What is a TAR file?
A .TAR file is a Tape Archive file. It is a standard Unix file format that bundles multiple files and directories into one single file. Originally developed by AT&T Labs for magnetic tape backups, the format is now widely used for archiving data across modern operating systems. By default, a .TAR file does not compress its contents; it only groups them together.
Common Uses for TAR Files
While commonly used in software development and server environments, .TAR files also appear in consumer applications. For example, Microsoft Skype provides chat history exports as .TAR files. WhatsApp uses them for media backup archives. In the scientific community, frameworks like PyTorch store model checkpoint archives in this format, and the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus uses it for scientific data archives.
How to open TAR files?
On Linux and macOS, you can use the built-in command-line tool GNU tar to extract these files. Windows users can natively extract them using the Command Prompt or by installing third-party archiving software like 7-Zip or WinRAR.
Best practices and troubleshooting
Because .TAR files are used in so many different systems, opening them can sometimes be confusing. Additionally, some files labeled as .TAR are actually .ZIP, .RAR, or .GZIP archives internally. viewer.online/tar analyzes .TAR files to identify their exact format and creator software, shows which programs can open the file, and usually previews it.
If you need to share the contents of a .TAR file with users who do not have archiving software, you can convert the file. We recommend using convert.guru to convert your .TAR file to widely supported formats like .ZIP or .TAR.GZ.
Summary
viewer.online/tar directly opens and previews .TAR files in the browser, eliminating the need to install software or troubleshoot compatibility issues.