolute File Names
@cindex absolute file names
@cindex file names, absolute
By default, @GNUTAR{} drops a leading @samp{/} on
input or output, and complains about file names containing a @file{..}
component. There is an option that turns off this behavior:
@table @option
@opindex absolute-names
@item --absolute-names
@itemx -P
Do not strip leading slashes from file names, and permit file names
containing a @file{..} file name component.
@end table
When @command{tar} extracts archive members from an archive, it strips any
leading slashes (@samp{/}) from the member name. This causes absolute
member names in the archive to be treated as relative file names. This
allows you to have such members extracted wherever you want, instead of
being restricted to extracting the member in the exact directory named
in the archive. For example, if the archive member has the name
@file{/etc/passwd}, @command{tar} will extract it as if the name were
really @file{etc/passwd}.
File names containing @file{..} can cause problems when extracting, so
@command{tar} normally warns you about such files when creating an
archive, and rejects attempts to extracts such files.
Other @command{tar} programs do not do this. As a result, if you
create an archive whose member names start with a slash, they will be
difficult for other people with a non-@GNUTAR{}
program to use. Therefore, @GNUTAR{} also strips
leading slashes from member names when putting members into the
archive. For example, if you ask @command{tar} to add the file
@file{/bin/ls} to an archive, it will do so, but the member name will
be @file{bin/ls}@footnote{A side effect of this is that when
@option{--create} is used with @option{--verbose} the resulting output
is not, generally speaking, the same as the one you'd get running
@kbd{tar --list} command. This may be important if you use some
scripts for comparing both outputs. @xref{listing member and file names},
for the information on how to handle this case.}.
Symbolic links containing @file{..} or leading @samp{/} can also cause
problems when extracting, so @command{tar} normally extracts them last;
it may create empty files as placeholders during extraction.
If you use the @option{--absolute-names} (@option{-P}) option,
@command{tar} will do none of these transformations.
To archive or extract files relative to the root directory, specify
the @option{--absolute-names} (@option{-P}) option.
Normally, @command{tar} acts on files relative to the working
directory---ignoring superior directory names when archiving, and
ignoring leading slashes when extracting.
When you specify @option{--absolute-names} (@option{-P}),
@command{tar} stores file names including all superior directory
names, and preserves leading slashes. If you only invoked
@command{tar} from the root directory you would never need the
@option{--absolute-names} option, but using this option
may be more convenient than switching to root.
@FIXME{Should be an example in the tutorial/wizardry section using this
to transfer files between systems.}
@table @option
@item --absolute-names
Preserves full file names (including superior directory names) when
archiving and extracting files.
@end table
@command{tar} prints out a message about removing the @samp{/} from
file names. This message appears once per @GNUTAR{}
invocation. It represents something which ought to be told; ignoring
what it means can cause very serious surprises, later.
Some people, nevertheless, do not want to see this message. Wanting to
play really dangerously, one may of course redirect @command{tar} standard
error to the sink. For example, under @command{sh}:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar /home 2> /dev/null}
@end smallexample
@noindent
Another solution, both nicer and simpler, would be to change to
the @file{/} directory first, and then avoid absolute notation.
For example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar -C / home}
@end smallexample
@xref{Integrity}, for some of the security-related implications
of using this option.
@include parse-datetime.texi
@node Formats
@chapter Controlling the Archive Format
@cindex Tar archive formats
Due to historical reasons, there are several formats of tar archives.
All of them are based on the same principles, but have some subtle
differences that often make them incompatible with each other.
GNU tar is able to create and handle archives in a variety of formats.
The most frequently used formats are (in alphabetical order):
@table @asis
@item gnu
Format used by @GNUTAR{} versions up to 1.13.25. This format derived
from an early @acronym{POSIX} standard, adding some improvements such as
sparse file handling and incremental archives. Unfortunately these
features were implemented in a way incompatible with other archive
formats.
Archives in @samp{gnu} format are able to hold file names of unlimited
length.
@item oldgnu
Format used by @GNUTAR{} of versions prior to 1.12.
@item v7
Archive format, compatible with the V7 implementation of tar. This
format imposes a number of limitations. The most important of them
are:
@enumerate
@item The maximum length of a file name is limited to 99 characters.
@item The maximum length of a symbolic link is limited to 99 characters.
@item It is impossible to store special files (block and character
devices, fifos etc.)
@item Maximum value of user or group @acronym{ID} is limited to 2097151 (7777777
octal)
@item V7 archives do not contain symbolic ownership information (user
and group name of the file owner).
@end enumerate
This format has traditionally been used by Automake when producing
Makefiles. This practice will change in the future, in the meantime,
however this means that projects containing file names more than 99
characters long will not be able to use @GNUTAR{} @value{VERSION} and
Automake prior to 1.9.
@item ustar
Archive format defined by @acronym{POSIX.1-1988} specification. It stores
symbolic ownership information. It is also able to store
special files. However, it imposes several restrictions as well:
@enumerate
@item The maximum length of a file name is limited to 256 characters,
provided that the file name can be split at a directory separator in
two parts, first of them being at most 155 bytes long. So, in most
cases the maximum file name length will be shorter than 256
characters.
@item The maximum length of a symbolic link name is limited to
100 characters.
@item Maximum size of a file the archive is able to accommodate
is 8GB
@item Maximum value of UID/GID is 2097151.
@item Maximum number of bits in device major and minor numbers is 21.
@end enumerate
@item star
Format used by J@"org Schilling @command{star}
implementation. @GNUTAR{} is able to read @samp{star} archives but
currently does not produce them.
@item posix
Archive format defined by @acronym{POSIX.1-2001} specification. This is the
most flexible and feature-rich format. It does not impose any
restrictions on file sizes or file name lengths. This format is quite
recent, so not all tar implementations are able to handle it properly.
However, this format is designed in such a way that any tar
implementation able to read @samp{ustar} archives will be able to read
most @samp{posix} archives as well, with the only exception that any
additional information (such as long file names etc.)@: will in such
case be extracted as plain text files along with the files it refers to.
This archive format will be the default format for future versions
of @GNUTAR{}.
@end table
The following table summarizes the limitations of each of these
formats:
@multitable @columnfractions .10 .20 .20 .20 .20
@headitem Format @tab UID @tab File Size @tab File Name @tab Devn
@item gnu @tab 1.8e19 @tab Unlimited @tab Unlimited @tab 63
@item oldgnu @tab 1.8e19 @tab Unlimited @tab Unlimited @tab 63
@item v7 @tab 2097151 @tab 8GB @tab 99 @tab n/a
@item ustar @tab 2097151 @tab 8GB @tab 256 @tab 21
@item posix @tab Unlimited @tab Unlimited @tab Unlimited @tab Unlimited
@end multitable
The default format for @GNUTAR{} is defined at compilation
time. You may check it by running @command{tar --help}, and examining
the last lines of its output. Usually, @GNUTAR{} is configured
to create archives in @samp{gnu} format, however, future version will
switch to @samp{posix}.
@menu
* Compression:: Using Less Space through Compression
* Attributes:: Handling File Attributes
* Portability:: Making @command{tar} Archives More Portable
* cpio:: Comparison of @command{tar} and @command{cpio}
@end menu
@node Compression
@section Using Less Space through Compression
@menu
* gzip:: Creating and Reading Compressed Archives
* sparse:: Archiving Sparse Files
@end menu
@node gzip
@subsection Creating and Reading Compressed Archives
@cindex Compressed archives
@cindex Storing archives in compressed format
@cindex gzip
@cindex bzip2
@cindex lzip
@cindex lzma
@cindex lzop
@cindex compress
@cindex zstd
@GNUTAR{} is able to create and read compressed archives. It supports
a wide variety of compression programs, namely: @command{gzip},
@command{bzip2}, @command{lzip}, @command{lzma}, @command{lzop},
@command{zstd}, @command{xz} and traditional @command{compress}. The
latter is supported mostly for backward compatibility, and we recommend
against using it, because it is by far less effective than the other
compression programs@footnote{It also had patent problems in the past.}.
Creating a compressed archive is simple: you just specify a
@dfn{compression option} along with the usual archive creation
commands. Available compression options are summarized in the
table below:
@multitable @columnfractions 0.4 0.2 0.4
@headitem Long @tab Short @tab Archive format
@item @option{--gzip} @tab @option{-z} @tab @command{gzip}
@item @option{--bzip2} @tab @option{-j} @tab @command{bzip2}
@item @option{--xz} @tab @option{-J} @tab @command{xz}
@item @option{--lzip} @tab @tab @command{lzip}
@item @option{--lzma} @tab @tab @command{lzma}
@item @option{--lzop} @tab @tab @command{lzop}
@item @option{--zstd} @tab @tab @command{zstd}
@item @option{--compress} @tab @option{-Z} @tab @command{compress}
@end multitable
For example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar czf archive.tar.gz .}
@end smallexample
You can also let @GNUTAR{} select the compression program based on
the suffix of the archive file name. This is done using
@option{--auto-compress} (@option{-a}) command line option. For
example, the following invocation will use @command{bzip2} for
compression:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar caf archive.tar.bz2 .}
@end smallexample
@noindent
whereas the following one will use @command{lzma}:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar caf archive.tar.lzma .}
@end smallexample
For a complete list of file name suffixes recognized by @GNUTAR{},
see @ref{auto-compress}.
Reading compressed archive is even simpler: you don't need to specify
any additional options as @GNUTAR{} recognizes its format
automatically. Thus, the following commands will list and extract the
archive created in previous example:
@smallexample
# List the compressed archive
$ @kbd{tar tf archive.tar.gz}
# Extract the compressed archive
$ @kbd{tar xf archive.tar.gz}
@end smallexample
The format recognition algorithm is based on @dfn{signatures}, a
special byte sequences in the beginning of file, that are specific for
certain compression formats. If this approach fails, @command{tar}
falls back to using archive name suffix to determine its format
(@pxref{auto-compress}, for a list of recognized suffixes).
@anchor{alternative decompression programs}
@cindex alternative decompression programs
Some compression programs are able to handle different compression
formats. @GNUTAR{} uses this, if the principal decompressor for the
given format is not available. For example, if @command{compress} is
not installed, @command{tar} will try to use @command{gzip}. As of
version @value{VERSION} the following alternatives are
tried@footnote{To verbosely trace the decompressor selection, use the
@option{--warning=decompress-program} option
(@pxref{warnings,decompress-program}).}:
@multitable @columnfractions 0.3 0.3 0.3
@headitem Format @tab Main decompressor @tab Alternatives
@item compress @tab compress @tab gzip
@item lzma @tab lzma @tab xz
@item bzip2 @tab bzip2 @tab lbzip2
@end multitable
The only case when you have to specify a decompression option while
reading the archive is when reading from a pipe or from a tape drive
that does not support random access. However, in this case @GNUTAR{}
will indicate which option you should use. For example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{cat archive.tar.gz | tar tf -}
tar: Archive is compressed. Use -z option
tar: Error is not recoverable: exiting now
@end smallexample
If you see such diagnostics, just add the suggested option to the
invocation of @GNUTAR{}:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{cat archive.tar.gz | tar tzf -}
@end smallexample
Notice also, that there are several restrictions on operations on
compressed archives. First of all, compressed archives cannot be
modified, i.e., you cannot update (@option{--update}, alias @option{-u})
them or delete (@option{--delete}) members from them or
add (@option{--append}, alias @option{-r}) members to them. Likewise, you
cannot append another @command{tar} archive to a compressed archive using
@option{--concatenate} (@option{-A}). Secondly, multi-volume
archives cannot be compressed.
The following options allow to select a particular compressor program:
@table @option
@opindex gzip
@opindex ungzip
@item -z
@itemx --gzip
@itemx --ungzip
Filter the archive through @command{gzip}.
@opindex xz
@item -J
@itemx --xz
Filter the archive through @code{xz}.
@item -j
@itemx --bzip2
Filter the archive through @code{bzip2}.
@opindex lzip
@item --lzip
Filter the archive through @command{lzip}.
@opindex lzma
@item --lzma
Filter the archive through @command{lzma}.
@opindex lzop
@item --lzop
Filter the archive through @command{lzop}.
@opindex zstd
@item --zstd
Filter the archive through @command{zstd}.
@opindex compress
@opindex uncompress
@item -Z
@itemx --compress
@itemx --uncompress
Filter the archive through @command{compress}.
@end table
When any of these options is given, @GNUTAR{} searches the compressor
binary in the current path and invokes it. The name of the compressor
program is specified at compilation time using a corresponding
@option{--with-@var{compname}} option to @command{configure}, e.g.
@option{--with-bzip2} to select a specific @command{bzip2} binary.
@xref{lbzip2}, for a detailed discussion.
The output produced by @command{tar --help} shows the actual
compressor names along with each of these options.
You can use any of these options on physical devices (tape drives,
etc.)@: and remote files as well as on normal files; data to or from
such devices or remote files is reblocked by another copy of the
@command{tar} program to enforce the specified (or default) record
size. The default compression parameters are used.
You can override them by using the @option{-I} option (see
below), e.g.:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -cf archive.tar.gz -I 'gzip -9 -n' subdir}
@end smallexample
@noindent
A more traditional way to do this is to use a pipe:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar cf - subdir | gzip -9 -n > archive.tar.gz}
@end smallexample
@cindex corrupted archives
Compressed archives are easily corrupted, because compressed files
have little redundancy. The adaptive nature of the
compression scheme means that the compression tables are implicitly
spread all over the archive. If you lose a few blocks, the dynamic
construction of the compression tables becomes unsynchronized, and there
is little chance that you could recover later in the archive.
Other compression options provide better control over creating
compressed archives. These are:
@table @option
@anchor{auto-compress}
@opindex auto-compress
@item --auto-compress
@itemx -a
Select a compression program to use by the archive file name
suffix. The following suffixes are recognized:
@multitable @columnfractions 0.3 0.6
@headitem Suffix @tab Compression program
@item @samp{.gz} @tab @command{gzip}
@item @samp{.tgz} @tab @command{gzip}
@item @samp{.taz} @tab @command{gzip}
@item @samp{.Z} @tab @command{compress}
@item @samp{.taZ} @tab @command{compress}
@item @samp{.bz2} @tab @command{bzip2}
@item @samp{.tz2} @tab @command{bzip2}
@item @samp{.tbz2} @tab @command{bzip2}
@item @samp{.tbz} @tab @command{bzip2}
@item @samp{.lz} @tab @command{lzip}
@item @samp{.lzma} @tab @command{lzma}
@item @samp{.tlz} @tab @command{lzma}
@item @samp{.lzo} @tab @command{lzop}
@item @samp{.xz} @tab @command{xz}
@item @samp{.zst} @tab @command{zstd}
@item @samp{.tzst} @tab @command{zstd}
@end multitable
@anchor{use-compress-program}
@opindex use-compress-program
@item --use-compress-program=@var{command}
@itemx -I=@var{command}
Use external compression program @var{command}. Use this option if you
want to specify options for the compression program, or if you
are not happy with the compression program associated with the suffix
at compile time, or if you have a compression program that @GNUTAR{}
does not support. The @var{command} argument is a valid command
invocation, as you would type it at the command line prompt, with any
additional options as needed. Enclose it in quotes if it contains
white space (@pxref{external, Running External Commands}).
The @var{command} should follow two conventions:
First, when invoked without additional options, it should read data
from standard input, compress it and output it on standard output.
Secondly, if invoked with the additional @option{-d} option, it should
do exactly the opposite, i.e., read the compressed data from the
standard input and produce uncompressed data on the standard output.
The latter requirement means that you must not use the @option{-d}
option as a part of the @var{command} itself.
@end table
@cindex gpg, using with tar
@cindex gnupg, using with tar
@cindex Using encrypted archives
The @option{--use-compress-program} option, in particular, lets you
implement your own filters, not necessarily dealing with
compression/decompression. For example, suppose you wish to implement
PGP encryption on top of compression, using @command{gpg} (@pxref{Top,
gpg, gpg ---- encryption and signing tool, gpg, GNU Privacy Guard
Manual}). The following script does that:
@smallexample
@group
#! /bin/sh
case $1 in
-d) gpg --decrypt - | gzip -d -c;;
'') gzip -c | gpg -s;;
*) echo "Unknown option $1">&2; exit 1;;
esac
@end group
@end smallexample
Suppose you name it @file{gpgz} and save it somewhere in your
@env{PATH}. Then the following command will create a compressed
archive signed with your private key:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -cf foo.tar.gpgz -Igpgz .}
@end smallexample
@noindent
Likewise, the command below will list its contents:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar -tf foo.tar.gpgz -Igpgz .}
@end smallexample
@ignore
The above is based on the following discussion:
I have one question, or maybe it's a suggestion if there isn't a way
to do it now. I would like to use @option{--gzip}, but I'd also like
the output to be fed through a program like @acronym{GNU}
@command{ecc} (actually, right now that's @samp{exactly} what I'd like
to use :-)), basically adding ECC protection on top of compression.
