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Unzipping and detarring a file, again
I am trying to unzip and detar a file, fileback.tgz, by typing gzip -dc fileback.tgz | tar -xvf. The system (Debian 2.4.18) returns a reply: tar: option requires an argument -- f. I have also tried to unzip the file first, with the intention of detarring the result. When I do this, text flies by on the monitor for about 15 seconds, but the file name is unchanged. I don't know what I'm doing wrong or what to do. Your help will be appreciated.
In case you don't have GNU tar installed on your system, you can do:
gunzip fileback.tgz
then you get: fileback.tar
the use:
to verify what's in the tar ball
tar tvf fileback.tar
to untart the files
tar xvf fileback.tar
cheers!
gunzip fileback.tgz
then you get: fileback.tar
the use:
to verify what's in the tar ball
tar tvf fileback.tar
to untart the files
tar xvf fileback.tar
cheers!
Or, using the form in the question you can do 'gzip -d <file.tgz | tar xvf -'
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No, you DON'T NEED gnu tar! Use either
gzip -dc filename | tar xvf -
or
gzcat filename | tar xvf -
The "-" is important for tar as the filename must be provided. The - stands for stdin
gzip -dc filename | tar xvf -
or
gzcat filename | tar xvf -
The "-" is important for tar as the filename must be provided. The - stands for stdin
Normally on Linux you have two commands
lz <zipped-tarred-file>
to show the contents of a package and
uz <zipped-tarred-file>
to unzip the package in the current directory.
I find these much easier than remembering all the options that are necessary for gzip and tar.
Dominik.
lz <zipped-tarred-file>
to show the contents of a package and
uz <zipped-tarred-file>
to unzip the package in the current directory.
I find these much easier than remembering all the options that are necessary for gzip and tar.
Dominik.
This is a general question. You can do either
a) use specific "short cuts" like lz or uz and be happy and don't care
about these many options and UNIX command around,
or
b) use the "generic" UNIX commands like "tar" and "gzcat" and be
an experienced UNIX admin who will be able to work on many
different UNIX brands.
It's just a question of personal taste ...
a) use specific "short cuts" like lz or uz and be happy and don't care
about these many options and UNIX command around,
or
b) use the "generic" UNIX commands like "tar" and "gzcat" and be
an experienced UNIX admin who will be able to work on many
different UNIX brands.
It's just a question of personal taste ...
cd /dir-to-restore
tar -zxf fileback.tgz
I suggest you to use the following command to verify what's in the tarball first:
tar -ztvf fileback.tgz