{"id":1123,"date":"2026-08-09T09:13:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T13:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.xconvert.com\/blog\/?p=1123"},"modified":"2026-06-27T03:01:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T07:01:10","slug":"extract-a-tar-gz-file","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.xconvert.com\/blog\/extract-a-tar-gz-file","title":{"rendered":"How to Extract a TAR.GZ \/ TGZ File (Linux, Mac, Windows)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You downloaded a Linux tool, a source-code release, or a server backup and ended up with a file ending in <strong><code>.tar.gz<\/code><\/strong> (or its shorthand, <strong><code>.tgz<\/code><\/strong>). Double-clicking it on an older Windows machine did nothing useful, and the file name has <em>two<\/em> extensions, which is its own small mystery. This guide explains what a <code>.tar.gz<\/code> actually is \u2014 two compression layers stacked, not one \u2014 and gives you the exact way to open it on Linux, macOS, Windows 11, older Windows, and online. We verified the tar\/gzip mechanics against the GNU manuals and the Windows native-support timeline against Microsoft\u2019s own announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> A <code>.tar.gz<\/code> is <strong>two layers<\/strong>: <code>tar<\/code> bundles many files into one archive (no compression), then <code>gzip<\/code> compresses that bundle. <code>.tgz<\/code> is just a shorter name for the same thing. To extract: on <strong>Linux\/macOS<\/strong> run <code>tar -xzf file.tar.gz<\/code> (or double-click on a Mac); on <strong>Windows 11 (23H2+)<\/strong> right-click \u2192 <strong>Extract All<\/strong> works natively; on <strong>older Windows<\/strong> use 7-Zip (it takes two passes); or drop the file into an online extractor and download the contents \u2014 no install needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Jump to a section<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"#what\">What .tar.gz and .tgz actually are<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#linux-mac\">Extract on Linux and macOS<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#windows-11\">Extract on Windows 11 (native)<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#older-windows\">Extract on older Windows with 7-Zip<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#tool\">Extract a TAR.GZ online on xconvert<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#faq\">FAQ<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what\">What .tar.gz and .tgz actually are<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The double extension is the whole story. A <code>.tar.gz<\/code> file is the result of running <strong>two separate tools<\/strong> in sequence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong><code>tar<\/code><\/strong> (\u201ctape archive\u201d) takes many files and folders and concatenates them into a <em>single<\/em> file \u2014 the <code>.tar<\/code> archive \u2014 preserving directory structure, permissions, ownership, and timestamps. Critically, <strong>tar does not compress anything.<\/strong> Per the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gnu.org\/software\/tar\/manual\/tar.html\">GNU tar manual<\/a>, tar\u2019s job is to bundle; compression is handled by an external program.<\/li><li><strong><code>gzip<\/code><\/strong> then compresses that single <code>.tar<\/code> file into a <code>.tar.gz<\/code>. gzip is a stream compressor \u2014 it shrinks one file or stream at a time, which is exactly why it pairs with tar: tar first turns your whole folder into <em>one<\/em> stream, and gzip squeezes that stream down.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the pipeline is <strong>bundle, then compress<\/strong>: <code>folder \u2192 tar \u2192 .tar \u2192 gzip \u2192 .tar.gz<\/code>. Extracting reverses it \u2014 gunzip the outer layer, then untar the inner archive. That two-step nature is why a single decompression tool that only knows ZIP can\u2019t always open a <code>.tar.gz<\/code>, and why the classic <code>tar -xzf<\/code> command exists to do both passes at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><code>.tgz<\/code> is identical to <code>.tar.gz<\/code>.<\/strong> It\u2019s a contracted spelling for filesystems or tools that historically disliked double extensions. Same format, same tools, same commands \u2014 if a guide works for one, it works for the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This format is everywhere in the open-source world: Linux source tarballs, npm package tarballs, Python sdists, Docker image layers, and most Unix backups all use <code>.tar.gz<\/code> because tar preserves Unix file metadata that ZIP handles less cleanly, and gzip is fast and universally available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"linux-mac\">Extract on Linux and macOS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On any Unix-like system, one command does both layers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reading the flags (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gnu.org\/software\/tar\/manual\/tar.html\">GNU tar manual<\/a>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong><code>-x<\/code><\/strong> \u2014 e<strong>x<\/strong>tract members from the archive.