It seems as if this should be quite easy to do, but I can't work out
exactly how to go about it. Of course, I can pipe the standard output
of @command{tar} through @command{ecc}, but then I lose (though I
haven't started using it yet, I confess) the ability to have
@command{tar} use @command{rmt} for it's I/O (I think).
I think the most straightforward thing would be to let me specify a
general set of filters outboard of compression (preferably ordered,
so the order can be automatically reversed on input operations, and
with the options they require specifiable), but beggars shouldn't be
choosers and anything you decide on would be fine with me.
By the way, I like @command{ecc} but if (as the comments say) it can't
deal with loss of block sync, I'm tempted to throw some time at adding
that capability. Supposing I were to actually do such a thing and
get it (apparently) working, do you accept contributed changes to
utilities like that? (Leigh Clayton @file{loc@@soliton.com}, May 1995).
Isn't that exactly the role of the
@option{--use-compress-prog=@var{program}} option?
I never tried it myself, but I suspect you may want to write a
@var{prog} script or program able to filter stdin to stdout to
way you want. It should recognize the @option{-d} option, for when
extraction is needed rather than creation.
It has been reported that if one writes compressed data (through the
@option{--gzip} or @option{--compress} options) to a DLT and tries to use
the DLT compression mode, the data will actually get bigger and one will
end up with less space on the tape.
@end ignore
@menu
* lbzip2:: Using lbzip2 with @GNUTAR{}.
@end menu
@node lbzip2
@subsubsection Using lbzip2 with @GNUTAR{}.
@cindex lbzip2
@cindex Laszlo Ersek
@command{Lbzip2} is a multithreaded utility for handling
@samp{bzip2} compression, written by Laszlo Ersek. It makes use of
multiple processors to speed up its operation and in general works
considerably faster than @command{bzip2}. For a detailed description
of @command{lbzip2} see @uref{http://freshmeat.net/@/projects/@/lbzip2} and
@uref{http://www.linuxinsight.com/@/lbzip2-parallel-bzip2-utility.html,
lbzip2: parallel bzip2 utility}.
Recent versions of @command{lbzip2} are mostly command line compatible
with @command{bzip2}, which makes it possible to automatically invoke
it via the @option{--bzip2} @GNUTAR{} command line option. To do so,
@GNUTAR{} must be configured with the @option{--with-bzip2} command
line option, like this:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{./configure --with-bzip2=lbzip2 [@var{other-options}]}
@end smallexample
Once configured and compiled this way, @command{tar --help} will show the
following:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar --help | grep -- --bzip2}
-j, --bzip2 filter the archive through lbzip2
@end group
@end smallexample
@noindent
which means that running @command{tar --bzip2} will invoke @command{lbzip2}.
@node sparse
@subsection Archiving Sparse Files
@cindex Sparse Files
Files in the file system occasionally have @dfn{holes}. A @dfn{hole}
in a file is a section of the file's contents which was never written.
The contents of a hole reads as all zeros. On many operating systems,
actual disk storage is not allocated for holes, but they are counted
in the length of the file. If you archive such a file, @command{tar}
could create an archive longer than the original. To have @command{tar}
attempt to recognize the holes in a file, use @option{--sparse}
(@option{-S}). When you use this option, then, for any file using
less disk space than would be expected from its length, @command{tar}
searches the file for holes. It then records in the archive for the file where
the holes (consecutive stretches of zeros) are, and only archives the
``real contents'' of the file. On extraction (using @option{--sparse} is not
needed on extraction) any such files have also holes created wherever the holes
were found. Thus, if you use @option{--sparse}, @command{tar} archives won't
take more space than the original.
@GNUTAR{} uses two methods for detecting holes in sparse files. These
methods are described later in this subsection.
@table @option
@opindex sparse
@item -S
@itemx --sparse
This option instructs @command{tar} to test each file for sparseness
before attempting to archive it. If the file is found to be sparse it
is treated specially, thus allowing to decrease the amount of space
used by its image in the archive.
This option is meaningful only when creating or updating archives. It
has no effect on extraction.
@end table
Consider using @option{--sparse} when performing file system backups,
to avoid archiving the expanded forms of files stored sparsely in the
system.
Even if your system has no sparse files currently, some may be
created in the future. If you use @option{--sparse} while making file
system backups as a matter of course, you can be assured the archive
will never take more space on the media than the files take on disk
(otherwise, archiving a disk filled with sparse files might take
hundreds of tapes). @xref{Incremental Dumps}.
However, be aware that @option{--sparse} option may present a serious
drawback. Namely, in order to determine the positions of holes in a file
@command{tar} may have to read it before trying to archive it, so in total
the file may be read @strong{twice}. This may happen when your OS or your FS
does not support @dfn{SEEK_HOLE/SEEK_DATA} feature in @dfn{lseek} (See
@option{--hole-detection}, below).
@cindex sparse formats, defined
When using @samp{POSIX} archive format, @GNUTAR{} is able to store
sparse files using in three distinct ways, called @dfn{sparse
formats}. A sparse format is identified by its @dfn{number},
consisting, as usual of two decimal numbers, delimited by a dot. By
default, format @samp{1.0} is used. If, for some reason, you wish to
use an earlier format, you can select it using
@option{--sparse-version} option.
@table @option
@opindex sparse-version
@item --sparse-version=@var{version}
Select the format to store sparse files in. Valid @var{version} values
are: @samp{0.0}, @samp{0.1} and @samp{1.0}. @xref{Sparse Formats},
for a detailed description of each format.
@end table
Using @option{--sparse-format} option implies @option{--sparse}.
@table @option
@opindex hole-detection
@cindex hole detection
@item --hole-detection=@var{method}
Enforce concrete hole detection method. Before the real contents of sparse
file are stored, @command{tar} needs to gather knowledge about file
sparseness. This is because it needs to have the file's map of holes
stored into tar header before it starts archiving the file contents.
Currently, two methods of hole detection are implemented:
@itemize @bullet
@item @option{--hole-detection=seek}
Seeking the file for data and holes. It uses enhancement of the @code{lseek}
system call (@code{SEEK_HOLE} and @code{SEEK_DATA}) which is able to
reuse file system knowledge about sparse file contents - so the
detection is usually very fast. To use this feature, your file system
and operating system must support it. At the time of this writing
(2015) this feature, in spite of not being accepted by POSIX, is
fairly widely supported by different operating systems.
@item @option{--hole-detection=raw}
Reading byte-by-byte the whole sparse file before the archiving. This
method detects holes like consecutive stretches of zeroes. Comparing to
the previous method, it is usually much slower, although more
portable.
@end itemize
@end table
When no @option{--hole-detection} option is given, @command{tar} uses
the @samp{seek}, if supported by the operating system.
Using @option{--hole-detection} option implies @option{--sparse}.
@node Attributes
@section Handling File Attributes
@cindex attributes, files
@cindex file attributes
When @command{tar} reads files, it updates their access times. To
avoid this, use the @option{--atime-preserve[=METHOD]} option, which can either
reset the access time retroactively or avoid changing it in the first
place.
@table @option
@opindex atime-preserve
@item --atime-preserve
@itemx --atime-preserve=replace
@itemx --atime-preserve=system
Preserve the access times of files that are read. This works only for
files that you own, unless you have superuser privileges.
@option{--atime-preserve=replace} works on most systems, but it also
restores the data modification time and updates the status change
time. Hence it doesn't interact with incremental dumps nicely
(@pxref{Incremental Dumps}), and it can set access or data modification times
incorrectly if other programs access the file while @command{tar} is
running.
@option{--atime-preserve=system} avoids changing the access time in
the first place, if the operating system supports this.
Unfortunately, this may or may not work on any given operating system
or file system. If @command{tar} knows for sure it won't work, it
complains right away.
Currently @option{--atime-preserve} with no operand defaults to
@option{--atime-preserve=replace}, but this is intended to change to
@option{--atime-preserve=system} when the latter is better-supported.
@opindex touch
@item -m
@itemx --touch
Do not extract data modification time.
When this option is used, @command{tar} leaves the data modification times
of the files it extracts as the times when the files were extracted,
instead of setting it to the times recorded in the archive.
This option is meaningless with @option{--list} (@option{-t}).
@opindex same-owner
@item --same-owner
Create extracted files with the same ownership they have in the
archive.
This is the default behavior for the superuser,
so this option is meaningful only for non-root users, when @command{tar}
is executed on those systems able to give files away. This is
considered as a security flaw by many people, at least because it
makes quite difficult to correctly account users for the disk space
they occupy. Also, the @code{suid} or @code{sgid} attributes of
files are easily and silently lost when files are given away.
When writing an archive, @command{tar} writes the user @acronym{ID} and user name
separately. If it can't find a user name (because the user @acronym{ID} is not
in @file{/etc/passwd}), then it does not write one. When restoring,
it tries to look the name (if one was written) up in
@file{/etc/passwd}. If it fails, then it uses the user @acronym{ID} stored in
the archive instead.
@opindex no-same-owner
@item --no-same-owner
@itemx -o
Do not attempt to restore ownership when extracting. This is the
default behavior for ordinary users, so this option has an effect
only for the superuser.
@opindex numeric-owner
@item --numeric-owner
The @option{--numeric-owner} option allows (ANSI) archives to be written
without user/group name information or such information to be ignored
when extracting. It effectively disables the generation and/or use
of user/group name information. This option forces extraction using
the numeric ids from the archive, ignoring the names.
This is useful in certain circumstances, when restoring a backup from
an emergency floppy with different passwd/group files for example.
It is otherwise impossible to extract files with the right ownerships
if the password file in use during the extraction does not match the
one belonging to the file system(s) being extracted. This occurs,
for example, if you are restoring your files after a major crash and
had booted from an emergency floppy with no password file or put your
disk into another machine to do the restore.
The numeric ids are @emph{always} saved into @command{tar} archives.
The identifying names are added at create time when provided by the
system, unless @option{--format=oldgnu} is used. Numeric ids could be
used when moving archives between a collection of machines using
a centralized management for attribution of numeric ids to users
and groups. This is often made through using the NIS capabilities.
When making a @command{tar} file for distribution to other sites, it
is sometimes cleaner to use a single owner for all files in the
distribution, and nicer to specify the write permission bits of the
files as stored in the archive independently of their actual value on
the file system. The way to prepare a clean distribution is usually
to have some Makefile rule creating a directory, copying all needed
files in that directory, then setting ownership and permissions as
wanted (there are a lot of possible schemes), and only then making a
@command{tar} archive out of this directory, before cleaning
everything out. Of course, we could add a lot of options to
@GNUTAR{} for fine tuning permissions and ownership.
This is not the good way, I think. @GNUTAR{} is
already crowded with options and moreover, the approach just explained
gives you a great deal of control already.
@xopindex{same-permissions, short description}
@xopindex{preserve-permissions, short description}
@item -p
@itemx --same-permissions
@itemx --preserve-permissions
Extract all protection information.
This option causes @command{tar} to set the modes (access permissions) of
extracted files exactly as recorded in the archive. If this option
is not used, the current @code{umask} setting limits the permissions
on extracted files. This option is by default enabled when
@command{tar} is executed by a superuser.
This option is meaningless with @option{--list} (@option{-t}).
@end table
@node Portability
@section Making @command{tar} Archives More Portable
Creating a @command{tar} archive on a particular system that is meant to be
useful later on many other machines and with other versions of @command{tar}
is more challenging than you might think. @command{tar} archive formats
have been evolving since the first versions of Unix. Many such formats
are around, and are not always compatible with each other. This section
discusses a few problems, and gives some advice about making @command{tar}
archives more portable.
One golden rule is simplicity. For example, limit your @command{tar}
archives to contain only regular files and directories, avoiding
other kind of special files. Do not attempt to save sparse files or
contiguous files as such. Let's discuss a few more problems, in turn.
@FIXME{Discuss GNU extensions (incremental backups, multi-volume
archives and archive labels) in GNU and PAX formats.}
@menu
* Portable Names:: Portable Names
* dereference:: Symbolic Links
* hard links:: Hard Links
* old:: Old V7 Archives
* ustar:: Ustar Archives
* gnu:: GNU and old GNU format archives.
* posix:: @acronym{POSIX} archives
* Checksumming:: Checksumming Problems
* Large or Negative Values:: Large files, negative time stamps, etc.
* Other Tars:: How to Extract GNU-Specific Data Using
Other @command{tar} Implementations
@end menu
@node Portable Names
@subsection Portable Names
Use portable file and member names. A name is portable if it contains
only @acronym{ASCII} letters and digits, @samp{/}, @samp{.}, @samp{_}, and
@samp{-}; it cannot be empty, start with @samp{-} or @samp{//}, or
contain @samp{/-}. Avoid deep directory nesting. For portability to
old Unix hosts, limit your file name components to 14 characters or
less.
If you intend to have your @command{tar} archives to be read on
case-insensitive file systems like FAT32,
you should not rely on case distinction for file names.
@node dereference
@subsection Symbolic Links
@cindex File names, using symbolic links
@cindex Symbolic link as file name
@opindex dereference
Normally, when @command{tar} archives a symbolic link, it writes a
block to the archive naming the target of the link. In that way, the
@command{tar} archive is a faithful record of the file system contents.
When @option{--dereference} (@option{-h}) is used with
@option{--create} (@option{-c}), @command{tar} archives the files
symbolic links point to, instead of
the links themselves.
When creating portable archives, use @option{--dereference}
(@option{-h}): some systems do not support
symbolic links, and moreover, your distribution might be unusable if
it contains unresolved symbolic links.
When reading from an archive, the @option{--dereference} (@option{-h})
option causes @command{tar} to follow an already-existing symbolic
link when @command{tar} writes or reads a file named in the archive.
Ordinarily, @command{tar} does not follow such a link, though it may
remove the link before writing a new file. @xref{Dealing with Old
Files}.
The @option{--dereference} option is unsafe if an untrusted user can
modify directories while @command{tar} is running. @xref{Security}.
@node hard links
@subsection Hard Links
@cindex File names, using hard links
@cindex hard links, dereferencing
@cindex dereferencing hard links
Normally, when @command{tar} archives a hard link, it writes a
block to the archive naming the target of the link (a @samp{1} type
block). In that way, the actual file contents is stored in file only
once. For example, consider the following two files:
@smallexample
@group
$ ls -l
-rw-r--r-- 2 gray staff 4 2007-10-30 15:11 one
-rw-r--r-- 2 gray staff 4 2007-10-30 15:11 jeden
@end group
@end smallexample
Here, @file{jeden} is a link to @file{one}. When archiving this
directory with a verbose level 2, you will get an output similar to
the following:
@smallexample
$ tar cvvf ../archive.tar .
drwxr-xr-x gray/staff 0 2007-10-30 15:13 ./
-rw-r--r-- gray/staff 4 2007-10-30 15:11 ./jeden
hrw-r--r-- gray/staff 0 2007-10-30 15:11 ./one link to ./jeden
@end smallexample
The last line shows that, instead of storing two copies of the file,
@command{tar} stored it only once, under the name @file{jeden}, and
stored file @file{one} as a hard link to this file.
It may be important to know that all hard links to the given file are
stored in the archive. For example, this may be necessary for exact
reproduction of the file system. The following option does that:
@table @option
@xopindex{check-links, described}
@item --check-links
@itemx -l
Check the number of links dumped for each processed file. If this
number does not match the total number of hard links for the file, print
a warning message.
@end table
For example, trying to archive only file @file{jeden} with this option
produces the following diagnostics:
@smallexample
$ tar -c -f ../archive.tar -l jeden
tar: Missing links to 'jeden'.
@end smallexample
Although creating special records for hard links helps keep a faithful
record of the file system contents and makes archives more compact, it
may present some difficulties when extracting individual members from
the archive. For example, trying to extract file @file{one} from the
archive created in previous examples produces, in the absence of file
@file{jeden}:
@smallexample
$ tar xf archive.tar ./one
tar: ./one: Cannot hard link to './jeden': No such file or directory
tar: Error exit delayed from previous errors
@end smallexample
The reason for this behavior is that @command{tar} cannot seek back in
the archive to the previous member (in this case, @file{one}), to
extract it@footnote{There are plans to fix this in future releases.}.
If you wish to avoid such problems at the cost of a bigger archive,
use the following option:
@table @option
@xopindex{hard-dereference, described}
@item --hard-dereference
Dereference hard links and store the files they refer to.
@end table
For example, trying this option on our two sample files, we get two
copies in the archive, each of which can then be extracted
independently of the other:
@smallexample
@group
$ tar -c -vv -f ../archive.tar --hard-dereference .
drwxr-xr-x gray/staff 0 2007-10-30 15:13 ./
-rw-r--r-- gray/staff 4 2007-10-30 15:11 ./jeden
-rw-r--r-- gray/staff 4 2007-10-30 15:11 ./one
@end group
@end smallexample
@node old
@subsection Old V7 Archives
@cindex Format, old style
@cindex Old style format
@cindex Old style archives
@cindex v7 archive format
Certain old versions of @command{tar} cannot handle additional
information recorded by newer @command{tar} programs. To create an
archive in V7 format (not ANSI), which can be read by these old
versions, specify the @option{--format=v7} option in
conjunction with the @option{--create} (@option{-c}) (@command{tar} also
accepts @option{--portability} or @option{--old-archive} for this
option). When you specify it,
@command{tar} leaves out information about directories, pipes, fifos,
contiguous files, and device files, and specifies file ownership by
group and user IDs instead of group and user names.
