Create a tarball backup
Creating a tarball backup is a common practice in Linux for archiving files and directories. A tarball, typically with a .tar or .tar.gz extension, is created using the tar command. In this tutorial, we will cover how to back up a directory, back up multiple files, and decompress a tarball.
Backing Up a Directory
To create a tarball backup of a directory, you can use the following command:
tar -cvzf backup-directory.tar.gz /path/to/directory
Explanation of the options:
c: Create a new archive.v: Verbosely list files processed (optional, for user feedback).z: Compress the archive using gzip.f: Specify the name of the archive file.
Example:
tar -cvzf my_backup.tar.gz /home/user/my_directory
This command will create a compressed tarball named my_backup.tar.gz containing the contents of my_directory.
Backing Up Multiple Files
To back up multiple specific files into a single tarball, you can specify the file paths directly in the command:
tar -cvzf backup-files.tar.gz /path/to/file1 /path/to/file2 /path/to/file3
Example:
tar -cvzf my_files_backup.tar.gz /home/user/file1.txt /home/user/file2.txt /home/user/file3.txt
This command will create a tarball named my_files_backup.tar.gz that includes file1.txt, file2.txt, and file3.txt.
Decompressing a Tarball
To decompress a .tar.gz file, use the following command:
tar -xvzf backup-directory.tar.gz
Explanation of the options:
x: Extract files from an archive.v: Verbosely list files processed (optional).z: Decompress using gzip.f: Specify the name of the archive file.
Example:
tar -xvzf my_backup.tar.gz
This command will extract the contents of my_backup.tar.gz into the current directory.
Summary
Creating a tarball backup of a directory:
tar -cvzf my_backup.tar.gz /path/to/directory
Creating a tarball backup of multiple files:
tar -cvzf my_files_backup.tar.gz /path/to/file1 /path/to/file2 /path/to/file3
Decompressing a tarball:
tar -xvzf my_backup.tar.gz
By using these commands, you can effectively manage your backups in Linux. Happy backing up!