TGZ to RAR Converter

How to Convert TGZ to RAR Online

1. Upload Your TGZ File: Drag and drop your .tgz (or .tar.gz) archive, or click "+ Add Files" to browse. Multiple TGZ archives can be queued in a single batch.
2. Pick Single Archive or Individual Archives: Choose Single Archive to merge all uploaded TGZ payloads into one combined .rar, or Individual Archives to produce one .rar per input file. Defaults are tuned for lossless re-packing — directory structure and filenames are preserved during extraction and re-archive.
3. Review Advanced Options (Optional): xconvert defaults are optimized for general use. If you need encryption, custom compression levels, or multi-volume splitting on the RAR side, prepare those settings before exporting.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert. The TGZ is decompressed server-side (tar + gzip), then the extracted file tree is repacked into a RAR container. Download the resulting .rar from the result list.

Why Convert TGZ to RAR?

TGZ (also written .tar.gz) is the dominant compound archive on Unix-like systems — tar concatenates files into a single stream and gzip compresses that stream with DEFLATE. RAR (Roshal Archive), created by Eugene Roshal in 1993, uses a different compression family entirely and adds features that TGZ does not offer natively. Converting from TGZ to RAR is useful when you need to deliver a Linux-origin payload to a Windows-first audience or take advantage of RAR-specific features:

• Sharing with Windows / WinRAR users — RAR is the native archive format for WinRAR (the dominant Windows GUI archiver) and opens with one double-click; many Windows users have never installed a tool that handles .tar.gz directly.
• Better compression on typical mixed payloads — RAR5 (the format used by WinRAR since 2013) often achieves a tighter compression ratio than gzip's DEFLATE, especially on text, source code, and pre-compressed media bundles.
• Recovery records for unreliable transfers — RAR can embed a recovery record that lets receivers repair partially corrupted archives. TGZ has no equivalent; a single bit error inside the gzip stream typically renders everything after it unreadable.
• Multi-volume splitting for size caps — RAR can natively split into .part01.rar, .part02.rar, etc., handy when you need to attach a large archive to a service with per-file limits or upload across flaky links.
• Optional strong encryption — RAR5 supports AES-256 encryption of both file contents and the archive headers (filenames), whereas gzip's stream has no built-in encryption.
• Solid archives across many small files — RAR's solid mode treats multiple files as one stream for compression, often dramatically shrinking source-tree exports vs. per-file approaches.

TGZ vs RAR — Format Comparison

Compression & Use-Case Quick Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my directory structure survive the TGZ to RAR conversion?

Yes. The TGZ is extracted in full (gzip-decompressed, then untarred) and the original directory tree, file names, and contents are preserved when re-packed into RAR. The conversion is lossless at the file-content level — what changes is the container and compression algorithm, not the files inside.

Why convert to RAR if TGZ already works on Linux?

You generally don't, unless your audience needs RAR. The two main reasons to convert are (1) you're sending the archive to Windows / WinRAR users who would rather not install a TGZ-capable tool, or (2) you want RAR-only features like recovery records, native multi-volume splitting, or AES-256 with hidden filenames. For pure Linux workflows, staying with .tar.gz is usually the right call.

Will the RAR output be smaller than my original TGZ?

Often yes, but not always. RAR5 typically beats gzip's DEFLATE on text-heavy or source-code payloads. On archives that are already heavily compressed inside (JPEGs, MP4s, pre-zipped releases), neither format can shrink the data much, and the RAR output may be similar in size or marginally larger because the source TGZ already squeezed it.

Can the converted RAR be opened on Linux or macOS?

Yes. Extraction is well supported by free tools: unrar and unar on Linux, The Unarchiver on macOS, 7-Zip on Windows. Only the creation of RAR archives is proprietary — reading them is broadly available.

Does TGZ to RAR conversion preserve Unix file permissions?

Permissions stored in the tar header are read during extraction, but RAR does not store the same POSIX permission model that tar does. Executable bits, symlinks, and ownership metadata may not round-trip perfectly. If preserving permissions matters (e.g., shipping a Linux app bundle), keep the archive as .tar.gz or .tar.xz instead — see TGZ to TAR.XZ for a permissions-safe re-compression.

What's the difference between .tgz and .tar.gz?

They're identical. .tgz is just a shorthand for .tar.gz used when an 8.3 filename was required (DOS heritage). Both contain a tar archive that has been gzip-compressed. xconvert accepts either extension and treats them the same.

Can I encrypt the resulting RAR with a password?

xconvert's default conversion produces an unencrypted RAR. If your workflow demands encryption, the practical pattern is to create the archive here, then add a password using WinRAR (Add archive → Set password → Encrypt file names) on the resulting .rar. RAR5 supports AES-256 with optional filename encryption, but it must be configured at archive-creation time.

Should I just go straight from TGZ to ZIP instead?

If your only goal is "Windows-friendly," ZIP is an easier choice — every modern OS can extract ZIPs natively without WinRAR or 7-Zip. Pick RAR over ZIP when you specifically want better compression, recovery records, or AES-256 with hidden filenames. See TGZ to ZIP for the simpler Windows-compatibility path.

Why not just use 7Z, which is open and often compresses tighter?

7z is an excellent technical choice — open format, often better ratios than RAR, supports AES-256. The reason to pick RAR is purely ecosystem: WinRAR ships on far more Windows machines than 7-Zip and is the format most "send me a RAR" senders expect. If your receiver doesn't care, TGZ to 7Z is a strong alternative.