When updating an archive, do not use @option{--format=v7}
unless the archive was created using this option.
In most cases, a @emph{new} format archive can be read by an @emph{old}
@command{tar} program without serious trouble, so this option should
seldom be needed. On the other hand, most modern @command{tar}s are
able to read old format archives, so it might be safer for you to
always use @option{--format=v7} for your distributions. Notice,
however, that @samp{ustar} format is a better alternative, as it is
free from many of @samp{v7}'s drawbacks.
@node ustar
@subsection Ustar Archive Format
@cindex ustar archive format
The archive format defined by the @acronym{POSIX}.1-1988 specification is
called @code{ustar}. Although it is more flexible than the V7 format, it
still has many restrictions (@pxref{Formats,ustar}, for the detailed
description of @code{ustar} format). Along with V7 format,
@code{ustar} format is a good choice for archives intended to be read
with other implementations of @command{tar}.
To create an archive in @code{ustar} format, use the @option{--format=ustar}
option in conjunction with @option{--create} (@option{-c}).
@node gnu
@subsection @acronym{GNU} and old @GNUTAR{} format
@cindex GNU archive format
@cindex Old GNU archive format
@GNUTAR{} was based on an early draft of the
@acronym{POSIX} 1003.1 @code{ustar} standard. @acronym{GNU} extensions to
@command{tar}, such as the support for file names longer than 100
characters, use portions of the @command{tar} header record which were
specified in that @acronym{POSIX} draft as unused. Subsequent changes in
@acronym{POSIX} have allocated the same parts of the header record for
other purposes. As a result, @GNUTAR{} format is
incompatible with the current @acronym{POSIX} specification, and with
@command{tar} programs that follow it.
In the majority of cases, @command{tar} will be configured to create
this format by default. This will change in future releases, since
we plan to make @samp{POSIX} format the default.
To force creation a @GNUTAR{} archive, use option
@option{--format=gnu}.
@node posix
@subsection @GNUTAR{} and @acronym{POSIX} @command{tar}
@cindex POSIX archive format
@cindex PAX archive format
Starting from version 1.14 @GNUTAR{} features full support for
@acronym{POSIX.1-2001} archives.
A @acronym{POSIX} conformant archive will be created if @command{tar}
was given @option{--format=posix} (@option{--format=pax}) option. No
special option is required to read and extract from a @acronym{POSIX}
archive.
@menu
* PAX keywords:: Controlling Extended Header Keywords.
@end menu
@node PAX keywords
@subsubsection Controlling Extended Header Keywords
@table @option
@opindex pax-option
@item --pax-option=@var{keyword-list}
Handle keywords in @acronym{PAX} extended headers. This option is
equivalent to @option{-o} option of the @command{pax} utility.
@end table
@var{Keyword-list} is a comma-separated
list of keyword options, each keyword option taking one of
the following forms:
@table @code
@item delete=@var{pattern}
When used with one of archive-creation commands,
this option instructs @command{tar} to omit from extended header records
that it produces any keywords matching the string @var{pattern}.
If the pattern contains shell metacharacters like @samp{*}, it should
be quoted to prevent the shell from expanding the pattern before
@command{tar} sees it.
When used in extract or list mode, this option instructs tar
to ignore any keywords matching the given @var{pattern} in the extended
header records. In both cases, matching is performed using the pattern
matching notation described in @acronym{POSIX 1003.2}, 3.13
(@pxref{wildcards}). For example:
@smallexample
--pax-option 'delete=security.*'
@end smallexample
would suppress security-related information.
@item exthdr.name=@var{string}
This keyword allows user control over the name that is written into the
ustar header blocks for the extended headers. The name is obtained
from @var{string} after making the following substitutions:
@multitable @columnfractions .25 .55
@headitem Meta-character @tab Replaced By
@item %d @tab The directory name of the file, equivalent to the
result of the @command{dirname} utility on the translated file name.
@item %f @tab The name of the file with the directory information
stripped, equivalent to the result of the @command{basename} utility
on the translated file name.
@item %p @tab The process @acronym{ID} of the @command{tar} process.
@item %% @tab A @samp{%} character.
@end multitable
Any other @samp{%} characters in @var{string} produce undefined
results.
If no option @samp{exthdr.name=string} is specified, @command{tar}
will use the following default value:
@smallexample
%d/PaxHeaders/%f
@end smallexample
This default is selected to ensure the reproducibility of the
archive. @acronym{POSIX} standard recommends to use
@samp{%d/PaxHeaders.%p/%f} instead, which means the two archives
created with the same set of options and containing the same set
of files will be byte-to-byte different. This default will be used
if the environment variable @env{POSIXLY_CORRECT} is set.
@item exthdr.mtime=@var{value}
This keyword defines the value of the @samp{mtime} field that
is written into the ustar header blocks for the extended headers.
By default, the @samp{mtime} field is set to the modification time
of the archive member described by that extended header (or to the
value of the @option{--mtime} option, if supplied).
@item globexthdr.name=@var{string}
This keyword allows user control over the name that is written into
the ustar header blocks for global extended header records. The name
is obtained from the contents of @var{string}, after making
the following substitutions:
@multitable @columnfractions .25 .55
@headitem Meta-character @tab Replaced By
@item %n @tab An integer that represents the
sequence number of the global extended header record in the archive,
starting at 1.
@item %p @tab The process @acronym{ID} of the @command{tar} process.
@item %% @tab A @samp{%} character.
@end multitable
Any other @samp{%} characters in @var{string} produce undefined results.
If no option @samp{globexthdr.name=string} is specified, @command{tar}
will use the following default value:
@smallexample
$TMPDIR/GlobalHead.%n
@end smallexample
If the environment variable @env{POSIXLY_CORRECT} is set, the
following value is used instead:
@smallexample
$TMPDIR/GlobalHead.%p.%n
@end smallexample
In both cases, @samp{$TMPDIR} stands for the value of the @var{TMPDIR}
environment variable. If @var{TMPDIR} is not set, @command{tar}
uses @samp{/tmp}.
@item globexthdr.mtime=@var{value}
This keyword defines the value of the @samp{mtime} field that
is written into the ustar header blocks for the global extended headers.
By default, the @samp{mtime} field is set to the time when
@command{tar} was invoked.
@item @var{keyword}=@var{value}
When used with one of archive-creation commands, these keyword/value pairs
will be included at the beginning of the archive in a global extended
header record. When used with one of archive-reading commands,
@command{tar} will behave as if it has encountered these keyword/value
pairs at the beginning of the archive in a global extended header
record.
@item @var{keyword}:=@var{value}
When used with one of archive-creation commands, these keyword/value pairs
will be included as records at the beginning of an extended header for
each file. This is effectively equivalent to @var{keyword}=@var{value}
form except that it creates no global extended header records.
When used with one of archive-reading commands, @command{tar} will
behave as if these keyword/value pairs were included as records at the
end of each extended header; thus, they will override any global or
file-specific extended header record keywords of the same names.
For example, in the command:
@smallexample
tar --format=posix --create \
--file archive --pax-option gname:=user .
@end smallexample
the group name will be forced to a new value for all files
stored in the archive.
@end table
In any of the forms described above, the @var{value} may be
a string enclosed in curly braces. In that case, the string
between the braces is understood either as a textual time
representation, as described in @ref{Date input formats}, or a name of
the existing file, starting with @samp{/} or @samp{.}. In the latter
case, the modification time of that file is used.
For example, to set all modification times to the current date, you
use the following option:
@smallexample
--pax-option 'mtime:=@{now@}'
@end smallexample
@cindex archives, binary equivalent
@cindex binary equivalent archives, creating
As another example, here is the option that ensures that any two
archives created using it, will be binary equivalent if they have the
same contents:
@smallexample
--pax-option delete=atime
@end smallexample
@noindent
If you extract files from such an archive and recreate the archive
from them, you will also need to eliminate changes due to ctime:
@smallexample
--pax-option 'delete=atime,delete=ctime'
@end smallexample
Normally @command{tar} saves an mtime value with subsecond resolution
in an extended header for any file with a timestamp that is not on a
one-second boundary. This is in addition to the traditional mtime
timestamp in the header block. Although you can suppress subsecond
timestamp resolution with @option{--pax-option delete=mtime},
this hack will not work for timestamps before 1970 or after 2242-03-16
12:56:31 @sc{utc}.
If the environment variable @env{POSIXLY_CORRECT} is set, two POSIX
archives created using the same options on the same set of files might
not be byte-to-byte equivalent even with the above options. This is
because the POSIX default for extended header names includes
the @command{tar} process @acronym{ID}, which typically differs at each
run. To produce byte-to-byte equivalent archives in this case, either
unset @env{POSIXLY_CORRECT}, or use the following option, which can be
combined with the above options:
@smallexample
--pax-option exthdr.name=%d/PaxHeaders/%f
@end smallexample
@node Checksumming
@subsection Checksumming Problems
SunOS and HP-UX @command{tar} fail to accept archives created using
@GNUTAR{} and containing non-@acronym{ASCII} file names, that
is, file names having characters with the eighth bit set, because they
use signed checksums, while @GNUTAR{} uses unsigned
checksums while creating archives, as per @acronym{POSIX} standards. On
reading, @GNUTAR{} computes both checksums and accepts either of them.
It is somewhat worrying that a lot of people may go
around doing backup of their files using faulty (or at least
non-standard) software, not learning about it until it's time to
restore their missing files with an incompatible file extractor, or
vice versa.
@GNUTAR{} computes checksums both ways, and accepts either of them
on read, so @acronym{GNU} tar can read Sun tapes even with their
wrong checksums. @GNUTAR{} produces the standard
checksum, however, raising incompatibilities with Sun. That is to
say, @GNUTAR{} has not been modified to
@emph{produce} incorrect archives to be read by buggy @command{tar}'s.
I've been told that more recent Sun @command{tar} now read standard
archives, so maybe Sun did a similar patch, after all?
The story seems to be that when Sun first imported @command{tar}
sources on their system, they recompiled it without realizing that
the checksums were computed differently, because of a change in
the default signing of @code{char}'s in their compiler. So they
started computing checksums wrongly. When they later realized their
mistake, they merely decided to stay compatible with it, and with
themselves afterwards. Presumably, but I do not really know, HP-UX
has chosen their @command{tar} archives to be compatible with Sun's.
The current standards do not favor Sun @command{tar} format. In any
case, it now falls on the shoulders of SunOS and HP-UX users to get
a @command{tar} able to read the good archives they receive.
@node Large or Negative Values
@subsection Large or Negative Values
@cindex large values
@cindex future time stamps
@cindex negative time stamps
@UNREVISED{}
The above sections suggest to use @samp{oldest possible} archive
format if in doubt. However, sometimes it is not possible. If you
attempt to archive a file whose metadata cannot be represented using
required format, @GNUTAR{} will print error message and ignore such a
file. You will than have to switch to a format that is able to
handle such values. The format summary table (@pxref{Formats}) will
help you to do so.
In particular, when trying to archive files larger than 8GB or with
timestamps not in the range 1970-01-01 00:00:00 through 2242-03-16
12:56:31 @sc{utc}, you will have to chose between @acronym{GNU} and
@acronym{POSIX} archive formats. When considering which format to
choose, bear in mind that the @acronym{GNU} format uses
two's-complement base-256 notation to store values that do not fit
into standard @acronym{ustar} range. Such archives can generally be
read only by a @GNUTAR{} implementation. Moreover, they sometimes
cannot be correctly restored on another hosts even by @GNUTAR{}. For
example, using two's complement representation for negative time
stamps that assumes a signed 32-bit @code{time_t} generates archives
that are not portable to hosts with differing @code{time_t}
representations.
On the other hand, @acronym{POSIX} archives, generally speaking, can
be extracted by any tar implementation that understands older
@acronym{ustar} format. The only exception are files larger than 8GB.
@FIXME{Describe how @acronym{POSIX} archives are extracted by non
POSIX-aware tars.}
@node Other Tars
@subsection How to Extract GNU-Specific Data Using Other @command{tar} Implementations
In previous sections you became acquainted with various quirks
necessary to make your archives portable. Sometimes you may need to
extract archives containing GNU-specific members using some
third-party @command{tar} implementation or an older version of
@GNUTAR{}. Of course your best bet is to have @GNUTAR{} installed,
but if it is for some reason impossible, this section will explain
how to cope without it.
When we speak about @dfn{GNU-specific} members we mean two classes of
them: members split between the volumes of a multi-volume archive and
sparse members. You will be able to always recover such members if
the archive is in PAX format. In addition split members can be
recovered from archives in old GNU format. The following subsections
describe the required procedures in detail.
@menu
* Split Recovery:: Members Split Between Volumes
* Sparse Recovery:: Sparse Members
@end menu
@node Split Recovery
@subsubsection Extracting Members Split Between Volumes
@cindex Multi-volume archives, extracting using non-GNU tars
If a member is split between several volumes of an old GNU format archive
most third party @command{tar} implementation will fail to extract
it. To extract it, use @command{tarcat} program (@pxref{Tarcat}).
This program is available from
@uref{http://www.gnu.org/@/software/@/tar/@/utils/@/tarcat.html, @GNUTAR{}
home page}. It concatenates several archive volumes into a single
valid archive. For example, if you have three volumes named from
@file{vol-1.tar} to @file{vol-3.tar}, you can do the following to
extract them using a third-party @command{tar}:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tarcat vol-1.tar vol-2.tar vol-3.tar | tar xf -}
@end smallexample
@cindex Multi-volume archives in PAX format, extracting using non-GNU tars
You could use this approach for most (although not all) PAX
format archives as well. However, extracting split members from a PAX
archive is a much easier task, because PAX volumes are constructed in
such a way that each part of a split member is extracted to a
different file by @command{tar} implementations that are not aware of
GNU extensions. More specifically, the very first part retains its
original name, and all subsequent parts are named using the pattern:
@smallexample
%d/GNUFileParts/%f.%n
@end smallexample
@noindent
where symbols preceded by @samp{%} are @dfn{macro characters} that
have the following meaning:
@multitable @columnfractions .25 .55
@headitem Meta-character @tab Replaced By
@item %d @tab The directory name of the file, equivalent to the
result of the @command{dirname} utility on its full name.
@item %f @tab The file name of the file, equivalent to the result
of the @command{basename} utility on its full name.
@item %p @tab The process @acronym{ID} of the @command{tar} process that
created the archive.
@item %n @tab Ordinal number of this particular part.
@end multitable
For example, if the file @file{var/longfile} was split during archive
creation between three volumes, then the member names will be:
@smallexample
var/longfile
var/GNUFileParts/longfile.1
var/GNUFileParts/longfile.2
@end smallexample
When you extract your archive using a third-party @command{tar}, these
files will be created on your disk, and the only thing you will need
to do to restore your file in its original form is concatenate them in
the proper order, for example:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{cd var}
$ @kbd{cat GNUFileParts/longfile.1 \
GNUFileParts/longfile.2 >> longfile}
$ rm -f GNUFileParts
@end group
@end smallexample
Notice, that if the @command{tar} implementation you use supports PAX
format archives, it will probably emit warnings about unknown keywords
during extraction. They will look like this:
@smallexample
@group
Tar file too small
Unknown extended header keyword 'GNU.volume.filename' ignored.
Unknown extended header keyword 'GNU.volume.size' ignored.
Unknown extended header keyword 'GNU.volume.offset' ignored.
@end group
@end smallexample
@noindent
You can safely ignore these warnings.
If your @command{tar} implementation is not PAX-aware, you will get
more warnings and more files generated on your disk, e.g.:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar xf vol-1.tar}
var/PaxHeaders/longfile: Unknown file type 'x', extracted as
normal file
Unexpected EOF in archive
$ @kbd{tar xf vol-2.tar}
tmp/GlobalHead.1: Unknown file type 'g', extracted as normal file
GNUFileParts/PaxHeaders/sparsefile.1: Unknown file type
'x', extracted as normal file
@end group
@end smallexample
Ignore these warnings. The @file{PaxHeaders.*} directories created
will contain files with @dfn{extended header keywords} describing the
extracted files. You can delete them, unless they describe sparse
members. Read further to learn more about them.
@node Sparse Recovery
@subsubsection Extracting Sparse Members
@cindex sparse files, extracting with non-GNU tars
Any @command{tar} implementation will be able to extract sparse members from a
PAX archive. However, the extracted files will be @dfn{condensed},
i.e., any zero blocks will be removed from them. When we restore such
a condensed file to its original form, by adding zero blocks (or
@dfn{holes}) back to their original locations, we call this process
@dfn{expanding} a compressed sparse file.
@pindex xsparse
To expand a file, you will need a simple auxiliary program called
@command{xsparse}. It is available in source form from
@uref{http://www.gnu.org/@/software/@/tar/@/utils/@/xsparse.html, @GNUTAR{}
home page}.
