Hi Dennis,
# /usr/local/bin/tar --help
Usage: tar [OPTION...] [FILE]...
GNU `tar' saves many files together into a single tape or disk archive, and can
restore individual files from the archive.
Examples:
tar -cf archive.tar foo bar # Create archive.tar from files foo and bar.
tar -tvf archive.tar # List all files in archive.tar verbosely.
tar -xf archive.tar # Extract all files from archive.tar.
Main operation mode:
-A, --catenate, --concatenate append tar files to an archive
-c, --create create a new archive
--delete delete from the archive (not on mag tapes!)
-d, --diff, --compare find differences between archive and file system
-r, --append append files to the end of an archive
-t, --list list the contents of an archive
-u, --update only append files newer than copy in archive
-x, --extract, --get extract files from an archive
Operation modifiers:
-g, --listed-incremental=FILE handle new GNU-format incremental backup
-G, --incremental handle old GNU-format incremental backup
--ignore-failed-read do not exit with nonzero on unreadable files
-k, --keep-old-files don't replace existing files when extracting
--keep-newer-files don't replace existing files that are newer than
their archive copies
-n, --seek Archive is seekable
--no-overwrite-dir preserve metadata of existing directories
--occurrence[=NUMBER] process only the NUMth occurrence of each file in
the archive. This option is valid only in
conjunction with one of the subcommands --delete,
--diff, --extract or --list and when a list of
files is given either on the command line or via
-T option. NUMBER defaults to 1.
--overwrite overwrite existing files when extracting
-O, --to-stdout extract files to standard output
--recursive-unlink empty hierarchies prior to extracting directory
--remove-files remove files after adding them to the archive
-S, --sparse handle sparse files efficiently
-U, --unlink-first remove each file prior to extracting over it
-W, --verify attempt to verify the archive after writing it
Handling of file attributes:
--atime-preserve don't change access times on dumped files
--group=NAME force NAME as group for added files
--mode=CHANGES force (symbolic) mode CHANGES for added files
-m, --touch don't extract file modified time
--no-same-owner extract files as yourself
--no-same-permissions do not extract permissions information
--numeric-owner always use numbers for user/group names
--owner=NAME force NAME as owner for added files
-p, --preserve-permissions, --same-permissions
extract permissions information
--preserve same as both -p and -s
-s, --preserve-order, --same-order
sort names to extract to match archive
--same-owner try extracting files with the same ownership
Device selection and switching:
-f, --file=ARCHIVE use archive file or device ARCHIVE
--force-local archive file is local even if has a colon
-F, --info-script=NAME, --new-volume-script=NAME
run script at end of each tape (implies -M)
-L, --tape-length=NUMBER change tape after writing NUMBER x 1024 bytes
-M, --multi-volume create/list/extract multi-volume archive
--rmt-command=COMMAND use given rmt COMMAND instead of rmt
--rsh-command=COMMAND use remote COMMAND instead of rsh
--volno-file=FILE use/update the volume number in FILE
Device blocking:
-b, --blocking-factor=BLOCKS BLOCKS x 512 bytes per record
-B, --read-full-records reblock as we read (for 4.2BSD pipes)
-i, --ignore-zeros ignore zeroed blocks in archive (means EOF)
--record-size=NUMBER SIZE bytes per record, multiple of 512
Archive format selection:
-H, --format=FORMAT create archive of the given format.
FORMAT is one of the following:
gnu GNU tar 1.13.x format
oldgnu GNU format as per tar <= 1.12
pax POSIX 1003.1-2001 (pax) format
posix Same as pax
ustar POSIX 1003.1-1988 (ustar) format
v7 old V7 tar format
-j, --bzip2 filter the archive through bzip2
--old-archive, --portability
same as --format=v7
--pax-option=keyword[[:]=value][,keyword[[:]=value], ...]
control pax keywords
--posix same as --format=posix
--use-compress-program=PROG
filter through PROG (must accept -d)
-V, --label=TEXT create archive with volume name NAME. At
list/extract time, use TEXT as a globbing pattern
-z, --gzip, --gunzip, --ungzip filter the archive through gzip
-Z, --compress, --uncompress filter the archive through compress
Local file selection:
--after-date=DATE same as -N
--anchored exclude patterns match file name start
--backup[=CONTROL] backup before removal, choose version CONTROL
-C, --directory=DIR change to directory DIR
--exclude=PATTERN exclude files, given as a PATTERN
--exclude-caches exclude directories containing a cache tag
-h, --dereference dump instead the files symlinks point to
--ignore-case exclusion ignores case
-K, --starting-file=MEMBER-NAME
begin at member MEMBER-NAME in the archive
--newer-mtime=DATE compare date and time when data changed only
--no-anchored exclude patterns match after any / (default)
--no-ignore-case exclusion is case sensitive (default)
--no-recursion avoid descending automatically in directories
--no-wildcards exclude patterns are plain strings
--no-wildcards-match-slash exclude pattern wildcards do not match '/'
--null -T reads null-terminated names, disable -C
-N, --newer=DATE-OR-FILE only store files newer than DATE-OR-FILE
--one-file-system stay in local file system when creating archive
-P, --absolute-names don't strip leading `/'s from file names
--recursion recurse into directories (default)
--strip-components=NUMBER strip NUMBER leading components from file
names
--suffix=STRING backup before removal, override usual suffix ('~'
unless overridden by environment variable
SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX
-T, --files-from=FILE-OF-NAMES get names to extract or create from file
NAME
--wildcards exclude patterns use wildcards (default)
--wildcards-match-slash exclude pattern wildcards match '/' (default)
-X, --exclude-from=FILE exclude patterns listed in FILE
Informative output:
--checkpoint display progress messages every 10th record
-v, --verbose verbosely list files processed
--check-links print a message if not all links are dumped
--index-file=FILE send verbose output to FILE
-R, --block-number show block number within archive with each
message
--show-defaults Show tar defaults
--show-omitted-dirs When listing or extracting, list each directory
that does not match search criteria
--totals print total bytes written while creating archive
--utc print file modification dates in UTC
-w, --interactive, --confirmation
ask for confirmation for every action
Compatibility options:
-o when creating, same as --old-archive. When
extracting, same as --no-same-owner
Other options:
-?, --help Give this help list
--license Print license and exit
--usage Give a short usage message
--version Print program version
Mandatory or optional arguments to long options are also mandatory or optional
for any corresponding short options.
The backup suffix is `~', unless set with --suffix or SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX.
The version control may be set with --backup or VERSION_CONTROL, values are:
t, numbered make numbered backups
nil, existing numbered if numbered backups exist, simple otherwise
never, simple always make simple backups
*This* tar defaults to:
--format=gnu -f- -b20 --rmt-command=/usr/local/bin/rmt --rsh-command=/usr/bin/remsh
Report bugs to .
when i do tar -cvzf i get an error illegal option....