<\/li><li><strong><code>-z<\/code><\/strong> \u2014 pipe the archive through <strong>gzip<\/strong> (this is the layer that handles the <code>.gz<\/code> part).<\/li><li><strong><code>-f<\/code><\/strong> \u2014 the next argument is the <strong>f<\/strong>ile name to read.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Add <strong><code>-v<\/code><\/strong> (<code>tar -xzvf file.tar.gz<\/code>) if you want it to print each file as it extracts. To extract into a specific folder, append <strong><code>-C \/path\/to\/dir<\/code><\/strong>. To peek inside without extracting, swap <code>-x<\/code> for <code>-t<\/code> (list): <code>tar -tzf file.tar.gz<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>On a Mac you usually don\u2019t need the Terminal at all.<\/strong> Just <strong>double-click the <code>.tar.gz<\/code> (or <code>.tgz<\/code>) in Finder<\/strong> \u2014 macOS\u2019s built-in <strong>Archive Utility<\/strong> opens automatically and extracts the contents into the same folder, handling both the gzip and tar layers for you. The Terminal command above works identically on macOS if you prefer it (Apple documents <code>tar<\/code> in its <a href=\"https:\/\/support.apple.com\/guide\/terminal\/compress-and-uncompress-file-archives-apdc52250ee-4659-4751-9a3a-8b7988150530\/mac\">Terminal guide<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"windows-11\">Extract on Windows 11 (native)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For years, Windows could open ZIP files in File Explorer but not <code>.tar.gz<\/code>. That changed in <strong>Windows 11<\/strong>: Microsoft added native support for many archive formats \u2014 including <code>.tar<\/code>, <code>.tar.gz<\/code>, and <code>.tgz<\/code> \u2014 using the open-source <strong>libarchive<\/strong> library. The capability was announced at Build 2023 (May 2023) and shipped to Windows 11 through a late-October 2023 update; the supported list spans <code>.rar<\/code>, <code>.7z<\/code>, <code>.tar<\/code>, <code>.tar.gz<\/code>, <code>.tar.bz2<\/code>, <code>.tar.zst<\/code>, <code>.tar.xz<\/code>, <code>.tgz<\/code>, <code>.tbz2<\/code>, <code>.tzst<\/code>, and <code>.txz<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To extract on Windows 11:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Right-click the <code>.tar.gz<\/code> (or <code>.tgz<\/code>) file in File Explorer.<\/li><li>Choose <strong>Extract All\u2026<\/strong> and follow the prompts. You can also double-click the file to browse inside it like a folder and drag items out.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Windows 11 24H2<\/strong> went further and added the ability to <em>create<\/em> <code>.tar.gz<\/code> archives (choosing <strong>Gzip<\/strong> as the compression method) directly from File Explorer, not just extract them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>One important limitation:<\/strong> per <a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/windows\/zip-and-unzip-files-8d28fa72-f2f9-712f-67df-f80cf89fd4e5\">Microsoft\u2019s support page<\/a>, Windows does <strong>not<\/strong> support operations on <strong>encrypted<\/strong> archives natively \u2014 for those you still need 7-Zip or WinRAR. Plain <code>.tar.gz<\/code> files (which gzip doesn\u2019t encrypt) extract fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s also a built-in command line on every modern Windows: <code>tar -xzf file.tar.gz<\/code> works in Windows 10 (1803+) and Windows 11, because Microsoft bundles bsdtar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"older-windows\">Extract on older Windows with 7-Zip<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On <strong>Windows 10 and earlier<\/strong> (without the native libarchive support), File Explorer can\u2019t open <code>.tar.gz<\/code> by right-click. The standard free tool is <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.7-zip.org\/\">7-Zip<\/a><\/strong>, and it reveals the two-layer structure clearly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Install 7-Zip, then right-click the <code>.tar.gz<\/code> \u2192 <strong>7-Zip<\/strong> \u2192 <strong>Open archive<\/strong>. You\u2019ll see a single <code>.tar<\/code> file inside \u2014 that\u2019s the gzip layer peeled off.<\/li><li>Open that <code>.tar<\/code>, and <em>now<\/em> you see your actual files and folders \u2014 that\u2019s the tar layer.