@cindex sparse files v.1.0, extracting with non-GNU tars
Let's begin with archive members in @dfn{sparse format
version 1.0}@footnote{@xref{PAX 1}.}, which are the easiest to expand.
The condensed file will contain both file map and file data, so no
additional data will be needed to restore it. If the original file
name was @file{@var{dir}/@var{name}}, then the condensed file will be
named @file{@var{dir}/@/GNUSparseFile.@var{n}/@/@var{name}}, where
@var{n} is a decimal number@footnote{Technically speaking, @var{n} is a
@dfn{process @acronym{ID}} of the @command{tar} process which created the
archive (@pxref{PAX keywords}).}.
To expand a version 1.0 file, run @command{xsparse} as follows:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{xsparse @file{cond-file}}
@end smallexample
@noindent
where @file{cond-file} is the name of the condensed file. The utility
will deduce the name for the resulting expanded file using the
following algorithm:
@enumerate 1
@item If @file{cond-file} does not contain any directories,
@file{../cond-file} will be used;
@item If @file{cond-file} has the form
@file{@var{dir}/@var{t}/@var{name}}, where both @var{t} and @var{name}
are simple names, with no @samp{/} characters in them, the output file
name will be @file{@var{dir}/@var{name}}.
@item Otherwise, if @file{cond-file} has the form
@file{@var{dir}/@var{name}}, the output file name will be
@file{@var{name}}.
@end enumerate
In the unlikely case when this algorithm does not suit your needs,
you can explicitly specify output file name as a second argument to
the command:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{xsparse @file{cond-file} @file{out-file}}
@end smallexample
It is often a good idea to run @command{xsparse} in @dfn{dry run} mode
first. In this mode, the command does not actually expand the file,
but verbosely lists all actions it would be taking to do so. The dry
run mode is enabled by @option{-n} command line argument:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{xsparse -n /home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile}
Reading v.1.0 sparse map
Expanding file '/home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile' to
'/home/gray/sparsefile'
Finished dry run
@end group
@end smallexample
To actually expand the file, you would run:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{xsparse /home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile}
@end smallexample
@noindent
The program behaves the same way all UNIX utilities do: it will keep
quiet unless it has something important to tell you (e.g. an error
condition or something). If you wish it to produce verbose output,
similar to that from the dry run mode, use @option{-v} option:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{xsparse -v /home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile}
Reading v.1.0 sparse map
Expanding file '/home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile' to
'/home/gray/sparsefile'
Done
@end group
@end smallexample
Additionally, if your @command{tar} implementation has extracted the
@dfn{extended headers} for this file, you can instruct @command{xstar}
to use them in order to verify the integrity of the expanded file.
The option @option{-x} sets the name of the extended header file to
use. Continuing our example:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{xsparse -v -x /home/gray/PaxHeaders/sparsefile \
/home/gray/GNUSparseFile/sparsefile}
Reading extended header file
Found variable GNU.sparse.major = 1
Found variable GNU.sparse.minor = 0
Found variable GNU.sparse.name = sparsefile
Found variable GNU.sparse.realsize = 217481216
Reading v.1.0 sparse map
Expanding file '/home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile' to
'/home/gray/sparsefile'
Done
@end group
@end smallexample
@anchor{extracting sparse v0x}
@cindex sparse files v.0.1, extracting with non-GNU tars
@cindex sparse files v.0.0, extracting with non-GNU tars
An @dfn{extended header} is a special @command{tar} archive header
that precedes an archive member and contains a set of
@dfn{variables}, describing the member properties that cannot be
stored in the standard @code{ustar} header. While optional for
expanding sparse version 1.0 members, the use of extended headers is
mandatory when expanding sparse members in older sparse formats: v.0.0
and v.0.1 (The sparse formats are described in detail in @ref{Sparse
Formats}.) So, for these formats, the question is: how to obtain
extended headers from the archive?
If you use a @command{tar} implementation that does not support PAX
format, extended headers for each member will be extracted as a
separate file. If we represent the member name as
@file{@var{dir}/@var{name}}, then the extended header file will be
named @file{@var{dir}/@/PaxHeaders/@/@var{name}}.
Things become more difficult if your @command{tar} implementation
does support PAX headers, because in this case you will have to
manually extract the headers. We recommend the following algorithm:
@enumerate 1
@item
Consult the documentation of your @command{tar} implementation for an
option that prints @dfn{block numbers} along with the archive
listing (analogous to @GNUTAR{}'s @option{-R} option). For example,
@command{star} has @option{-block-number}.
@item
Obtain verbose listing using the @samp{block number} option, and
find block numbers of the sparse member in question and the member
immediately following it. For example, running @command{star} on our
archive we obtain:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{star -t -v -block-number -f arc.tar}
@dots{}
star: Unknown extended header keyword 'GNU.sparse.size' ignored.
star: Unknown extended header keyword 'GNU.sparse.numblocks' ignored.
star: Unknown extended header keyword 'GNU.sparse.name' ignored.
star: Unknown extended header keyword 'GNU.sparse.map' ignored.
block 56: 425984 -rw-r--r-- gray/users Jun 25 14:46 2006 GNUSparseFile.28124/sparsefile
block 897: 65391 -rw-r--r-- gray/users Jun 24 20:06 2006 README
@dots{}
@end group
@end smallexample
@noindent
(as usual, ignore the warnings about unknown keywords.)
@item
Let @var{size} be the size of the sparse member, @var{Bs} be its block number
and @var{Bn} be the block number of the next member.
Compute:
@smallexample
@var{N} = @var{Bs} - @var{Bn} - @var{size}/512 - 2
@end smallexample
@noindent
This number gives the size of the extended header part in tar @dfn{blocks}.
In our example, this formula gives: @code{897 - 56 - 425984 / 512 - 2
= 7}.
@item
Use @command{dd} to extract the headers:
@smallexample
@kbd{dd if=@var{archive} of=@var{hname} bs=512 skip=@var{Bs} count=@var{N}}
@end smallexample
@noindent
where @var{archive} is the archive name, @var{hname} is a name of the
file to store the extended header in, @var{Bs} and @var{N} are
computed in previous steps.
In our example, this command will be
@smallexample
$ @kbd{dd if=arc.tar of=xhdr bs=512 skip=56 count=7}
@end smallexample
@end enumerate
Finally, you can expand the condensed file, using the obtained header:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{xsparse -v -x xhdr GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile}
Reading extended header file
Found variable GNU.sparse.size = 217481216
Found variable GNU.sparse.numblocks = 208
Found variable GNU.sparse.name = sparsefile
Found variable GNU.sparse.map = 0,2048,1050624,2048,@dots{}
Expanding file 'GNUSparseFile.28124/sparsefile' to 'sparsefile'
Done
@end group
@end smallexample
@node cpio
@section Comparison of @command{tar} and @command{cpio}
@UNREVISED{}
@FIXME{Reorganize the following material}
The @command{cpio} archive formats, like @command{tar}, do have maximum
file name lengths. The binary and old @acronym{ASCII} formats have a maximum file
length of 256, and the new @acronym{ASCII} and @acronym{CRC ASCII} formats have a max
file length of 1024. @acronym{GNU} @command{cpio} can read and write archives
with arbitrary file name lengths, but other @command{cpio} implementations
may crash unexplainedly trying to read them.
@command{tar} handles symbolic links in the form in which it comes in @acronym{BSD};
@command{cpio} doesn't handle symbolic links in the form in which it comes
in System V prior to SVR4, and some vendors may have added symlinks
to their system without enhancing @command{cpio} to know about them.
Others may have enhanced it in a way other than the way I did it
at Sun, and which was adopted by AT&T (and which is, I think, also
present in the @command{cpio} that Berkeley picked up from AT&T and put
into a later @acronym{BSD} release---I think I gave them my changes).
(SVR4 does some funny stuff with @command{tar}; basically, its @command{cpio}
can handle @command{tar} format input, and write it on output, and it
probably handles symbolic links. They may not have bothered doing
anything to enhance @command{tar} as a result.)
@command{cpio} handles special files; traditional @command{tar} doesn't.
@command{tar} comes with V7, System III, System V, and @acronym{BSD} source;
@command{cpio} comes only with System III, System V, and later @acronym{BSD}
(4.3-tahoe and later).
@command{tar}'s way of handling multiple hard links to a file can handle
file systems that support 32-bit i-numbers (e.g., the @acronym{BSD} file system);
@command{cpio}s way requires you to play some games (in its ``binary''
format, i-numbers are only 16 bits, and in its ``portable @acronym{ASCII}'' format,
they're 18 bits---it would have to play games with the "file system @acronym{ID}"
field of the header to make sure that the file system @acronym{ID}/i-number pairs
of different files were always different), and I don't know which
@command{cpio}s, if any, play those games. Those that don't might get
confused and think two files are the same file when they're not, and
make hard links between them.
@command{tar}s way of handling multiple hard links to a file places only
one copy of the link on the tape, but the name attached to that copy
is the @emph{only} one you can use to retrieve the file; @command{cpio}s
way puts one copy for every link, but you can retrieve it using any
of the names.
@quotation
What type of check sum (if any) is used, and how is this calculated.
@end quotation
See the attached manual pages for @command{tar} and @command{cpio} format.
@command{tar} uses a checksum which is the sum of all the bytes in the
@command{tar} header for a file; @command{cpio} uses no checksum.
@quotation
If anyone knows why @command{cpio} was made when @command{tar} was present
at the unix scene,
@end quotation
It wasn't. @command{cpio} first showed up in PWB/UNIX 1.0; no
generally-available version of UNIX had @command{tar} at the time. I don't
know whether any version that was generally available @emph{within AT&T}
had @command{tar}, or, if so, whether the people within AT&T who did
@command{cpio} knew about it.
On restore, if there is a corruption on a tape @command{tar} will stop at
that point, while @command{cpio} will skip over it and try to restore the
rest of the files.
The main difference is just in the command syntax and header format.
@command{tar} is a little more tape-oriented in that everything is blocked
to start on a record boundary.
@quotation
Is there any differences between the ability to recover crashed
archives between the two of them. (Is there any chance of recovering
crashed archives at all.)
@end quotation
Theoretically it should be easier under @command{tar} since the blocking
lets you find a header with some variation of @samp{dd skip=@var{nn}}.
However, modern @command{cpio}'s and variations have an option to just
search for the next file header after an error with a reasonable chance
of resyncing. However, lots of tape driver software won't allow you to
continue past a media error which should be the only reason for getting
out of sync unless a file changed sizes while you were writing the
archive.
@quotation
If anyone knows why @command{cpio} was made when @command{tar} was present
at the unix scene, please tell me about this too.
@end quotation
Probably because it is more media efficient (by not blocking everything
and using only the space needed for the headers where @command{tar}
always uses 512 bytes per file header) and it knows how to archive
special files.
You might want to look at the freely available alternatives. The
major ones are @command{afio}, @GNUTAR{}, and
@command{pax}, each of which have their own extensions with some
backwards compatibility.
Sparse files were @command{tar}red as sparse files (which you can
easily test, because the resulting archive gets smaller, and
@acronym{GNU} @command{cpio} can no longer read it).
@node Media
@chapter Tapes and Other Archive Media
@UNREVISED{}
A few special cases about tape handling warrant more detailed
description. These special cases are discussed below.
Many complexities surround the use of @command{tar} on tape drives. Since
the creation and manipulation of archives located on magnetic tape was
the original purpose of @command{tar}, it contains many features making
such manipulation easier.
Archives are usually written on dismountable media---tape cartridges,
mag tapes, or floppy disks.
The amount of data a tape or disk holds depends not only on its size,
but also on how it is formatted. A 2400 foot long reel of mag tape
holds 40 megabytes of data when formatted at 1600 bits per inch. The
physically smaller EXABYTE tape cartridge holds 2.3 gigabytes.
Magnetic media are re-usable---once the archive on a tape is no longer
needed, the archive can be erased and the tape or disk used over.
Media quality does deteriorate with use, however. Most tapes or disks
should be discarded when they begin to produce data errors. EXABYTE
tape cartridges should be discarded when they generate an @dfn{error
count} (number of non-usable bits) of more than 10k.
Magnetic media are written and erased using magnetic fields, and
should be protected from such fields to avoid damage to stored data.
Sticking a floppy disk to a filing cabinet using a magnet is probably
not a good idea.
@menu
* 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::
@end menu
@node Device
@section Device Selection and Switching
@UNREVISED{}
@table @option
@item -f [@var{hostname}:]@var{file}
@itemx --file=[@var{hostname}:]@var{file}
Use archive file or device @var{file} on @var{hostname}.
@end table
This option is used to specify the file name of the archive @command{tar}
works on.
If the file name is @samp{-}, @command{tar} reads the archive from standard
input (when listing or extracting), or writes it to standard output
(when creating). If the @samp{-} file name is given when updating an
archive, @command{tar} will read the original archive from its standard
input, and will write the entire new archive to its standard output.
If the file name contains a @samp{:}, it is interpreted as
@samp{hostname:file name}. If the @var{hostname} contains an @dfn{at}
sign (@samp{@@}), it is treated as @samp{user@@hostname:file name}. In
either case, @command{tar} will invoke the command @command{rsh} (or
@command{remsh}) to start up an @command{/usr/libexec/rmt} on the remote
machine. If you give an alternate login name, it will be given to the
@command{rsh}.
Naturally, the remote machine must have an executable
@command{/usr/libexec/rmt}. This program is free software from the
University of California, and a copy of the source code can be found
with the sources for @command{tar}; it's compiled and installed by default.
The exact path to this utility is determined when configuring the package.
It is @file{@var{prefix}/libexec/rmt}, where @var{prefix} stands for
your installation prefix. This location may also be overridden at
runtime by using the @option{--rmt-command=@var{command}} option (@xref{Option Summary,
---rmt-command}, for detailed description of this option. @xref{Remote
Tape Server}, for the description of @command{rmt} command).
If this option is not given, but the environment variable @env{TAPE}
is set, its value is used; otherwise, old versions of @command{tar}
used a default archive name (which was picked when @command{tar} was
compiled). The default is normally set up to be the @dfn{first} tape
drive or other transportable I/O medium on the system.
Starting with version 1.11.5, @GNUTAR{} uses
standard input and standard output as the default device, and I will
not try anymore supporting automatic device detection at installation
time. This was failing really in too many cases, it was hopeless.
This is now completely left to the installer to override standard
input and standard output for default device, if this seems
preferable. Further, I think @emph{most} actual usages of
@command{tar} are done with pipes or disks, not really tapes,
cartridges or diskettes.
Some users think that using standard input and output is running
after trouble. This could lead to a nasty surprise on your screen if
you forget to specify an output file name---especially if you are going
through a network or terminal server capable of buffering large amounts
of output. We had so many bug reports in that area of configuring
default tapes automatically, and so many contradicting requests, that
we finally consider the problem to be portably intractable. We could
of course use something like @samp{/dev/tape} as a default, but this
is @emph{also} running after various kind of trouble, going from hung
processes to accidental destruction of real tapes. After having seen
all this mess, using standard input and output as a default really
sounds like the only clean choice left, and a very useful one too.
@GNUTAR{} reads and writes archive in records, I
suspect this is the main reason why block devices are preferred over
character devices. Most probably, block devices are more efficient
too. The installer could also check for @samp{DEFTAPE} in
@file{<sys/mtio.h>}.
@table @option
@xopindex{force-local, short description}
@item --force-local
Archive file is local even if it contains a colon.
@opindex rsh-command
@item --rsh-command=@var{command}
Use remote @var{command} instead of @command{rsh}. This option exists
so that people who use something other than the standard @command{rsh}
(e.g., a Kerberized @command{rsh}) can access a remote device.
When this command is not used, the shell command found when
the @command{tar} program was installed is used instead. This is
the first found of @file{/usr/ucb/rsh}, @file{/usr/bin/remsh},
@file{/usr/bin/rsh}, @file{/usr/bsd/rsh} or @file{/usr/bin/nsh}.
The installer may have overridden this by defining the environment
variable @env{RSH} @emph{at installation time}.
@item -[0-7][lmh]
Specify drive and density.
@xopindex{multi-volume, short description}
@item -M
@itemx --multi-volume
Create/list/extract multi-volume archive.
This option causes @command{tar} to write a @dfn{multi-volume} archive---one
that may be larger than will fit on the medium used to hold it.
@xref{Multi-Volume Archives}.
@xopindex{tape-length, short description}
@item -L @var{num}
@itemx --tape-length=@var{size}[@var{suf}]
Change tape after writing @var{size} units of data. Unless @var{suf} is
given, @var{size} is treated as kilobytes, i.e. @samp{@var{size} x
1024} bytes. The following suffixes alter this behavior:
@float Table, size-suffixes
@caption{Size Suffixes}
@multitable @columnfractions 0.2 0.3 0.3
@headitem Suffix @tab Units @tab Byte Equivalent
@item b @tab Blocks @tab @var{size} x 512
@item B @tab Kilobytes @tab @var{size} x 1024
@item c @tab Bytes @tab @var{size}
@item G @tab Gigabytes @tab @var{size} x 1024^3
@item K @tab Kilobytes @tab @var{size} x 1024
@item k @tab Kilobytes @tab @var{size} x 1024
@item M @tab Megabytes @tab @var{size} x 1024^2
@item P @tab Petabytes @tab @var{size} x 1024^5
@item T @tab Terabytes @tab @var{size} x 1024^4
@item w @tab Words @tab @var{size} x 2
@end multitable
@end float
This option might be useful when your tape drivers do not properly
detect end of physical tapes. By being slightly conservative on the
maximum tape length, you might avoid the problem entirely.
@xopindex{info-script, short description}
@xopindex{new-volume-script, short description}
@item -F @var{command}
@itemx --info-script=@var{command}
@itemx --new-volume-script=@var{command}
Execute @var{command} at end of each tape. This implies
@option{--multi-volume} (@option{-M}). @xref{info-script}, for a detailed
description of this option.
@end table
@node Remote Tape Server
@section Remote Tape Server
@cindex remote tape drive
@pindex rmt
In order to access the tape drive on a remote machine, @command{tar}
uses the remote tape server written at the University of California at
Berkeley. The remote tape server must be installed as
@file{@var{prefix}/libexec/rmt} on any machine whose tape drive you
want to use. @command{tar} calls @command{rmt} by running an
@command{rsh} or @command{remsh} to the remote machine, optionally
using a different login name if one is supplied.
A copy of the source for the remote tape server is provided. Its
source code can be freely distributed. It is compiled and
installed by default.
@cindex absolute file names
Unless you use the @option{--absolute-names} (@option{-P}) option,
@GNUTAR{} will not allow you to create an archive that contains
absolute file names (a file name beginning with @samp{/}). If you try,
@command{tar} will automatically remove the leading @samp{/} from the
file names it stores in the archive. It will also type a warning
message telling you what it is doing.
When reading an archive that was created with a different
@command{tar} program, @GNUTAR{} automatically
extracts entries in the archive which have absolute file names as if
the file names were not absolute. This is an important feature. A
visitor here once gave a @command{tar} tape to an operator to restore;
the operator used Sun @command{tar} instead of @GNUTAR{},
and the result was that it replaced large portions of
our @file{/bin} and friends with versions from the tape; needless to
say, we were unhappy about having to recover the file system from
backup tapes.
For example, if the archive contained a file @file{/usr/bin/computoy},
@GNUTAR{} would extract the file to @file{usr/bin/computoy},
relative to the current directory. If you want to extract the files in
an archive to the same absolute names that they had when the archive
was created, you should do a @samp{cd /} before extracting the files
from the archive, or you should either use the @option{--absolute-names}
option, or use the command @samp{tar -C / @dots{}}.
@cindex Ultrix 3.1 and write failure
Some versions of Unix (Ultrix 3.1 is known to have this problem),
can claim that a short write near the end of a tape succeeded,
when it actually failed. This will result in the -M option not
working correctly. The best workaround at the moment is to use a
significantly larger blocking factor than the default 20.
In order to update an archive, @command{tar} must be able to backspace the
archive in order to reread or rewrite a record that was just read (or
written). This is currently possible only on two kinds of files: normal
disk files (or any other file that can be backspaced with @samp{lseek}),
and industry-standard 9-track magnetic tape (or any other kind of tape
that can be backspaced with the @code{MTIOCTOP} @code{ioctl}).
This means that the @option{--append}, @option{--concatenate}, and
@option{--delete} commands will not work on any other kind of file.
Some media simply cannot be backspaced, which means these commands and
options will never be able to work on them. These non-backspacing
media include pipes and cartridge tape drives.
Some other media can be backspaced, and @command{tar} will work on them
once @command{tar} is modified to do so.
Archives created with the @option{--multi-volume}, @option{--label}, and
@option{--incremental} (@option{-G}) options may not be readable by other version
of @command{tar}. In particular, restoring a file that was split over
a volume boundary will require some careful work with @command{dd}, if
it can be done at all. Other versions of @command{tar} may also create
an empty file whose name is that of the volume header. Some versions
of @command{tar} may create normal files instead of directories archived
with the @option{--incremental} (@option{-G}) option.
@node Common Problems and Solutions
@section Some Common Problems and their Solutions
@ifclear PUBLISH
@format
errors from system:
permission denied
no such file or directory
not owner
errors from @command{tar}:
directory checksum error
header format error
errors from media/system:
i/o error
device busy
@end format
@end ifclear
@node Blocking
@section Blocking
@cindex block
@cindex record
@dfn{Block} and @dfn{record} terminology is rather confused, and it
is also confusing to the expert reader. On the other hand, readers
who are new to the field have a fresh mind, and they may safely skip
the next two paragraphs, as the remainder of this manual uses those
two terms in a quite consistent way.
John Gilmore, the writer of the public domain @command{tar} from which
@GNUTAR{} was originally derived, wrote (June 1995):
@quotation
The nomenclature of tape drives comes from IBM, where I believe
they were invented for the IBM 650 or so. On IBM mainframes, what
is recorded on tape are tape blocks. The logical organization of
data is into records. There are various ways of putting records into
blocks, including @code{F} (fixed sized records), @code{V} (variable
sized records), @code{FB} (fixed blocked: fixed size records, @var{n}
to a block), @code{VB} (variable size records, @var{n} to a block),
@code{VSB} (variable spanned blocked: variable sized records that can
occupy more than one block), etc. The @code{JCL} @samp{DD RECFORM=}
parameter specified this to the operating system.
The Unix man page on @command{tar} was totally confused about this.
When I wrote @code{PD TAR}, I used the historically correct terminology
(@command{tar} writes data records, which are grouped into blocks).
It appears that the bogus terminology made it into @acronym{POSIX} (no surprise
here), and now Fran@,{c}ois has migrated that terminology back
into the source code too.
@end quotation
The term @dfn{physical block} means the basic transfer chunk from or
to a device, after which reading or writing may stop without anything
being lost. In this manual, the term @dfn{block} usually refers to
a disk physical block, @emph{assuming} that each disk block is 512
bytes in length. It is true that some disk devices have different
physical blocks, but @command{tar} ignore these differences in its own
format, which is meant to be portable, so a @command{tar} block is always
512 bytes in length, and @dfn{block} always mean a @command{tar} block.
The term @dfn{logical block} often represents the basic chunk of
allocation of many disk blocks as a single entity, which the operating
system treats somewhat atomically; this concept is only barely used
in @GNUTAR{}.
The term @dfn{physical record} is another way to speak of a physical
block, those two terms are somewhat interchangeable. In this manual,
the term @dfn{record} usually refers to a tape physical block,
@emph{assuming} that the @command{tar} archive is kept on magnetic tape.
It is true that archives may be put on disk or used with pipes,
but nevertheless, @command{tar} tries to read and write the archive one
@dfn{record} at a time, whatever the medium in use. One record is made
up of an integral number of blocks, and this operation of putting many
disk blocks into a single tape block is called @dfn{reblocking}, or
more simply, @dfn{blocking}. The term @dfn{logical record} refers to
the logical organization of many characters into something meaningful
to the application. The term @dfn{unit record} describes a small set
of characters which are transmitted whole to or by the application,
and often refers to a line of text. Those two last terms are unrelated
to what we call a @dfn{record} in @GNUTAR{}.
When writing to tapes, @command{tar} writes the contents of the archive
in chunks known as @dfn{records}. To change the default blocking
factor, use the @option{--blocking-factor=@var{512-size}} (@option{-b
@var{512-size}}) option. Each record will then be composed of
@var{512-size} blocks. (Each @command{tar} block is 512 bytes.
@xref{Standard}.) Each file written to the archive uses at least one
full record. As a result, using a larger record size can result in
more wasted space for small files. On the other hand, a larger record
size can often be read and written much more efficiently.
Further complicating the problem is that some tape drives ignore the
blocking entirely. For these, a larger record size can still improve
performance (because the software layers above the tape drive still
honor the blocking), but not as dramatically as on tape drives that
honor blocking.
When reading an archive, @command{tar} can usually figure out the
record size on itself. When this is the case, and a non-standard
record size was used when the archive was created, @command{tar} will
print a message about a non-standard blocking factor, and then operate
normally@footnote{If this message is not needed, you can turn it off
using the @option{--warning=no-record-size} option.}. On some tape
devices, however, @command{tar} cannot figure out the record size
itself. On most of those, you can specify a blocking factor (with
@option{--blocking-factor}) larger than the actual blocking factor,
and then use the @option{--read-full-records} (@option{-B}) option.
(If you specify a blocking factor with @option{--blocking-factor} and
don't use the @option{--read-full-records} option, then @command{tar}
will not attempt to figure out the recording size itself.) On some
devices, you must always specify the record size exactly with
@option{--blocking-factor} when reading, because @command{tar} cannot
figure it out. In any case, use @option{--list} (@option{-t}) before
doing any extractions to see whether @command{tar} is reading the archive
correctly.
@command{tar} blocks are all fixed size (512 bytes), and its scheme for
putting them into records is to put a whole number of them (one or
more) into each record. @command{tar} records are all the same size;
at the end of the file there's a block containing all zeros, which
is how you tell that the remainder of the last record(s) are garbage.
In a standard @command{tar} file (no options), the block size is 512
and the record size is 10240, for a blocking factor of 20. What the
@option{--blocking-factor} option does is sets the blocking factor,
changing the record size while leaving the block size at 512 bytes.
20 was fine for ancient 800 or 1600 bpi reel-to-reel tape drives;
most tape drives these days prefer much bigger records in order to
stream and not waste tape. When writing tapes for myself, some tend
to use a factor of the order of 2048, say, giving a record size of
around one megabyte.
If you use a blocking factor larger than 20, older @command{tar}
programs might not be able to read the archive, so we recommend this
as a limit to use in practice. @GNUTAR{}, however,
will support arbitrarily large record sizes, limited only by the
amount of virtual memory or the physical characteristics of the tape
device.
@menu
* Format Variations:: Format Variations
* Blocking Factor:: The Blocking Factor of an Archive
@end menu
@node Format Variations
@subsection Format Variations
@cindex Format Parameters
@cindex Format Options
@cindex Options, archive format specifying
@cindex Options, format specifying
@UNREVISED{}
Format parameters specify how an archive is written on the archive
media. The best choice of format parameters will vary depending on
the type and number of files being archived, and on the media used to
store the archive.
To specify format parameters when accessing or creating an archive,
you can use the options described in the following sections.
If you do not specify any format parameters, @command{tar} uses
default parameters. You cannot modify a compressed archive.
If you create an archive with the @option{--blocking-factor} option
specified (@pxref{Blocking Factor}), you must specify that
blocking-factor when operating on the archive. @xref{Formats}, for other
examples of format parameter considerations.
@node Blocking Factor
@subsection The Blocking Factor of an Archive
@cindex Blocking Factor
@cindex Record Size
@cindex Number of blocks per record
@cindex Number of bytes per record
@cindex Bytes per record
@cindex Blocks per record
@UNREVISED{}
@opindex blocking-factor
The data in an archive is grouped into blocks, which are 512 bytes.
Blocks are read and written in whole number multiples called
@dfn{records}. The number of blocks in a record (i.e., the size of a
record in units of 512 bytes) is called the @dfn{blocking factor}.
The @option{--blocking-factor=@var{512-size}} (@option{-b
@var{512-size}}) option specifies the blocking factor of an archive.
The default blocking factor is typically 20 (i.e., 10240 bytes), but
can be specified at installation. To find out the blocking factor of
an existing archive, use @samp{tar --list --file=@var{archive-name}}.
This may not work on some devices.
Records are separated by gaps, which waste space on the archive media.
If you are archiving on magnetic tape, using a larger blocking factor
(and therefore larger records) provides faster throughput and allows you
to fit more data on a tape (because there are fewer gaps). If you are
archiving on cartridge, a very large blocking factor (say 126 or more)
greatly increases performance. A smaller blocking factor, on the other
hand, may be useful when archiving small files, to avoid archiving lots
of nulls as @command{tar} fills out the archive to the end of the record.
In general, the ideal record size depends on the size of the
inter-record gaps on the tape you are using, and the average size of the
files you are archiving. @xref{create}, for information on
writing archives.
@FIXME{Need example of using a cartridge with blocking factor=126 or more.}
Archives with blocking factors larger than 20 cannot be read
by very old versions of @command{tar}, or by some newer versions
of @command{tar} running on old machines with small address spaces.
With @GNUTAR{}, the blocking factor of an archive is limited
only by the maximum record size of the device containing the archive,
or by the amount of available virtual memory.
Also, on some systems, not using adequate blocking factors, as sometimes
imposed by the device drivers, may yield unexpected diagnostics. For
example, this has been reported:
@smallexample
Cannot write to /dev/dlt: Invalid argument
@end smallexample
@noindent
In such cases, it sometimes happen that the @command{tar} bundled by
the system is aware of block size idiosyncrasies, while @GNUTAR{}
requires an explicit specification for the block size,
which it cannot guess. This yields some people to consider
@GNUTAR{} is misbehaving, because by comparison,
@cite{the bundle @command{tar} works OK}. Adding @w{@kbd{-b 256}},
for example, might resolve the problem.
If you use a non-default blocking factor when you create an archive, you
must specify the same blocking factor when you modify that archive. Some
archive devices will also require you to specify the blocking factor when
reading that archive, however this is not typically the case. Usually, you
can use @option{--list} (@option{-t}) without specifying a blocking factor---@command{tar}
reports a non-default record size and then lists the archive members as
it would normally. To extract files from an archive with a non-standard
blocking factor (particularly if you're not sure what the blocking factor
is), you can usually use the @option{--read-full-records} (@option{-B}) option while
specifying a blocking factor larger then the blocking factor of the archive
(i.e., @samp{tar --extract --read-full-records --blocking-factor=300}).
@xref{list}, for more information on the @option{--list} (@option{-t})
operation. @xref{Reading}, for a more detailed explanation of that option.
@table @option
@item --blocking-factor=@var{number}
@itemx -b @var{number}
Specifies the blocking factor of an archive. Can be used with any
operation, but is usually not necessary with @option{--list} (@option{-t}).
@end table
Device blocking
@table @option
@item -b @var{blocks}
@itemx --blocking-factor=@var{blocks}
Set record size to @math{@var{blocks}*512} bytes.
This option is used to specify a @dfn{blocking factor} for the archive.
When reading or writing the archive, @command{tar}, will do reads and writes
of the archive in records of @math{@var{block}*512} bytes. This is true
even when the archive is compressed. Some devices requires that all
write operations be a multiple of a certain size, and so, @command{tar}
pads the archive out to the next record boundary.
The default blocking factor is set when @command{tar} is compiled, and is
typically 20. Blocking factors larger than 20 cannot be read by very
old versions of @command{tar}, or by some newer versions of @command{tar}
running on old machines with small address spaces.
With a magnetic tape, larger records give faster throughput and fit
more data on a tape (because there are fewer inter-record gaps).
If the archive is in a disk file or a pipe, you may want to specify
a smaller blocking factor, since a large one will result in a large
number of null bytes at the end of the archive.
When writing cartridge or other streaming tapes, a much larger
blocking factor (say 126 or more) will greatly increase performance.
However, you must specify the same blocking factor when reading or
updating the archive.
Apparently, Exabyte drives have a physical block size of 8K bytes.
If we choose our blocksize as a multiple of 8k bytes, then the problem
seems to disappear. Id est, we are using block size of 112 right
now, and we haven't had the problem since we switched@dots{}
With @GNUTAR{} the blocking factor is limited only
by the maximum record size of the device containing the archive, or by
the amount of available virtual memory.
However, deblocking or reblocking is virtually avoided in a special
case which often occurs in practice, but which requires all the
following conditions to be simultaneously true:
@itemize @bullet
@item
the archive is subject to a compression option,
@item
the archive is not handled through standard input or output, nor
redirected nor piped,
@item
the archive is directly handled to a local disk, instead of any special
device,
@item
@option{--blocking-factor} is not explicitly specified on the @command{tar}
invocation.
@end itemize
If the output goes directly to a local disk, and not through
stdout, then the last write is not extended to a full record size.
Otherwise, reblocking occurs. Here are a few other remarks on this
topic:
@itemize @bullet
@item
@command{gzip} will complain about trailing garbage if asked to
uncompress a compressed archive on tape, there is an option to turn
the message off, but it breaks the regularity of simply having to use
@samp{@var{prog} -d} for decompression. It would be nice if gzip was
silently ignoring any number of trailing zeros. I'll ask Jean-loup
Gailly, by sending a copy of this message to him.
@item
@command{compress} does not show this problem, but as Jean-loup pointed
out to Michael, @samp{compress -d} silently adds garbage after
the result of decompression, which tar ignores because it already
recognized its end-of-file indicator. So this bug may be safely
ignored.
@item
@samp{gzip -d -q} will be silent about the trailing zeros indeed,
but will still return an exit status of 2 which tar reports in turn.
