How can we extract specific files from a large tar.gz file? I found the process of extracting files from a tar in this question but, when I tried the mentioned command there, I got the error:
$ tar --extract --file={test.tar.gz} {extract11}
tar: {test.tar.gz}: Cannot open: No such file or directory
tar: Error is not recoverable: exiting now
How do I then extract a file from tar.gz
?
Best Answer
You can also use
tar -zxvf <tar filename> <file you want to extract>
You must write the file name exacty as
tar ztf test.tar.gz
shows it. If it says e.g../extract11
, orsome/bunch/of/dirs/extract11
, that's what you have to give (and the file will show up under exactly that name, needed directories are created automatically).-x
: instructs tar to extract files.-f
: specifies filename / tarball name.-v
: Verbose (show progress while extracting files).-z
: filter archive through gzip, use to decompress .gz files.