Archive
What is a .tar file?
A .tar file is a Tape Archive Format. This is an archive — a container holding other files, usually compressed.
How to open a .tar file
- 7-Zip (Windows) or Keka / The Unarchiver (Mac) extract most archive formats, including old ones.
- On Linux, try `7z x`, `unar` or Ark.
The registry records this extension against Tape Archive Format, so software from that family is the most likely match.
How to convert a .tar file
- Extract the contents, then re-compress as .zip if you need to share them widely.
MIME type
When a .tar file travels over the web, servers label it with this MIME type:
application/x-tarThe technical record
For archivists, developers and the merely curious: these are the PRONOM registry entries for .tar.
| Format name | Version | MIME type | PUID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tape Archive Format | — | application/x-tar | x-fmt/265 |