tar (create and extract archives) in Linux CLI - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the command to create a tar archive named archive.tar from the folder myfolder.

Linux CLI

tar [1] archive.tar myfolder

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-rvf

B-xvf

C-tvf

D-cvf

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '-xvf' which is for extracting archives.

Using '-tvf' which lists archive contents instead of creating.

The option '-cvf' tells tar to create an archive (c), be verbose (v), and specify the filename (f).

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the command to extract the contents of archive.tar into the current directory.

Linux CLI

tar [1] archive.tar

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-cvf

B-tvf

C-xvf

D-rvf

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '-cvf' which creates archives instead of extracting.

Using '-tvf' which only lists contents.

The option '-xvf' tells tar to extract (x), be verbose (v), and specify the filename (f).

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the command to list the contents of archive.tar.

Linux CLI

tar [1] archive.tar

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-tvf

B-xvf

C-cvf

D-rvf

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '-xvf' which extracts instead of listing.

Using '-cvf' which creates archives.

The option '-tvf' lists the contents (t) of the archive verbosely (v) and specifies the filename (f).

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a compressed gzip tar archive named archive.tar.gz from folder myfolder.

Linux CLI

tar [1] [2] -f archive.tar.gz myfolder

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-z

B-x

C-c

D-v

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '-x' which extracts instead of creating.

Forgetting the '-z' option for gzip compression.

Use '-c' to create the archive and '-z' to compress it with gzip.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to extract a bzip2 compressed tar archive named archive.tar.bz2 verbosely.

Linux CLI

tar [1] [2] [3] -f archive.tar.bz2

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-x

B-v

C-j

D-c

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '-c' which creates archives instead of extracting.

Forgetting '-j' for bzip2 compressed files.

Use '-x' to extract, '-v' for verbose output, and '-j' to handle bzip2 compression.

Practice

1. What does the tar -cvf archive.tar folder/ command do?

easy

A. Extracts files from archive.tar into the folder directory

B. Compresses the folder directory using gzip

C. Creates a tar archive named archive.tar containing the folder directory

D. Lists the contents of archive.tar without extracting

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the flags used

   The -c flag means create an archive, -v means verbose (show progress), and -f specifies the archive file name.

2. Step 2: Analyze the command effect

   The command creates a new archive file named archive.tar containing the contents of the folder/ directory.

3. Final Answer:

   Creates a tar archive named archive.tar containing the folder directory -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   tar -cvf = create archive [OK]

Hint: -c means create archive, -f specifies filename [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing -c (create) with -x (extract)
• Thinking -v compresses files
• Assuming it extracts files instead of creating

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to extract a gzip compressed tar archive named backup.tar.gz?

easy

A. tar -xvzf backup.tar.gz

B. tar -xvf backup.tar.gz

C. tar -cvf backup.tar.gz

D. tar -czf backup.tar.gz

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify extraction and compression flags

   -x extracts, -v shows progress, -z handles gzip compression, and -f specifies the file.

2. Step 2: Match flags to the command

   To extract a gzip compressed archive, use tar -xvzf filename. tar -xvzf backup.tar.gz matches this syntax.

3. Final Answer:

   tar -xvzf backup.tar.gz -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Extract gzip archive = -xvzf [OK]

Hint: -xvzf extracts gzip compressed tar files [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Omitting -z when extracting gzip archives
• Using -c (create) instead of -x (extract)
• Confusing -v (verbose) as mandatory

3. What will be the output of the command tar -tvf archive.tar if archive.tar contains files file1.txt and file2.txt?

medium

A. Shows an error because -t cannot be combined with -v

B. Extracts file1.txt and file2.txt to current directory

C. Creates a new archive named archive.tar

D. Lists file1.txt and file2.txt with details without extracting

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the flags

   -t lists contents of an archive, -v shows details, and -f specifies the archive file.

2. Step 2: Predict the command output

   The command lists the files inside archive.tar with details, without extracting them.

3. Final Answer:

   Lists file1.txt and file2.txt with details without extracting -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   -t lists contents, -v shows details [OK]

Hint: -t lists archive contents, -v adds details [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking it extracts files instead of listing
• Assuming -t and -v cannot be combined
• Confusing -t with -x

4. You run tar -cvzf archive.tar.gz folder/ but get an error. What is the likely cause?

medium

A. The order of flags is incorrect; -z must come before -c

B. The folder/ directory does not exist

C. The -f flag must be last and followed by the filename

D. You cannot combine -v and -z flags

Solution

1. Step 1: Verify command syntax

   The flags -c (create), -v (verbose), -z (gzip), -f archive.tar.gz are correct, with filename immediately after -f.

2. Step 2: Determine error cause

   The syntax is valid, so the likely cause is that folder/ does not exist, causing a "Cannot stat: No such file or directory" error.

3. Final Answer:

   The folder/ directory does not exist -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   tar create error = missing source directory [OK]

Hint: tar create errors usually from missing source files/directories [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming flag order syntax error
• Overlooking if source directory exists
• Confusing with permission issues

5. You want to create a compressed archive of the project/ folder, but exclude all .log files inside it. Which command achieves this?

hard

A. tar -czvf project.tar.gz --exclude='*.log' project/

B. tar -czvf project.tar.gz project/ --exclude='*.log'

C. tar -cvzf project.tar.gz project/ --exclude='*.log'

D. tar -xvzf project.tar.gz --exclude='*.log' project/

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand exclusion and compression flags

   The --exclude='*.log' option excludes files matching the pattern. -c creates, -z compresses with gzip, -v shows progress, and -f specifies the archive filename.

2. Step 2: Check correct flag order and placement

   The exclude option must come before the folder argument. tar -czvf project.tar.gz --exclude='*.log' project/ correctly places --exclude='*.log' before project/ and uses correct flags.

3. Final Answer:

   tar -czvf project.tar.gz --exclude='*.log' project/ -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Exclude before folder, use -czvf for compressed archive [OK]

Hint: Put --exclude before folder, use -czvf to create compressed archive [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Placing --exclude after folder argument
• Using -x (extract) instead of -c (create)
• Mixing flag order or misspelling exclude