The file type .tar (Tape Archive File) is associated with an uncompressed archive created by the TAR utlity and are commonly found in UNIX systems. The files under TAR are not compressed but simply put together.
Mime Type:
application/tar
application/x-tar
application/x-gtar
multipart/x-tar
application/x-compress
application/x-compressed
Are .tar file types the same as .tgz or .tbz file types?
No, the difference is that while .tar files are uncompressed archives, the .tgz or .tbz file types represent compressed archives.
Generally, .tar files are compressed using an additional tool. The two most popular tools used for compressing .tar files on UNIX-based systems are gzip and bzip2. TAR Files archived using gzip have the .tgz or .tar.gz file extension, whereas files archive using bzip2 have the .tbz file extension.
How to open .tar files
If you use Windows, you may use the following programs to open a .tar file:
- ALTools AlZip
- 7-Zip
- PicoZIP
- Zipeg
- Corel WinZip
- WinACE
- StuffIt Deluxe 2010
If you use a ?Mac operating system, you may use the following programs to open a .tar file:
- Zipeg
- ALTools AlZip
If you use Linux, you may use the following program to open a .tar file:
- Tar
In case you are unable to open a .tar file using the above-mentioned applications or are receiving an error when try to you open a .tar file, then chances are that the file openers on your Windows computer are damaged. To fix the issue, we recommend that you use a reliable file repair tool. This tool will help you fix issues with the corrupt file and open it.