TAR Extractor
Unpack TAR archives in your browser — no command line needed, perfect for source and backup tarballs.
🔒 Local only, no upload.
💾 Large tars depend on device memory.
512-byte blocks and Pax headers
- tar pads every file to 512-byte blocks — many tiny files means visible padding waste.
- Long paths exceed the classic header space; Pax/GNU extensions carry them in extra prelude entries handled transparently here.
- Uncompressed .tar extracts faster than any compressed sibling — no decompression pass.
The 1979 format that still runs the internet
No terminal needed
Unpack tarballs without tar -xf, on any OS including Windows.
Preserves structure
Folders, empty directories and long names (pax/GNU) are handled correctly.
Unicode correct
File names are decoded as UTF-8, unlike the WASM fallback.
How it works
- 1
Drop your .tar file.
- 2
Browse the file tree.
- 3
Download files individually.
- 4
Or grab all as ZIP.
Frequently asked questions
What is TAR?⌄
TAR packs many files into one uncompressed container, originally for tape backups.
TAR vs ZIP?⌄
TAR is uncompressed bundling; ZIP compresses each file. TAR is usually paired with gzip.
Does it handle long file names?⌄
Yes, ustar prefix, pax and GNU longname are all supported.
What about symlinks?⌄
Symlinks are listed with their target but not extracted as files.
Size limit?⌄
10GB hard line; practical browser about 1.5GB desktop.
Can it create TAR?⌄
No, extraction only in this tool.
Related tools
What Is a TAR File?
TAR (Tape Archive) is not a compressor but a container: it concatenates many files with 512-byte headers, preserving permissions and folder structure. On Unix it is the standard way to bundle source code and backups, often together with gzip (.tar.gz).
TAR is not compression
A plain .tar is uncompressed; its size is the sum of its files. That is why you see .tar.gz and .tgz — tar does the bundling, gzip does the shrinking.
Symlinks
TAR can store symlinks; this tool lists them but does not follow them, for safety.
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