Extract .tar.gz and .tgz Files in Windows 11 Natively

This article explains how to extract .tar.gz, .tgz, or .gz (tarball) files on Windows 11.

Windows originally didn’t have built-in or native support for files created with the tar command and compressed with gzip “.tar.gz” (tarball). If one needed to extract an archive compressed using any of these formats, that person would need a third-party tool like 7-Zip, PeaZip, or other open-source software.

A tarball file is created using the Unix-based archival application tar and then compressed using gzip compression. It was developed for Linux-type operating systems.

The latest version of Windows 11 has native or built-in support for .tar.gz, .tgz, or .gz file format. No need for additional tools when you want to extract content from these files.

In addition, Windows devices with WSL can use the virtual Linux environment to extract tarballs content.

Below are commands to extract tarball formats in Windows 11 natively and without additional software.

Extract .tar.gz, .tgz, and .gz tarballs

As mentioned above, you don’t need additional tools to extract files created with tar and compressed with gzip in Windows 11 today.

Windows now has built-in support for these file types, and below is how to use it to extract your tarball files.

First, open the Command Prompt app or use the Windows Terminal app and select the Command Prompt tab.

Next, run the commands below to extract a tarball file.

tar -xvzf C:UsersGeekRewindDownloadsFileName.tar.gz -C C:UsersGeekRewindDocuments

The command above specifies the source path, the file’s name, and the extracted content’s destination.

In my case, the command extracts the tar file (FileName.tar.gz) in my Downloads folder (C:UsersGeekRewindDownloads), which is the source, and saves it in my Documents folder (C:UsersGeekRewindDocuments), which is the destination.

Here are descriptions of the tar command options:

• tar -tf – List tarball files.
• tar -xf – Extract tarball files.
• tar -cf [filenames…] – Create tarball files.
• tar -zf – tells tar to uncompress the content of a “.tar.gz” file with gzip.

That should do it!

Conclusion:

• Windows 11 now offers built-in support for extracting tarball files compressed with gzip, eliminating the need for third-party software tools.
• Users can directly extract .tar.gz, .tgz, and .gz tarballs in Windows 11 without additional software, enhancing file management efficiency.
• With the integration of a virtual Linux environment through WSL, Windows 11 users can further streamline the extraction process for tarball files, expanding the range of supported functionalities.

Frequently Asked Questions