gnu-tar ☆
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Description:
GNU version of the tar archiving utility
Type: Formula  |  Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025
Links: Homepage  |  formulae.brew.sh
Category: System utilities
Tags: archive backup cli compression utilities
Install: brew install gnu-tar
About:
GNU Tar is a powerful command-line utility for creating and manipulating archive files, primarily tape archives. It can combine multiple files into a single archive file while preserving file system structure and permissions. Its main value is in efficient data backup and transfer, with robust support for compression and incremental backups.
Key Features:
  • Create and extract archive files (tar, tar.gz, tar.bz2, tar.xz)
  • Preserve file permissions, ownership, and timestamps
  • Incremental backups to save storage space
  • Append files to existing archives
  • Pipe-based integration with compression utilities
Use Cases:
  • System backups and data archival
  • Software source code distribution
  • File system migration and transfer
Alternatives:
  • bsdtar – Libarchive-based, often pre-installed on macOS, compatible with multiple formats
  • 7zip – Cross-platform with higher compression ratios but less Unix-native
Version History
Detected Version Rev Change Commit
Aug 29, 2026 5:13pm 1 REVISION_ONLY d78fdfa7
Sep 10, 2024 8:18am 0 VERSION_BUMP 63be8e6c
Sep 13, 2023 1:27pm 0 VERSION_BUMP 19fe129f
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