@command{tar} might ignore the exit status returned, but I hate doing
that, as it weakens the protection @command{tar} offers users against
other possible problems at decompression time. If @command{gzip} was
silently skipping trailing zeros @emph{and} also avoiding setting the
exit status in this innocuous case, that would solve this situation.
@item
@command{tar} should become more solid at not stopping to read a pipe at
the first null block encountered. This inelegantly breaks the pipe.
@command{tar} should rather drain the pipe out before exiting itself.
@end itemize
@xopindex{ignore-zeros, short description}
@item -i
@itemx --ignore-zeros
Ignore blocks of zeros in archive (means EOF).
The @option{--ignore-zeros} (@option{-i}) option causes @command{tar} to ignore blocks
of zeros in the archive. Normally a block of zeros indicates the
end of the archive, but when reading a damaged archive, or one which
was created by concatenating several archives together, this option
allows @command{tar} to read the entire archive. This option is not on
by default because many versions of @command{tar} write garbage after
the zeroed blocks.
Note that this option causes @command{tar} to read to the end of the
archive file, which may sometimes avoid problems when multiple files
are stored on a single physical tape.
@xopindex{read-full-records, short description}
@item -B
@itemx --read-full-records
Reblock as we read (for reading 4.2@acronym{BSD} pipes).
If @option{--read-full-records} is used, @command{tar}
will not panic if an attempt to read a record from the archive does
not return a full record. Instead, @command{tar} will keep reading
until it has obtained a full
record.
This option is turned on by default when @command{tar} is reading
an archive from standard input, or from a remote machine. This is
because on @acronym{BSD} Unix systems, a read of a pipe will return however
much happens to be in the pipe, even if it is less than @command{tar}
requested. If this option was not used, @command{tar} would fail as
soon as it read an incomplete record from the pipe.
This option is also useful with the commands for updating an archive.
@end table
Tape blocking
@FIXME{Appropriate options should be moved here from elsewhere.}
@cindex blocking factor
@cindex tape blocking
When handling various tapes or cartridges, you have to take care of
selecting a proper blocking, that is, the number of disk blocks you
put together as a single tape block on the tape, without intervening
tape gaps. A @dfn{tape gap} is a small landing area on the tape
with no information on it, used for decelerating the tape to a
full stop, and for later regaining the reading or writing speed.
When the tape driver starts reading a record, the record has to
be read whole without stopping, as a tape gap is needed to stop the
tape motion without losing information.
@cindex Exabyte blocking
@cindex DAT blocking
Using higher blocking (putting more disk blocks per tape block) will use
the tape more efficiently as there will be less tape gaps. But reading
such tapes may be more difficult for the system, as more memory will be
required to receive at once the whole record. Further, if there is a
reading error on a huge record, this is less likely that the system will
succeed in recovering the information. So, blocking should not be too
low, nor it should be too high. @command{tar} uses by default a blocking of
20 for historical reasons, and it does not really matter when reading or
writing to disk. Current tape technology would easily accommodate higher
blockings. Sun recommends a blocking of 126 for Exabytes and 96 for DATs.
We were told that for some DLT drives, the blocking should be a multiple
of 4Kb, preferably 64Kb (@w{@kbd{-b 128}}) or 256 for decent performance.
Other manufacturers may use different recommendations for the same tapes.
This might also depends of the buffering techniques used inside modern
tape controllers. Some imposes a minimum blocking, or a maximum blocking.
Others request blocking to be some exponent of two.
So, there is no fixed rule for blocking. But blocking at read time
should ideally be the same as blocking used at write time. At one place
I know, with a wide variety of equipment, they found it best to use a
blocking of 32 to guarantee that their tapes are fully interchangeable.
I was also told that, for recycled tapes, prior erasure (by the same
drive unit that will be used to create the archives) sometimes lowers
the error rates observed at rewriting time.
I might also use @option{--number-blocks} instead of
@option{--block-number}, so @option{--block} will then expand to
@option{--blocking-factor} unambiguously.
@node Many
@section Many Archives on One Tape
@FIXME{Appropriate options should be moved here from elsewhere.}
@findex ntape @r{device}
Most tape devices have two entries in the @file{/dev} directory, or
entries that come in pairs, which differ only in the minor number for
this device. Let's take for example @file{/dev/tape}, which often
points to the only or usual tape device of a given system. There might
be a corresponding @file{/dev/nrtape} or @file{/dev/ntape}. The simpler
name is the @emph{rewinding} version of the device, while the name
having @samp{nr} in it is the @emph{no rewinding} version of the same
device.
A rewinding tape device will bring back the tape to its beginning point
automatically when this device is opened or closed. Since @command{tar}
opens the archive file before using it and closes it afterwards, this
means that a simple:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar cf /dev/tape @var{directory}}
@end smallexample
@noindent
will reposition the tape to its beginning both prior and after saving
@var{directory} contents to it, thus erasing prior tape contents and
making it so that any subsequent write operation will destroy what has
just been saved.
@cindex tape positioning
So, a rewinding device is normally meant to hold one and only one file.
If you want to put more than one @command{tar} archive on a given tape, you
will need to avoid using the rewinding version of the tape device. You
will also have to pay special attention to tape positioning. Errors in
positioning may overwrite the valuable data already on your tape. Many
people, burnt by past experiences, will only use rewinding devices and
limit themselves to one file per tape, precisely to avoid the risk of
such errors. Be fully aware that writing at the wrong position on a
tape loses all information past this point and most probably until the
end of the tape, and this destroyed information @emph{cannot} be
recovered.
To save @var{directory-1} as a first archive at the beginning of a
tape, and leave that tape ready for a second archive, you should use:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{mt -f /dev/nrtape rewind}
$ @kbd{tar cf /dev/nrtape @var{directory-1}}
@end smallexample
@cindex tape marks
@dfn{Tape marks} are special magnetic patterns written on the tape
media, which are later recognizable by the reading hardware. These
marks are used after each file, when there are many on a single tape.
An empty file (that is to say, two tape marks in a row) signal the
logical end of the tape, after which no file exist. Usually,
non-rewinding tape device drivers will react to the close request issued
by @command{tar} by first writing two tape marks after your archive, and by
backspacing over one of these. So, if you remove the tape at that time
from the tape drive, it is properly terminated. But if you write
another file at the current position, the second tape mark will be
erased by the new information, leaving only one tape mark between files.
So, you may now save @var{directory-2} as a second archive after the
first on the same tape by issuing the command:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar cf /dev/nrtape @var{directory-2}}
@end smallexample
@noindent
and so on for all the archives you want to put on the same tape.
Another usual case is that you do not write all the archives the same
day, and you need to remove and store the tape between two archive
sessions. In general, you must remember how many files are already
saved on your tape. Suppose your tape already has 16 files on it, and
that you are ready to write the 17th. You have to take care of skipping
the first 16 tape marks before saving @var{directory-17}, say, by using
these commands:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{mt -f /dev/nrtape rewind}
$ @kbd{mt -f /dev/nrtape fsf 16}
$ @kbd{tar cf /dev/nrtape @var{directory-17}}
@end smallexample
In all the previous examples, we put aside blocking considerations, but
you should do the proper things for that as well. @xref{Blocking}.
@menu
* Tape Positioning:: Tape Positions and Tape Marks
* mt:: The @command{mt} Utility
@end menu
@node Tape Positioning
@subsection Tape Positions and Tape Marks
@UNREVISED{}
Just as archives can store more than one file from the file system,
tapes can store more than one archive file. To keep track of where
archive files (or any other type of file stored on tape) begin and
end, tape archive devices write magnetic @dfn{tape marks} on the
archive media. Tape drives write one tape mark between files,
two at the end of all the file entries.
If you think of data as a series of records "rrrr"'s, and tape marks as
"*"'s, a tape might look like the following:
@smallexample
rrrr*rrrrrr*rrrrr*rr*rrrrr**-------------------------
@end smallexample
Tape devices read and write tapes using a read/write @dfn{tape
head}---a physical part of the device which can only access one
point on the tape at a time. When you use @command{tar} to read or
write archive data from a tape device, the device will begin reading
or writing from wherever on the tape the tape head happens to be,
regardless of which archive or what part of the archive the tape
head is on. Before writing an archive, you should make sure that no
data on the tape will be overwritten (unless it is no longer needed).
Before reading an archive, you should make sure the tape head is at
the beginning of the archive you want to read. You can do it manually
via @code{mt} utility (@pxref{mt}). The @code{restore} script does
that automatically (@pxref{Scripted Restoration}).
If you want to add new archive file entries to a tape, you should
advance the tape to the end of the existing file entries, backspace
over the last tape mark, and write the new archive file. If you were
to add two archives to the example above, the tape might look like the
following:
@smallexample
rrrr*rrrrrr*rrrrr*rr*rrrrr*rrr*rrrr**----------------
@end smallexample
@node mt
@subsection The @command{mt} Utility
@UNREVISED{}
@FIXME{Is it true that this only works on non-block devices?
should explain the difference, (fixed or variable).}
@xref{Blocking Factor}.
You can use the @command{mt} utility to advance or rewind a tape past a
specified number of archive files on the tape. This will allow you
to move to the beginning of an archive before extracting or reading
it, or to the end of all the archives before writing a new one.
@FIXME{Why isn't there an "advance 'til you find two tape marks
together"?}
The syntax of the @command{mt} command is:
@smallexample
@kbd{mt [-f @var{tapename}] @var{operation} [@var{number}]}
@end smallexample
where @var{tapename} is the name of the tape device, @var{number} is
the number of times an operation is performed (with a default of one),
and @var{operation} is one of the following:
@FIXME{is there any use for record operations?}
@table @option
@item eof
@itemx weof
Writes @var{number} tape marks at the current position on the tape.
@item fsf
Moves tape position forward @var{number} files.
@item bsf
Moves tape position back @var{number} files.
@item rewind
Rewinds the tape. (Ignores @var{number}.)
@item offline
@itemx rewoff1
Rewinds the tape and takes the tape device off-line. (Ignores @var{number}.)
@item status
Prints status information about the tape unit.
@end table
If you don't specify a @var{tapename}, @command{mt} uses the environment
variable @env{TAPE}; if @env{TAPE} is not set, @command{mt} will use
the default device specified in your @file{sys/mtio.h} file
(@code{DEFTAPE} variable). If this is not defined, the program will
display a descriptive error message and exit with code 1.
@command{mt} returns a 0 exit status when the operation(s) were
successful, 1 if the command was unrecognized, and 2 if an operation
failed.
@node Using Multiple Tapes
@section Using Multiple Tapes
Often you might want to write a large archive, one larger than will fit
on the actual tape you are using. In such a case, you can run multiple
@command{tar} commands, but this can be inconvenient, particularly if you
are using options like @option{--exclude=@var{pattern}} or dumping entire file systems.
Therefore, @command{tar} provides a special mode for creating
multi-volume archives.
@dfn{Multi-volume} archive is a single @command{tar} archive, stored
on several media volumes of fixed size. Although in this section we will
often call @samp{volume} a @dfn{tape}, there is absolutely no
requirement for multi-volume archives to be stored on tapes. Instead,
they can use whatever media type the user finds convenient, they can
even be located on files.
When creating a multi-volume archive, @GNUTAR{} continues to fill
current volume until it runs out of space, then it switches to
next volume (usually the operator is queried to replace the tape on
this point), and continues working on the new volume. This operation
continues until all requested files are dumped. If @GNUTAR{} detects
end of media while dumping a file, such a file is archived in split
form. Some very big files can even be split across several volumes.
Each volume is itself a valid @GNUTAR{} archive, so it can be read
without any special options. Consequently any file member residing
entirely on one volume can be extracted or otherwise operated upon
without needing the other volume. Sure enough, to extract a split
member you would need all volumes its parts reside on.
Multi-volume archives suffer from several limitations. In particular,
they cannot be compressed.
@GNUTAR{} is able to create multi-volume archives of two formats
(@pxref{Formats}): @samp{GNU} and @samp{POSIX}.
@menu
* Multi-Volume Archives:: Archives Longer than One Tape or Disk
* Tape Files:: Tape Files
* Tarcat:: Concatenate Volumes into a Single Archive
@end menu
@node Multi-Volume Archives
@subsection Archives Longer than One Tape or Disk
@cindex Multi-volume archives
@opindex multi-volume
To create an archive that is larger than will fit on a single unit of
the media, use the @option{--multi-volume} (@option{-M}) option in conjunction with
the @option{--create} option (@pxref{create}). A @dfn{multi-volume}
archive can be manipulated like any other archive (provided the
@option{--multi-volume} option is specified), but is stored on more
than one tape or file.
When you specify @option{--multi-volume}, @command{tar} does not report an
error when it comes to the end of an archive volume (when reading), or
the end of the media (when writing). Instead, it prompts you to load
a new storage volume. If the archive is on a magnetic tape, you
should change tapes when you see the prompt; if the archive is on a
floppy disk, you should change disks; etc.
@table @option
@item --multi-volume
@itemx -M
Creates a multi-volume archive, when used in conjunction with
@option{--create} (@option{-c}). To perform any other operation on a multi-volume
archive, specify @option{--multi-volume} in conjunction with that
operation.
For example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --create --multi-volume --file=/dev/tape @var{files}}
@end smallexample
@end table
The method @command{tar} uses to detect end of tape is not perfect, and
fails on some operating systems or on some devices. If @command{tar}
cannot detect the end of the tape itself, you can use
@option{--tape-length} option to inform it about the capacity of the
tape:
@anchor{tape-length}
@table @option
@opindex tape-length
@item --tape-length=@var{size}[@var{suf}]
@itemx -L @var{size}[@var{suf}]
Set maximum length of a volume. The @var{suf}, if given, specifies
units in which @var{size} is expressed, e.g. @samp{2M} mean 2
megabytes (@pxref{size-suffixes}, for a list of allowed size
suffixes). Without @var{suf}, units of 1024 bytes (kilobyte) are
assumed.
This option selects @option{--multi-volume} automatically. For example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --create --tape-length=41943040 --file=/dev/tape @var{files}}
@end smallexample
@noindent
or, which is equivalent:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --create --tape-length=4G --file=/dev/tape @var{files}}
@end smallexample
@end table
@anchor{change volume prompt}
When @GNUTAR{} comes to the end of a storage media, it asks you to
change the volume. The built-in prompt for POSIX locale
is@footnote{If you run @GNUTAR{} under a different locale, the
translation to the locale's language will be used.}:
@smallexample
Prepare volume #@var{n} for '@var{archive}' and hit return:
@end smallexample
@noindent
where @var{n} is the ordinal number of the volume to be created and
@var{archive} is archive file or device name.
When prompting for a new tape, @command{tar} accepts any of the following
responses:
@table @kbd
@item ?
Request @command{tar} to explain possible responses.
@item q
Request @command{tar} to exit immediately.
@item n @var{file-name}
Request @command{tar} to write the next volume on the file @var{file-name}.
@item !
Request @command{tar} to run a subshell. This option can be disabled
by giving @option{--restrict} command line option to
@command{tar}@footnote{@xref{--restrict}, for more information about
this option.}.
@item y
Request @command{tar} to begin writing the next volume.
@end table
(You should only type @samp{y} after you have changed the tape;
otherwise @command{tar} will write over the volume it just finished.)
@cindex Volume number file
@cindex volno file
@anchor{volno-file}
@opindex volno-file
The volume number used by @command{tar} in its tape-changing prompt
can be changed; if you give the
@option{--volno-file=@var{file-of-number}} option, then
@var{file-of-number} should be an non-existing file to be created, or
else, a file already containing a decimal number. That number will be
used as the volume number of the first volume written. When
@command{tar} is finished, it will rewrite the file with the
now-current volume number. (This does not change the volume number
written on a tape label, as per @ref{label}, it @emph{only} affects
the number used in the prompt.)
@cindex End-of-archive info script
@cindex Info script
@anchor{info-script}
@opindex info-script
@opindex new-volume-script
If you want more elaborate behavior than this, you can write a special
@dfn{new volume script}, that will be responsible for changing the
volume, and instruct @command{tar} to use it instead of its normal
prompting procedure:
@table @option
@item --info-script=@var{command}
@itemx --new-volume-script=@var{command}
@itemx -F @var{command}
Specify the command to invoke when switching volumes. The @var{command}
can be used to eject cassettes, or to broadcast messages such as
@samp{Someone please come change my tape} when performing unattended
backups.
@end table
The @var{command} can contain additional options, if such are needed.
@xref{external, Running External Commands}, for a detailed discussion
of the way @GNUTAR{} runs external commands. It inherits
@command{tar}'s shell environment. Additional data is passed to it
via the following environment variables:
@table @env
@vrindex TAR_VERSION, info script environment variable
@item TAR_VERSION
@GNUTAR{} version number.
@vrindex TAR_ARCHIVE, info script environment variable
@item TAR_ARCHIVE
The name of the archive @command{tar} is processing.
@vrindex TAR_BLOCKING_FACTOR, info script environment variable
@item TAR_BLOCKING_FACTOR
Current blocking factor (@pxref{Blocking}).
@vrindex TAR_VOLUME, info script environment variable
@item TAR_VOLUME
Ordinal number of the volume @command{tar} is about to start.
