Tar (computing)
computer file format that can combine multiple files into a single file called "tarball"
tar is a file format and a file archiver program. The program combines multiple files into a single archive file in the tar file format. It was originally developed for magnetic tape computer storage – reading and writing data for a sequential I/O device with no file system, and the name is short for the format description "tape archive". When stored in a file system, a file that tar reads and writes is often called a tarball.
A tarball contains metadata for the contained files including the name, ownership, timestamps, permissions and directory organization. As a file containing other files with associated metadata, a tarball is useful for software distribution and backup.
POSIX abandoned tar in favor of pax, yet tar continues to have widespread use.
History
The command was introduced to Unix in January 1979, replacing the tp program (which in turn replaced "tap"). The file structure was standardized in POSIX.1-1988 and later POSIX.1-2001, and became a format supported by most modern file archiving utilities. The tar command was abandoned in POSIX.1-2001 in favor of pax, which was to support the ustar file format, and tar was indicated for withdrawal in favor of pax at least since 1994.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Tar (computing)” as computer file format that can combine multiple files into a single file called "tarball". Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as computer file format that can combine multiple files into a single file called "tarball". Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q283579. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1979, 1988, 2001 and 1994.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Tar (computing)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.