Create TAR Archive Online Free — TAR and TAR.GZ

What Is a TAR Archive and When Should You Use One?

TAR (Tape Archive) was originally designed to bundle files for tape backup. Today it is the standard packaging format on Linux and macOS — most open-source software is distributed as.tar.gz or .tar.xz releases.

Unlike ZIP, TAR itself does not compress — it just concatenates files into a single stream. Compression is added as a separate layer: GZIP produces .tar.gz, BZIP2 produces.tar.bz2, and so on. This design makes TAR more composable and better at preserving Unix file metadata.

TAR vs TAR.GZ vs ZIP — Which Format to Use?

How to Create a TAR Archive Online — Step by Step

1. Open the TAR Creator tool.
2. Drag your files onto the dropzone or click Browse to select multiple files.
3. Select your output format: TAR.GZ (compressed) or TAR(uncompressed).
4. Click Create Archive.
5. Download archive.tar or archive.tar.gz.

Advanced Workflows

Creating a TAR.GZ for a Linux server deployment

Bundle your application files here, download the .tar.gz, then upload and extract on your server with tar -xzf archive.tar.gz. This is far faster than uploading individual files via FTP.

Sharing source code without a git repo

Select your source files (excluding node_modules and build artefacts), choose TAR.GZ, and share the archive. Anyone on macOS or Linux can extract it natively. Windows users on Windows 11 can open .tar natively; for .tar.gz they can use Untar Online or 7-Zip.

Bundling configuration files for a backup

Plain TAR (no compression) is ideal when you just want a single file that contains multiple configs. Since config files are typically small, the uncompressed size is negligible and you save CPU time. Store as .tar and compress the whole backup volume separately if needed.

TAR on Windows 11

Windows 11 supports tar natively in Command Prompt and PowerShell. If you prefer a GUI, this browser tool handles the common cases without touching the terminal — useful on locked-down machines where you cannot install software.

Common Questions

Does this preserve folder structure?

The browser File API does not expose folder paths, so files are archived at the root level with their original filenames preserved. For folder-structure-preserving archives, use the native tar command on Linux/macOS.

Are my files uploaded anywhere?

No. Both the TAR assembly and the GZIP compression run in your browser using JavaScript. Your files never leave your device.

How do I open a TAR.GZ on Windows?

Use the companion Untar Online tool — it extracts .tar, .tar.gz, and .tgz archives in any browser. Alternatively, install 7-Zip on Windows or use WSL.