@vrindex TAR_SUBCOMMAND, info script environment variable
@item TAR_SUBCOMMAND
A short option describing the operation @command{tar} is executing.
@xref{Operations}, for a complete list of subcommand options.
@vrindex TAR_FORMAT, info script environment variable
@item TAR_FORMAT
Format of the archive being processed. @xref{Formats}, for a complete
list of archive format names.
@vrindex TAR_FD, info script environment variable
@item TAR_FD
File descriptor which can be used to communicate the new volume
name to @command{tar}.
@end table
These variables can be used in the @var{command} itself, provided that
they are properly quoted to prevent them from being expanded by the
shell that invokes @command{tar}.
The volume script can instruct @command{tar} to use new archive name,
by writing in to file descriptor @env{$TAR_FD} (see below for an example).
If the info script fails, @command{tar} exits; otherwise, it begins
writing the next volume.
If you want @command{tar} to cycle through a series of files or tape
drives, there are three approaches to choose from. First of all, you
can give @command{tar} multiple @option{--file} options. In this case
the specified files will be used, in sequence, as the successive
volumes of the archive. Only when the first one in the sequence needs
to be used again will @command{tar} prompt for a tape change (or run
the info script). For example, suppose someone has two tape drives on
a system named @file{/dev/tape0} and @file{/dev/tape1}. For having
@GNUTAR{} to switch to the second drive when it needs to write the
second tape, and then back to the first tape, etc., just do either of:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar --create --multi-volume --file=/dev/tape0 --file=/dev/tape1 @var{files}}
$ @kbd{tar -cM -f /dev/tape0 -f /dev/tape1 @var{files}}
@end smallexample
The second method is to use the @samp{n} response to the tape-change
prompt.
Finally, the most flexible approach is to use a volume script, that
writes new archive name to the file descriptor @env{$TAR_FD}. For example, the
following volume script will create a series of archive files, named
@file{@var{archive}-@var{vol}}, where @var{archive} is the name of the
archive being created (as given by @option{--file} option) and
@var{vol} is the ordinal number of the archive being created:
@smallexample
@group
#! /bin/bash
# For this script it's advisable to use a shell, such as Bash,
# that supports a TAR_FD value greater than 9.
echo Preparing volume $TAR_VOLUME of $TAR_ARCHIVE.
name=`expr $TAR_ARCHIVE : '\(.*\)-.*'`
case $TAR_SUBCOMMAND in
-c) ;;
-d|-x|-t) test -r $@{name:-$TAR_ARCHIVE@}-$TAR_VOLUME || exit 1
;;
*) exit 1
esac
echo $@{name:-$TAR_ARCHIVE@}-$TAR_VOLUME >&$TAR_FD
@end group
@end smallexample
The same script can be used while listing, comparing or extracting
from the created archive. For example:
@smallexample
@group
# @r{Create a multi-volume archive:}
$ @kbd{tar -c -L1024 -f archive.tar -F new-volume .}
# @r{Extract from the created archive:}
$ @kbd{tar -x -f archive.tar -F new-volume .}
@end group
@end smallexample
@noindent
Notice, that the first command had to use @option{-L} option, since
otherwise @GNUTAR{} will end up writing everything to file
@file{archive.tar}.
You can read each individual volume of a multi-volume archive as if it
were an archive by itself. For example, to list the contents of one
volume, use @option{--list}, without @option{--multi-volume} specified.
To extract an archive member from one volume (assuming it is described
that volume), use @option{--extract}, again without
@option{--multi-volume}.
If an archive member is split across volumes (i.e., its entry begins on
one volume of the media and ends on another), you need to specify
@option{--multi-volume} to extract it successfully. In this case, you
should load the volume where the archive member starts, and use
@samp{tar --extract --multi-volume}---@command{tar} will prompt for later
volumes as it needs them. @xref{extracting archives}, for more
information about extracting archives.
Multi-volume archives can be modified like any other archive. To add
files to a multi-volume archive, you need to only mount the last
volume of the archive media (and new volumes, if needed). For all
other operations, you need to use the entire archive.
If a multi-volume archive was labeled using
@option{--label=@var{archive-label}} (@pxref{label}) when it was
created, @command{tar} will not automatically label volumes which are
added later. To label subsequent volumes, specify
@option{--label=@var{archive-label}} again in conjunction with the
@option{--append}, @option{--update} or @option{--concatenate} operation.
Notice that multi-volume support is a GNU extension and the archives
created in this mode should be read only using @GNUTAR{}. If you
absolutely have to process such archives using a third-party @command{tar}
implementation, read @ref{Split Recovery}.
@node Tape Files
@subsection Tape Files
@cindex labeling archives
@opindex label
@UNREVISED{}
To give the archive a name which will be recorded in it, use the
@option{--label=@var{volume-label}} (@option{-V @var{volume-label}})
option. This will write a special block identifying
@var{volume-label} as the name of the archive to the front of the
archive which will be displayed when the archive is listed with
@option{--list}. If you are creating a multi-volume archive with
@option{--multi-volume} (@pxref{Using Multiple Tapes}), then the
volume label will have @samp{Volume @var{nnn}} appended to the name
you give, where @var{nnn} is the number of the volume of the archive.
If you use the @option{--label=@var{volume-label}} option when
reading an archive, it checks to make sure the label on the tape
matches the one you gave. @xref{label}.
When @command{tar} writes an archive to tape, it creates a single
tape file. If multiple archives are written to the same tape, one
after the other, they each get written as separate tape files. When
extracting, it is necessary to position the tape at the right place
before running @command{tar}. To do this, use the @command{mt} command.
For more information on the @command{mt} command and on the organization
of tapes into a sequence of tape files, see @ref{mt}.
People seem to often do:
@smallexample
@kbd{--label="@var{some-prefix} `date +@var{some-format}`"}
@end smallexample
or such, for pushing a common date in all volumes or an archive set.
@node Tarcat
@subsection Concatenate Volumes into a Single Archive
@pindex tarcat
Sometimes it is necessary to convert existing @GNUTAR{} multi-volume
archive to a single @command{tar} archive. Simply concatenating all
volumes into one will not work, since each volume carries an additional
information at the beginning. @GNUTAR{} is shipped with the shell
script @command{tarcat} designed for this purpose.
The script takes a list of files comprising a multi-volume archive
and creates the resulting archive at the standard output. For example:
@smallexample
@kbd{tarcat vol.1 vol.2 vol.3 | tar tf -}
@end smallexample
The script implements a simple heuristics to determine the format of
the first volume file and to decide how to process the rest of the
files. However, it makes no attempt to verify whether the files are
given in order or even if they are valid @command{tar} archives.
It uses @command{dd} and does not filter its standard error, so you
will usually see lots of spurious messages.
@FIXME{The script is not installed. Should we install it?}
@node label
@section Including a Label in the Archive
@cindex Labeling an archive
@cindex Labels on the archive media
@cindex Labeling multi-volume archives
@opindex label
To avoid problems caused by misplaced paper labels on the archive
media, you can include a @dfn{label} entry --- an archive member which
contains the name of the archive --- in the archive itself. Use the
@option{--label=@var{archive-label}} (@option{-V @var{archive-label}})
option@footnote{Until version 1.10, that option was called
@option{--volume}, but is not available under that name anymore.} in
conjunction with the @option{--create} operation to include a label
entry in the archive as it is being created.
@table @option
@item --label=@var{archive-label}
@itemx -V @var{archive-label}
Includes an @dfn{archive-label} at the beginning of the archive when
the archive is being created, when used in conjunction with the
@option{--create} operation. Checks to make sure the archive label
matches the one specified (when used in conjunction with any other
operation).
@end table
If you create an archive using both
@option{--label=@var{archive-label}} (@option{-V @var{archive-label}})
and @option{--multi-volume} (@option{-M}), each volume of the archive
will have an archive label of the form @samp{@var{archive-label}
Volume @var{n}}, where @var{n} is 1 for the first volume, 2 for the
next, and so on. @xref{Using Multiple Tapes}, for information on
creating multiple volume archives.
@cindex Volume label, listing
@cindex Listing volume label
The volume label will be displayed by @option{--list} along with
the file contents. If verbose display is requested, it will also be
explicitly marked as in the example below:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar --verbose --list --file=iamanarchive}
V--------- 0/0 0 1992-03-07 12:01 iamalabel--Volume Header--
-rw-r--r-- ringo/user 40 1990-05-21 13:30 iamafilename
@end group
@end smallexample
@opindex test-label
@anchor{--test-label option}
However, @option{--list} option will cause listing entire
contents of the archive, which may be undesirable (for example, if the
archive is stored on a tape). You can request checking only the volume
label by specifying @option{--test-label} option. This option reads only the
first block of an archive, so it can be used with slow storage
devices. For example:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar --test-label --file=iamanarchive}
iamalabel
@end group
@end smallexample
If @option{--test-label} is used with one or more command line
arguments, @command{tar} compares the volume label with each
argument. It exits with code 0 if a match is found, and with code 1
otherwise@footnote{Note that @GNUTAR{} versions up to 1.23 indicated
mismatch with an exit code 2 and printed a spurious diagnostics on
stderr.}. No output is displayed, unless you also used the
@option{--verbose} option. For example:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar --test-label --file=iamanarchive 'iamalabel'}
@result{} 0
$ @kbd{tar --test-label --file=iamanarchive 'alabel'}
@result{} 1
@end group
@end smallexample
When used with the @option{--verbose} option, @command{tar}
prints the actual volume label (if any), and a verbose diagnostics in
case of a mismatch:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar --test-label --verbose --file=iamanarchive 'iamalabel'}
iamalabel
@result{} 0
$ @kbd{tar --test-label --verbose --file=iamanarchive 'alabel'}
iamalabel
tar: Archive label mismatch
@result{} 1
@end group
@end smallexample
If you request any operation, other than @option{--create}, along
with using @option{--label} option, @command{tar} will first check if
the archive label matches the one specified and will refuse to proceed
if it does not. Use this as a safety precaution to avoid accidentally
overwriting existing archives. For example, if you wish to add files
to @file{archive}, presumably labeled with string @samp{My volume},
you will get:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar -rf archive --label 'My volume' .}
tar: Archive not labeled to match 'My volume'
@end group
@end smallexample
@noindent
in case its label does not match. This will work even if
@file{archive} is not labeled at all.
Similarly, @command{tar} will refuse to list or extract the
archive if its label doesn't match the @var{archive-label}
specified. In those cases, @var{archive-label} argument is interpreted
as a globbing-style pattern which must match the actual magnetic
volume label. @xref{exclude}, for a precise description of how match
is attempted@footnote{Previous versions of @command{tar} used full
regular expression matching, or before that, only exact string
matching, instead of wildcard matchers. We decided for the sake of
simplicity to use a uniform matching device through
@command{tar}.}. If the switch @option{--multi-volume} (@option{-M}) is being used,
the volume label matcher will also suffix @var{archive-label} by
@w{@samp{ Volume [1-9]*}} if the initial match fails, before giving
up. Since the volume numbering is automatically added in labels at
creation time, it sounded logical to equally help the user taking care
of it when the archive is being read.
You can also use @option{--label} to get a common information on
all tapes of a series. For having this information different in each
series created through a single script used on a regular basis, just
manage to get some date string as part of the label. For example:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar -cM -f /dev/tape -V "Daily backup for `date +%Y-%m-%d`"}
$ @kbd{tar --create --file=/dev/tape --multi-volume \
--label="Daily backup for `date +%Y-%m-%d`"}
@end group
@end smallexample
Some more notes about volume labels:
@itemize @bullet
@item Each label has its own date and time, which corresponds
to the time when @GNUTAR{} initially attempted to write it,
often soon after the operator launches @command{tar} or types the
carriage return telling that the next tape is ready.
@item Comparing date labels to get an idea of tape throughput is
unreliable. It gives correct results only if the delays for rewinding
tapes and the operator switching them were negligible, which is
usually not the case.
@end itemize
@node verify
@section Verifying Data as It is Stored
@cindex Verifying a write operation
@cindex Double-checking a write operation
@table @option
@item -W
@itemx --verify
@opindex verify, short description
Attempt to verify the archive after writing.
@end table
This option causes @command{tar} to verify the archive after writing it.
Each volume is checked after it is written, and any discrepancies
are recorded on the standard error output.
Verification requires that the archive be on a back-space-able medium.
This means pipes, some cartridge tape drives, and some other devices
cannot be verified.
You can insure the accuracy of an archive by comparing files in the
system with archive members. @command{tar} can compare an archive to the
file system as the archive is being written, to verify a write
operation, or can compare a previously written archive, to insure that
it is up to date.
@xopindex{verify, using with @option{--create}}
@xopindex{create, using with @option{--verify}}
To check for discrepancies in an archive immediately after it is
written, use the @option{--verify} (@option{-W}) option in conjunction with
the @option{--create} operation. When this option is
specified, @command{tar} checks archive members against their counterparts
in the file system, and reports discrepancies on the standard error.
To verify an archive, you must be able to read it from before the end
of the last written entry. This option is useful for detecting data
errors on some tapes. Archives written to pipes, some cartridge tape
drives, and some other devices cannot be verified.
One can explicitly compare an already made archive with the file
system by using the @option{--compare} (@option{--diff}, @option{-d})
option, instead of using the more automatic @option{--verify} option.
@xref{compare}.
Note that these two options have a slightly different intent. The
@option{--compare} option checks how identical are the logical contents of some
archive with what is on your disks, while the @option{--verify} option is
really for checking if the physical contents agree and if the recording
media itself is of dependable quality. So, for the @option{--verify}
operation, @command{tar} tries to defeat all in-memory cache pertaining to
the archive, while it lets the speed optimization undisturbed for the
@option{--compare} option. If you nevertheless use @option{--compare} for
media verification, you may have to defeat the in-memory cache yourself,
maybe by opening and reclosing the door latch of your recording unit,
forcing some doubt in your operating system about the fact this is really
the same volume as the one just written or read.
The @option{--verify} option would not be necessary if drivers were indeed
able to detect dependably all write failures. This sometimes require many
magnetic heads, some able to read after the writes occurred. One would
not say that drivers unable to detect all cases are necessarily flawed,
as long as programming is concerned.
The @option{--verify} (@option{-W}) option will not work in
conjunction with the @option{--multi-volume} (@option{-M}) option or
the @option{--append} (@option{-r}), @option{--update} (@option{-u})
and @option{--delete} operations. @xref{Operations}, for more
information on these operations.
Also, since @command{tar} normally strips leading @samp{/} from file
names (@pxref{absolute}), a command like @samp{tar --verify -cf
/tmp/foo.tar /etc} will work as desired only if the working directory is
@file{/}, as @command{tar} uses the archive's relative member names
(e.g., @file{etc/motd}) when verifying the archive.
@node Write Protection
@section Write Protection
Almost all tapes and diskettes, and in a few rare cases, even disks can
be @dfn{write protected}, to protect data on them from being changed.
Once an archive is written, you should write protect the media to prevent
the archive from being accidentally overwritten or deleted. (This will
protect the archive from being changed with a tape or floppy drive---it
will not protect it from magnet fields or other physical hazards.)
The write protection device itself is usually an integral part of the
physical media, and can be a two position (write enabled/write
disabled) switch, a notch which can be popped out or covered, a ring
which can be removed from the center of a tape reel, or some other
changeable feature.
@node Reliability and security
@chapter Reliability and Security
The @command{tar} command reads and writes files as any other
application does, and is subject to the usual caveats about
reliability and security. This section contains some commonsense
advice on the topic.
@menu
* Reliability::
* Security::
@end menu
@node Reliability
@section Reliability
Ideally, when @command{tar} is creating an archive, it reads from a
file system that is not being modified, and encounters no errors or
inconsistencies while reading and writing. If this is the case, the
archive should faithfully reflect what was read. Similarly, when
extracting from an archive, ideally @command{tar} ideally encounters
no errors and the extracted files faithfully reflect what was in the
archive.
However, when reading or writing real-world file systems, several
things can go wrong; these include permissions problems, corruption of
data, and race conditions.
@menu
* Permissions problems::
* Data corruption and repair::
* Race conditions::
@end menu
@node Permissions problems
@subsection Permissions Problems
If @command{tar} encounters errors while reading or writing files, it
normally reports an error and exits with nonzero status. The work it
does may therefore be incomplete. For example, when creating an
archive, if @command{tar} cannot read a file then it cannot copy the
file into the archive.
@node Data corruption and repair
@subsection Data Corruption and Repair
If an archive becomes corrupted by an I/O error, this may corrupt the
data in an extracted file. Worse, it may corrupt the file's metadata,
which may cause later parts of the archive to become misinterpreted.
An tar-format archive contains a checksum that most likely will detect
errors in the metadata, but it will not detect errors in the data.
If data corruption is a concern, you can compute and check your own
checksums of an archive by using other programs, such as
@command{cksum}.
When attempting to recover from a read error or data corruption in an
archive, you may need to skip past the questionable data and read the
rest of the archive. This requires some expertise in the archive
format and in other software tools.
