How to Extract tar.gz Files in Windows 11

Why You Might Need This

You might need to extract tar.gz files in Windows 11 because these archives, common on Linux, used to require special software to open, but Windows 11 now handles them easily.

A tarball is a file created using the Unix-based tar application and then compressed using gzip compression. It was originally made for Linux systems.

The good news? Windows 11 now has built-in support for .tar.gz, .tgz, and .gz files. You don’t need extra tools anymore.

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

How to Extract Tarball Files in 🪟 Windows 11

What You’ll Need

Windows 11 now includes native support for these file types. Follow the steps below to extract your tarball files.

Steps to Extract Your Files

1. First, open the Command Prompt app or use the Windows Terminal app and select the Command Prompt tab.
2. Next, run the command below to extract a tarball file:
   

   To extract your tar.gz files in Windows 11 using the built-in tools, open Command Prompt or Windows Terminal and use the tar command.

   
   

This command tells Windows where to find the file and where to save the extracted content.

In this example, the command extracts the tar file (FileName.tar.gz) from your Downloads folder (C:\Users\User\Downloads), which is the source. It saves the extracted files to your Documents folder (C:\Users\User\Documents), which is the destination.

Understanding Tar Command Options

Understanding tar command options helps you manage your archives in Windows 11, letting you easily extract files, list contents, or create new tarballs.

• tar -tf – List all files inside a tarball.
• 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’s all you need to do!

Summary

Windows 11 now lets you extract tar.gz files without extra software, thanks to built-in support for the tar command.