`tarfile`

The Python tarfile module provides a powerful and flexible way to read and write tar archives. It supports both compressed and uncompressed tar files and allows for easy manipulation of archive contents.

Here’s a quick example:

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>>> import tarfile
>>> with tarfile.open("sample.tar.gz", mode="r:gz") as tar_file:
...     tar_file.getnames()
...
['file1.txt', 'file2.txt']

Key Features

Supports reading and writing of tar archives
Handles both compressed (gzip, bzip2, lzma) and uncompressed tar files
Provides random access to archive members
Allows for adding and extracting files from tar archives
Works with both files on disk and file-like objects—including in-memory archives
Enables inspection and modification of file metadata

Frequently Used Classes and Functions

Object	Type	Description
`tarfile.open()`	Function	Opens a tar archive for reading or writing
`tarfile.is_tarfile()`	Function	Checks whether a file is a tar archive
`tarfile.TarFile`	Class	Represents a tar archive
`tarfile.TarFile.list()`	Method	Lists the contents of a tar archive
`tarfile.TarFile.extract()`	Method	Extracts a member from a tar archive
`tarfile.TarFile.add()`	Method	Adds a file or directory to a tar archive
`tarfile.TarFile.getnames()`	Method	Returns a list of member names in a tar archive

Examples

Open and list the contents of a tar archive:

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>>> import tarfile
>>> with tarfile.open("example.tar.gz", mode="r:gz") as tar_file:
...     tar_file.list()
...

Extract a specific file from a tar archive:

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>>> with tarfile.open("example.tar.gz", mode="r:gz") as tar_file:
...     tar_file.extract("file1.txt", path="./extracted")
...

Create a new tar archive and add files to it:

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>>> with tarfile.open("new_archive.tar", mode="w") as tar_file:
...     tar_file.add("file1.txt")
...     tar_file.add("file2.txt")
...

Common Use Cases

Archiving and compressing multiple files or directories into a single tar archive
Extracting specific files or all contents from tar archives
Inspecting archive contents, including file metadata, without extraction
Selectively extracting or adding files based on patterns or criteria
Creating automated backups of directories or projects
Working with archives entirely in memory
Preserving or modifying file permissions, timestamps, and ownership
Automating deployment, packaging, or continuous integration tasks

Real-World Example

Suppose you want to back up a directory of text files into a compressed tar archive using a function to perform the backup. You can use the tarfile module to accomplish this task efficiently:

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>>> import tarfile, pathlib

>>> def backup_txt_files(source_dir, archive_name):
...     source_dir = pathlib.Path(source_dir)
...     archive_name = pathlib.Path(archive_name)
...     files_to_backup = list(source_dir.glob("*.txt"))
...     if not files_to_backup:
...         print("No files to back up")
...         return
...     with tarfile.open(archive_name, mode="w:gz") as tar_file:
...         for file_path in files_to_backup:
...             tar_file.add(file_path, arcname=file_path.name)
...     print("Files backed up successfully!")
...     return archive_name
...

>>> backup_txt_files("documents", "backup.tar.gz")
Files backed up successfully!

In this example, you create a function that collects all .txt files from the specified directory, creates a gzip-compressed tar archive containing those files, and returns a Path object representing the archive.

Tutorial

Python's zipfile: Manipulate Your ZIP Files Efficiently

In this guided tutorial, you'll learn how to manipulate ZIP files using Python's zipfile module from the standard library. Through hands-on examples, you'll learn how to read, write, compress, and extract files from your ZIP files quickly.

intermediate python

For additional information on related topics, take a look at the following resources: