In Unix, what kind of file ends in .tgz?

A .tgz file has been archived using the Unix tar (tape archive) utility, then compressed using gzip. The gzip utility is an alternative to the compress program on Unix computers, and yields slightly better performance.

To uncompress and unarchive the file at the same time, use the zcat program, which sends a gzipped file to "standard out" (the terminal):

Replace file.tgz with the name of your file.

Note: A file ending in .taz also has been tarred and gzipped, but is of an older file naming standard. The procedure for uncompressing and unarchiving a .taz file is the same as indicated above.

At Indiana University, to get support for personal or departmental Linux or Unix systems, see At IU, how do I get support for Linux or Unix?

Also see:

• What does the .Z file extension mean?
• In Unix, what is tar, and how do I use it?
• In Unix, how can I uncompress *.Z or *.tar.Z files?
• In Windows, how do I decompress a .gz file?
• At IU, in Unix, how can I make better use of my disk quota?
• In Unix, how do I create or decompress zip files?
• In Unix, how can I read a file that ends in .Z, .z, .gz, or .bz2?
• What do some common Unix file extensions mean?