@node Race conditions
@subsection Race conditions
If some other process is modifying the file system while @command{tar}
is reading or writing files, the result may well be inconsistent due
to race conditions. For example, if another process creates some
files in a directory while @command{tar} is creating an archive
containing the directory's files, @command{tar} may see some of the
files but not others, or it may see a file that is in the process of
being created. The resulting archive may not be a snapshot of the
file system at any point in time. If an application such as a
database system depends on an accurate snapshot, restoring from the
@command{tar} archive of a live file system may therefore break that
consistency and may break the application. The simplest way to avoid
the consistency issues is to avoid making other changes to the file
system while tar is reading it or writing it.
When creating an archive, several options are available to avoid race
conditions. Some hosts have a way of snapshotting a file system, or
of temporarily suspending all changes to a file system, by (say)
suspending the only virtual machine that can modify a file system; if
you use these facilities and have @command{tar -c} read from a
snapshot when creating an archive, you can avoid inconsistency
problems. More drastically, before starting @command{tar} you could
suspend or shut down all processes other than @command{tar} that have
access to the file system, or you could unmount the file system and
then mount it read-only.
When extracting from an archive, one approach to avoid race conditions
is to create a directory that no other process can write to, and
extract into that.
@node Security
@section Security
In some cases @command{tar} may be used in an adversarial situation,
where an untrusted user is attempting to gain information about or
modify otherwise-inaccessible files. Dealing with untrusted data
(that is, data generated by an untrusted user) typically requires
extra care, because even the smallest mistake in the use of
@command{tar} is more likely to be exploited by an adversary than by a
race condition.
@menu
* Privacy::
* Integrity::
* Live untrusted data::
* Security rules of thumb::
@end menu
@node Privacy
@subsection Privacy
Standard privacy concerns apply when using @command{tar}. For
example, suppose you are archiving your home directory into a file
@file{/archive/myhome.tar}. Any secret information in your home
directory, such as your SSH secret keys, are copied faithfully into
the archive. Therefore, if your home directory contains any file that
should not be read by some other user, the archive itself should be
not be readable by that user. And even if the archive's data are
inaccessible to untrusted users, its metadata (such as size or
last-modified date) may reveal some information about your home
directory; if the metadata are intended to be private, the archive's
parent directory should also be inaccessible to untrusted users.
One precaution is to create @file{/archive} so that it is not
accessible to any user, unless that user also has permission to access
all the files in your home directory.
Similarly, when extracting from an archive, take care that the
permissions of the extracted files are not more generous than what you
want. Even if the archive itself is readable only to you, files
extracted from it have their own permissions that may differ.
@node Integrity
@subsection Integrity
When creating archives, take care that they are not writable by a
untrusted user; otherwise, that user could modify the archive, and
when you later extract from the archive you will get incorrect data.
When @command{tar} extracts from an archive, by default it writes into
files relative to the working directory. If the archive was generated
by an untrusted user, that user therefore can write into any file
under the working directory. If the working directory contains a
symbolic link to another directory, the untrusted user can also write
into any file under the referenced directory. When extracting from an
untrusted archive, it is therefore good practice to create an empty
directory and run @command{tar} in that directory.
When extracting from two or more untrusted archives, each one should
be extracted independently, into different empty directories.
Otherwise, the first archive could create a symbolic link into an area
outside the working directory, and the second one could follow the
link and overwrite data that is not under the working directory. For
example, when restoring from a series of incremental dumps, the
archives should have been created by a trusted process, as otherwise
the incremental restores might alter data outside the working
directory.
If you use the @option{--absolute-names} (@option{-P}) option when
extracting, @command{tar} respects any file names in the archive, even
file names that begin with @file{/} or contain @file{..}. As this
lets the archive overwrite any file in your system that you can write,
the @option{--absolute-names} (@option{-P}) option should be used only
for trusted archives.
Conversely, with the @option{--keep-old-files} (@option{-k}) and
@option{--skip-old-files} options, @command{tar} refuses to replace
existing files when extracting. The difference between the two
options is that the former treats existing files as errors whereas the
latter just silently ignores them.
Finally, with the @option{--no-overwrite-dir} option, @command{tar}
refuses to replace the permissions or ownership of already-existing
directories. These options may help when extracting from untrusted
archives.
@node Live untrusted data
@subsection Dealing with Live Untrusted Data
Extra care is required when creating from or extracting into a file
system that is accessible to untrusted users. For example, superusers
who invoke @command{tar} must be wary about its actions being hijacked
by an adversary who is reading or writing the file system at the same
time that @command{tar} is operating.
When creating an archive from a live file system, @command{tar} is
vulnerable to denial-of-service attacks. For example, an adversarial
user could create the illusion of an indefinitely-deep directory
hierarchy @file{d/e/f/g/...} by creating directories one step ahead of
@command{tar}, or the illusion of an indefinitely-long file by
creating a sparse file but arranging for blocks to be allocated just
before @command{tar} reads them. There is no easy way for
@command{tar} to distinguish these scenarios from legitimate uses, so
you may need to monitor @command{tar}, just as you'd need to monitor
any other system service, to detect such attacks.
While a superuser is extracting from an archive into a live file
system, an untrusted user might replace a directory with a symbolic
link, in hopes that @command{tar} will follow the symbolic link and
extract data into files that the untrusted user does not have access
to. Even if the archive was generated by the superuser, it may
contain a file such as @file{d/etc/passwd} that the untrusted user
earlier created in order to break in; if the untrusted user replaces
the directory @file{d/etc} with a symbolic link to @file{/etc} while
@command{tar} is running, @command{tar} will overwrite
@file{/etc/passwd}. This attack can be prevented by extracting into a
directory that is inaccessible to untrusted users.
Similar attacks via symbolic links are also possible when creating an
archive, if the untrusted user can modify an ancestor of a top-level
argument of @command{tar}. For example, an untrusted user that can
modify @file{/home/eve} can hijack a running instance of @samp{tar -cf
- /home/eve/Documents/yesterday} by replacing
@file{/home/eve/Documents} with a symbolic link to some other
location. Attacks like these can be prevented by making sure that
untrusted users cannot modify any files that are top-level arguments
to @command{tar}, or any ancestor directories of these files.
@node Security rules of thumb
@subsection Security Rules of Thumb
This section briefly summarizes rules of thumb for avoiding security
pitfalls.
@itemize @bullet
@item
Protect archives at least as much as you protect any of the files
being archived.
@item
Extract from an untrusted archive only into an otherwise-empty
directory. This directory and its parent should be accessible only to
trusted users. For example:
@example
@group
$ @kbd{chmod go-rwx .}
$ @kbd{mkdir -m go-rwx dir}
$ @kbd{cd dir}
$ @kbd{tar -xvf /archives/got-it-off-the-net.tar.gz}
@end group
@end example
As a corollary, do not do an incremental restore from an untrusted archive.
@item
Do not let untrusted users access files extracted from untrusted
archives without checking first for problems such as setuid programs.
@item
Do not let untrusted users modify directories that are ancestors of
top-level arguments of @command{tar}. For example, while you are
executing @samp{tar -cf /archive/u-home.tar /u/home}, do not let an
untrusted user modify @file{/}, @file{/archive}, or @file{/u}.
@item
Pay attention to the diagnostics and exit status of @command{tar}.
@item
When archiving live file systems, monitor running instances of
@command{tar} to detect denial-of-service attacks.
@item
Avoid unusual options such as @option{--absolute-names} (@option{-P}),
@option{--dereference} (@option{-h}), @option{--overwrite},
@option{--recursive-unlink}, and @option{--remove-files} unless you
understand their security implications.
@end itemize
@node Changes
@appendix Changes
This appendix lists some important user-visible changes between
various versions of @GNUTAR{}. An up-to-date version of this document
is available at
@uref{http://www.gnu.org/@/software/@/tar/manual/changes.html,the
@GNUTAR{} documentation page}.
@table @asis
@item Use of globbing patterns when listing and extracting.
Previous versions of GNU tar assumed shell-style globbing when
extracting from or listing an archive. For example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar xf foo.tar '*.c'}
@end smallexample
would extract all files whose names end in @samp{.c}. This behavior
was not documented and was incompatible with traditional tar
implementations. Therefore, starting from version 1.15.91, GNU tar
no longer uses globbing by default. For example, the above invocation
is now interpreted as a request to extract from the archive the file
named @file{*.c}.
To facilitate transition to the new behavior for those users who got
used to the previous incorrect one, @command{tar} will print a warning
if it finds out that a requested member was not found in the archive
and its name looks like a globbing pattern. For example:
@smallexample
$ @kbd{tar xf foo.tar '*.c'}
tar: Pattern matching characters used in file names. Please,
tar: use --wildcards to enable pattern matching, or --no-wildcards to
tar: suppress this warning.
tar: *.c: Not found in archive
tar: Error exit delayed from previous errors
@end smallexample
To treat member names as globbing patterns, use the @option{--wildcards} option.
If you want to tar to mimic the behavior of versions prior to 1.15.91,
add this option to your @env{TAR_OPTIONS} variable.
@xref{wildcards}, for the detailed discussion of the use of globbing
patterns by @GNUTAR{}.
@item Use of short option @option{-o}.
Earlier versions of @GNUTAR{} understood @option{-o} command line
option as a synonym for @option{--old-archive}.
@GNUTAR{} starting from version 1.13.90 understands this option as
a synonym for @option{--no-same-owner}. This is compatible with
UNIX98 @command{tar} implementations.
However, to facilitate transition, @option{-o} option retains its
old semantics when it is used with one of archive-creation commands.
Users are encouraged to use @option{--format=oldgnu} instead.
It is especially important, since versions of @acronym{GNU} Automake
up to and including 1.8.4 invoke tar with this option to produce
distribution tarballs. @xref{Formats,v7}, for the detailed discussion
of this issue and its implications.
@xref{Options, tar-formats, Changing Automake's Behavior,
automake, GNU Automake}, for a description on how to use various
archive formats with @command{automake}.
Future versions of @GNUTAR{} will understand @option{-o} only as a
synonym for @option{--no-same-owner}.
@item Use of short option @option{-l}
Earlier versions of @GNUTAR{} understood @option{-l} option as a
synonym for @option{--one-file-system}. Since such usage contradicted
to UNIX98 specification and harmed compatibility with other
implementations, it was declared deprecated in version 1.14. However,
to facilitate transition to its new semantics, it was supported by
versions 1.15 and 1.15.90. The present use of @option{-l} as a short
variant of @option{--check-links} was introduced in version 1.15.91.
@item Use of options @option{--portability} and @option{--old-archive}
These options are deprecated. Please use @option{--format=v7} instead.
@item Use of option @option{--posix}
This option is deprecated. Please use @option{--format=posix} instead.
@end table
@node Recipes
@appendix Recipes
@include recipes.texi
@node Configuring Help Summary
@appendix Configuring Help Summary
Running @kbd{tar --help} displays the short @command{tar} option
summary (@pxref{help}). This summary is organized by @dfn{groups} of
semantically close options. The options within each group are printed
in the following order: a short option, eventually followed by a list
of corresponding long option names, followed by a short description of
the option. For example, here is an excerpt from the actual @kbd{tar
--help} output:
@verbatim
Main operation mode:
-A, --catenate, --concatenate append tar files to an archive
-c, --create create a new archive
-d, --diff, --compare find differences between archive and
file system
--delete delete from the archive
@end verbatim
@vrindex ARGP_HELP_FMT, environment variable
The exact visual representation of the help output is configurable via
@env{ARGP_HELP_FMT} environment variable. The value of this variable
is a comma-separated list of @dfn{format variable} assignments. There
are two kinds of format variables. An @dfn{offset variable} keeps the
offset of some part of help output text from the leftmost column on
the screen. A @dfn{boolean} variable is a flag that toggles some
output feature on or off. Depending on the type of the corresponding
variable, there are two kinds of assignments:
@table @asis
@item Offset assignment
The assignment to an offset variable has the following syntax:
@smallexample
@var{variable}=@var{value}
@end smallexample
@noindent
where @var{variable} is the variable name, and @var{value} is a
numeric value to be assigned to the variable.
@item Boolean assignment
To assign @code{true} value to a variable, simply put this variable name. To
assign @code{false} value, prefix the variable name with @samp{no-}. For
example:
@smallexample
@group
# Assign @code{true} value:
dup-args
# Assign @code{false} value:
no-dup-args
@end group
@end smallexample
@end table
Following variables are declared:
@deftypevr {Help Output} boolean dup-args
If true, arguments for an option are shown with both short and long
options, even when a given option has both forms, for example:
@smallexample
-f ARCHIVE, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
@end smallexample
If false, then if an option has both short and long forms, the
argument is only shown with the long one, for example:
@smallexample
-f, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
@end smallexample
@noindent
and a message indicating that the argument is applicable to both
forms is printed below the options. This message can be disabled
using @code{dup-args-note} (see below).
The default is false.
@end deftypevr
@deftypevr {Help Output} boolean dup-args-note
If this variable is true, which is the default, the following notice
is displayed at the end of the help output:
@quotation
Mandatory or optional arguments to long options are also mandatory or
optional for any corresponding short options.
@end quotation
Setting @code{no-dup-args-note} inhibits this message. Normally, only one of
variables @code{dup-args} or @code{dup-args-note} should be set.
@end deftypevr
@deftypevr {Help Output} offset short-opt-col
Column in which short options start. Default is 2.
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar --help|grep ARCHIVE}
-f, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
$ @kbd{ARGP_HELP_FMT=short-opt-col=6 tar --help|grep ARCHIVE}
-f, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
@end group
@end smallexample
@end deftypevr
@deftypevr {Help Output} offset long-opt-col
Column in which long options start. Default is 6. For example:
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar --help|grep ARCHIVE}
-f, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
$ @kbd{ARGP_HELP_FMT=long-opt-col=16 tar --help|grep ARCHIVE}
-f, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
@end group
@end smallexample
@end deftypevr
@deftypevr {Help Output} offset doc-opt-col
Column in which @dfn{doc options} start. A doc option isn't actually
an option, but rather an arbitrary piece of documentation that is
displayed in much the same manner as the options. For example, in
the description of @option{--format} option:
@smallexample
@group
-H, --format=FORMAT create archive of the given format.
FORMAT is one of the following:
gnu GNU tar 1.13.x format
oldgnu GNU format as per tar <= 1.12
pax POSIX 1003.1-2001 (pax) format
posix same as pax
ustar POSIX 1003.1-1988 (ustar) format
v7 old V7 tar format
@end group
@end smallexample
@noindent
the format names are doc options. Thus, if you set
@kbd{ARGP_HELP_FMT=doc-opt-col=6} the above part of the help output
will look as follows:
@smallexample
@group
-H, --format=FORMAT create archive of the given format.
FORMAT is one of the following:
gnu GNU tar 1.13.x format
oldgnu GNU format as per tar <= 1.12
pax POSIX 1003.1-2001 (pax) format
posix same as pax
ustar POSIX 1003.1-1988 (ustar) format
v7 old V7 tar format
@end group
@end smallexample
@end deftypevr
@deftypevr {Help Output} offset opt-doc-col
Column in which option description starts. Default is 29.
@smallexample
@group
$ @kbd{tar --help|grep ARCHIVE}
-f, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
$ @kbd{ARGP_HELP_FMT=opt-doc-col=19 tar --help|grep ARCHIVE}
-f, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
$ @kbd{ARGP_HELP_FMT=opt-doc-col=9 tar --help|grep ARCHIVE}
-f, --file=ARCHIVE
use archive file or device ARCHIVE
@end group
@end smallexample
@noindent
Notice, that the description starts on a separate line if
@code{opt-doc-col} value is too small.
@end deftypevr
@deftypevr {Help Output} offset header-col
Column in which @dfn{group headers} are printed. A group header is a
descriptive text preceding an option group. For example, in the
following text:
@verbatim
Main operation mode:
-A, --catenate, --concatenate append tar files to
an archive
-c, --create create a new archive
@end verbatim
@noindent
@samp{Main operation mode:} is the group header.
The default value is 1.
@end deftypevr
@deftypevr {Help Output} offset usage-indent
Indentation of wrapped usage lines. Affects @option{--usage}
output. Default is 12.
@end deftypevr
@deftypevr {Help Output} offset rmargin
Right margin of the text output. Used for wrapping.
@end deftypevr
@node Fixing Snapshot Files
@appendix Fixing Snapshot Files
@include tar-snapshot-edit.texi
@node Tar Internals
@appendix Tar Internals
@include intern.texi
@node Genfile
@appendix Genfile
@include genfile.texi
@node GNU Free Documentation License
@appendix GNU Free Documentation License
@include fdl.texi
@node Index of Command Line Options
@appendix Index of Command Line Options
This appendix contains an index of all @GNUTAR{} long command line
options. The options are listed without the preceding double-dash.
For a cross-reference of short command line options, see
@ref{Short Option Summary}.
@printindex op
@node Index
@appendix Index
@printindex cp
@summarycontents
@contents
@bye
@c Local variables:
@c texinfo-column-for-description: 32
@c End:
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