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0 pointsmkl7mo ago0 comments

> tar -cf archive.tar.gz foo bar

This will create an uncompressed .tar with the wrong name. You need a z option to specify gzip.

0 comments

Apparently this is now automatically determined by the file name, but I still habitually add the flag. 30 years of muscle memory is hard to break!

mklOP7mo ago

I tried it to check before making the comment. In Ubuntu 25.04 it does not automatically enable compression based on the filename. The automatic detection when extracting is based on file contents, not name.

BenjiWiebe7mo ago

If you add a for auto, it will choose the right compression based on the file name.

tar -caf foo.tar.xz foo

Will be an xz compressed tarball.

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