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In other words, 7-Zip extracts a <code>.tar.gz<\/code> in <strong>two passes<\/strong>: first <code>.tar.gz<\/code> \u2192 <code>.tar<\/code>, then <code>.tar<\/code> \u2192 your files. (You can also use <strong>Extract Here<\/strong> twice to land at the contents.) WinRAR behaves the same way. This two-step behavior trips up a lot of first-timers who expect a single extract \u2014 it\u2019s a direct consequence of the format being two stacked layers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you\u2019d rather not install anything, the online route below works on any OS and any browser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tool\">Extract a TAR.GZ online on xconvert<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you\u2019re on a locked-down machine, a Chromebook, or just don\u2019t want to install 7-Zip, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xconvert.com\/extract-tar.gz\">xconvert TAR.GZ extractor<\/a> handles both layers in one step and lets you download the contents:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.xconvert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/step-01-control-77.png\" alt=\"Click Extract \u2014 xconvert decompresses the gzip layer and unpacks the tar archive, keeping folders intact\" class=\"wp-image-1387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.xconvert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/step-01-control-77.png 1600w, https:\/\/www.xconvert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/step-01-control-77-300x234.png 300w, https:\/\/www.xconvert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/step-01-control-77-1024x800.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.xconvert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/step-01-control-77-768x600.png 768w, https:\/\/www.xconvert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/step-01-control-77-1536x1200.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Open <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xconvert.com\/extract-tar.gz\">xconvert.com\/extract-tar.gz<\/a> and click <strong>+ Add Files<\/strong> to upload your archive \u2014 <strong>From my Computer<\/strong>, <strong>From Google Drive<\/strong>, or <strong>From Dropbox<\/strong>. It accepts both <code>.tar.gz<\/code> and <code>.tgz<\/code>.<\/li><li>(Optional) Open <strong>Advanced Options<\/strong> (the gear icon) if you need to adjust anything \u2014 the defaults are tuned to preserve the original folder structure, so most people skip this.<\/li><li>Click <strong>Extract<\/strong>. The tool decompresses the gzip layer and unpacks the tar archive, keeping folders and subfolders intact.<\/li><li>Browse the resulting file tree and <strong>download<\/strong> the whole set or pick individual files and subfolders.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your archive uploads over an encrypted connection, is processed on our servers, and is automatically deleted a few hours later \u2014 nothing is retained or shared. (For especially sensitive backups, local extraction with <code>tar -xzf<\/code> keeps the data on your own machine.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Need to go the other way, or handle a plain <code>.zip<\/code> instead? See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xconvert.com\/blog\/unzip-files-online\/\">how to unzip files online<\/a> for the ZIP workflow, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xconvert.com\/blog\/open-and-extract-a-rar-file\/\">open and extract a RAR file<\/a> for <code>.rar<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"faq\">FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the difference between .tar.gz and .tgz?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>There is none \u2014 they are the same format.<\/strong> <code>.tgz<\/code> is simply a shortened spelling of <code>.tar.gz<\/code>, created for systems or tools that don\u2019t like double extensions. Both are a tar archive compressed with gzip, and every tool and command that opens one opens the other identically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why does a .tar.gz have two extensions?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because it\u2019s <strong>two operations stacked<\/strong>: <code>tar<\/code> bundles your files into one <code>.tar<\/code> archive (without compressing), then <code>gzip<\/code> compresses that archive into <code>.tar.gz<\/code>. The two extensions literally record the two steps. Extracting reverses them \u2014 un-gzip, then un-tar \u2014 which is why <code>tar -xzf<\/code> exists to do both at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do I open a .tar.gz on Windows without installing anything?