ARCHIVED: In Unix, how do I install a program distributed in *.tar format?

A program that is in *.tar format has been archived using the Unix tar command. An archived file is one file that contains many files. To install a program that is in *.tar format, you must first separate, or unpack, the individual files. To do so, at the prompt, enter the following command:

  tar -xvf filename.tar

Replace filename with the name of the program you are installing.

In most cases this will create a directory called filename (the name of your program) which includes all of the source files for the program. To go into this directory, enter the following command, replacing filename with the name of your program directory:

  cd filename

In many cases, files distributed in *.tar format are also compressed, in which case the files must first be decompressed. For instructions, see the following:

• If your file contains a .tar.gz or .tgz extension, see Use tar to combine multiple files into an archive file
• If your file contains a .tar.Z extension, see About compressed files in Unix.

Most free Unix programs are distributed as source files. These are text files containing the program file. In most cases you will need to compile the program for the system on which you are installing the program. Most free Unix programs will come with a text file called README or INSTALL with specific instructions. Usually you will need to complete the following steps:

1. Configure the software: Some programs come with a shell script called configure. This shell script will scan your computer to determine the location of files necessary for the program to work. If you are installing the program on a shared Unix system, you will want to install the files in your home directory. To do so, enter the following command:

     ./configure --prefix=$HOME

   For programs that don't have a configure script, you may need to edit a file called a Makefile in order to install the software. The README or INSTALL file will explain how to do this.

2. Compile the program: Compiling the program creates an executable file. To compile the program for most Unix packages, from the program's directory, enter make.
3. Install the program: In some cases you may be able to install the program in your home directory by entering the command:

     make install

   For other packages you may need to move the executable files to your home directory. To do so, use the following command:

     mv filename ~/bin

   Replace filename with the name of the executable file you are moving.