Extract a TAR.GZ file
A .tar.gz — or .tgz — is how source code, Linux software, server backups and most things from the Unix world are shipped. On Linux and macOS tar -xzf deals with it; on Windows, a Chromebook or a locked-down work machine it usually means installing something first.
This undoes both layers in the tab. The gzip stream is decompressed with the browser's own DecompressionStream, the tar inside is parsed by a reader that understands USTAR, PAX and GNU long names, and you get the file list before anything is written. Then extract everything, a folder, or a single file.
The archive is read by code running in this tab. It is not uploaded, not queued on a server, and not seen by anyone but you — which also means there is no size limit imposed from outside, only what your own device can hold.
- Step 1Drop a .tar.gz or .tgz file. Gzip is recognised from its signature, and the contents are checked for a tar header.
- Step 2Browse the tree: paths, sizes, modification times and anything blocked for trying to escape its folder.
- Step 3Extract everything or a selection — as one ZIP that keeps the folder layout, or as separate files.
Drag archives here
.tar.gz, .tgz — or anything else, and the format will be identified from the file’s own bytes. Files stay on this device.
What this page will not do
Every limit below is a real one, checked against real archives. None of them are upsells — there is no paid tier, and nothing here gets better by signing in.
- The whole gzip stream is decompressed before the file list appears. Gzip cannot be read from the middle, so there is no way to list a .tar.gz without expanding it — every tool, including tar itself, does the same.
- Separate downloads arrive flat in your downloads folder, because a web page cannot create folders on your disk. Choose the ZIP option to keep the directory structure.
- Symbolic and hard links are listed but not written, and Unix owners and permission bits are not carried onto downloaded files. A browser download has no way to set either.
- Only gzip is unwrapped. A .tar.bz2, .tar.xz or .tar.zst is recognised from its own bytes and reported as unsupported, rather than mis-parsed.
If it did not work
One file came out instead of a folder of files
Why: The gzip does not contain a tar — it is a single compressed file, such as a .sql.gz or .log.gz.
Do this: That is the correct result: the one decompressed file, named from the gzip header where it records a name.
“unexpected end of file” or a checksum error
Why: The download was cut short. Gzip stores a CRC and length in its trailer, so truncation is detected rather than producing a quietly incomplete tar.
Do this: Download the archive again and compare its size with the source.
The folder structure disappeared
Why: Separate downloads cannot carry folders.
Do this: Use “Extract everything as ZIP”. The ZIP keeps every path, and every operating system opens a ZIP without extra software.
Questions
Is a .tgz file the same as a .tar.gz?
Yes. .tgz is the short spelling from systems that required three-letter extensions. The bytes are identical, and detection here is by content anyway, so both names — and a mis-named file — are handled the same way.
What is the equivalent tar command?
tar -xzf archive.tar.gz extracts everything; tar -tzf archive.tar.gz lists it. This page does both without a terminal, and adds the per-file selection and path checks that the command line leaves to you.
Can it extract a .tar without the .gz?
Yes. Drop a plain .tar here and it is read the same way, just without the decompression step. To turn either into a ZIP in one go, use the TAR to ZIP or TAR.GZ to ZIP converters.