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On <strong>Windows 11 (23H2 and later)<\/strong>, right-click the file in File Explorer and choose <strong>Extract All<\/strong> \u2014 native support was added via the libarchive library. On <strong>any<\/strong> modern Windows you can also run <code>tar -xzf file.tar.gz<\/code> in Command Prompt or PowerShell, since Windows bundles a tar command. On older Windows without these, use the online extractor or install <strong>7-Zip<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why does 7-Zip extract my .tar.gz in two steps?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because the file is <strong>two layers<\/strong>. 7-Zip first removes the gzip compression, leaving a plain <code>.tar<\/code> file, and then you extract <em>that<\/em> to get your actual files and folders. It\u2019s not a bug \u2014 it mirrors how the archive was built (tar first, gzip second). Tools like <code>tar -xzf<\/code> and the xconvert extractor just hide the two passes behind one action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does tar compress files by itself?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>No.<\/strong> Per the GNU tar manual, tar only <em>bundles<\/em> multiple files into a single archive while preserving permissions and structure \u2014 it does no compression on its own. The shrinking comes from a separate compressor, almost always <strong>gzip<\/strong> (giving <code>.tar.gz<\/code>), sometimes bzip2 (<code>.tar.bz2<\/code>) or xz (<code>.tar.xz<\/code>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can I extract a .tar.gz on a Mac by double-clicking?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Yes.<\/strong> Double-clicking a <code>.tar.gz<\/code> or <code>.tgz<\/code> in Finder triggers macOS\u2019s built-in <strong>Archive Utility<\/strong>, which decompresses the gzip layer and unpacks the tar archive into the same folder automatically \u2014 no Terminal or third-party app required. The <code>tar -xzf<\/code> command works too if you prefer the command line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is .tar.gz the same as .zip?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No. A <code>.zip<\/code> compresses each file individually and stores them in one container, so a ZIP tool can list and extract files directly. A <code>.tar.gz<\/code> bundles everything into one stream <em>first<\/em> (tar) and then compresses the whole stream (gzip), and it preserves Unix file metadata more faithfully \u2014 which is why it\u2019s the default in Linux and open-source distribution. To work with <code>.zip<\/code> instead, see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xconvert.com\/blog\/unzip-files-online\/\">how to unzip files online<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Last verified 2026-06-25.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gnu.org\/software\/tar\/manual\/tar.html\">GNU tar manual<\/a> \u2014 tar bundles files into one archive and relies on an external compressor; meaning of the <code>-x<\/code>, <code>-z<\/code>, <code>-f<\/code> options.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gnu.org\/software\/gzip\/manual\/gzip.html\">GNU gzip manual<\/a> \u2014 gzip is a single-stream compressor, which is why it\u2019s paired with tar.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/support.apple.com\/guide\/terminal\/compress-and-uncompress-file-archives-apdc52250ee-4659-4751-9a3a-8b7988150530\/mac\">Apple \u2014 Compress and uncompress file archives in Terminal on Mac<\/a> \u2014 <code>tar<\/code> usage on macOS; Archive Utility handles double-click extraction.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/windows\/zip-and-unzip-files-8d28fa72-f2f9-712f-67df-f80cf89fd4e5\">Microsoft \u2014 Zip and unzip files<\/a> \u2014 Windows 11 24H2 native ZIP\/RAR\/7z\/TAR support; Extract All; encrypted archives not supported natively.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bleepingcomputer.com\/news\/microsoft\/windows-11-adds-support-for-11-file-archives-including-7-zip-and-rar\/\">BleepingComputer \u2014 Windows 11 adds support for 11 file archives, including 7-Zip and RAR<\/a> \u2014 libarchive integration, full supported-format list (<code>.tar.gz<\/code>, <code>.tgz<\/code>, etc.), Build 2023 announcement and late-2023 rollout.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.7-zip.org\/\">7-Zip<\/a> \u2014 free archiver for older Windows that extracts <code>.tar.gz<\/code> in two passes.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A .tar.gz is two layers: tar bundles, gzip compresses. Extract it on Linux, Mac, Windows 11, older Windows with 7-Zip, or online \u2014 step by step.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1389,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-guides","category-tools"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Extract a TAR.GZ \/ TGZ File (Linux, Mac, Windows)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A .tar.gz is two layers: tar bundles, gzip compresses. 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