What does `tar -C` mean?

Question

In the section "Installing Portage", the Gentoo installation docs say:

# tar xvjf /mnt/gentoo/portage-latest.tar.bz2 -C /mnt/gentoo/usr

What does this command do?

score 32 · Answer 1 · edited Nov 13 '13 at 06:18

32

Tar is used to handle archives (historically saved on tapes).

The x tells it to extract files from the archive
v stands for verbose
j for bzip2 archive
f indicates the file name
finally: C tells it to change directory (so the package content will be unpacked there)

See also man tar.

edited Nov 13 '13 at 06:18

rubo77

5,218

answered Dec 02 '11 at 10:26

choroba

20,299

score 12 · Answer 2 · edited Dec 02 '11 at 20:58

12

If you ever need to know what a parameter does again, try to read the man first. The command man tar, and then doing /-C will get you to the section describing what -C stands for, which in this example represents 'change directory' (i.e. sends the results of the unpacking to /mnt/gentoo/usr).

edited Dec 02 '11 at 20:58

Simon Sheehan

9,204

answered Dec 02 '11 at 10:42

timss

388

score 5 · Answer 3 · edited Jul 16 '12 at 02:18

5

It unpacks /mnt/gentoo/portage-latest.tar.bz2 in /mnt/gentoo/usr/

edited Jul 16 '12 at 02:18

Tamara Wijsman

57,881

answered Dec 02 '11 at 10:24

Tog

5,065

What does `tar -C` mean?

3 Answers3