[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"extension:v3:en:tgz":3},{"resolvedFromAlias":4,"canonicalExt":5,"ext":5,"name":6,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"createdAt":9,"updatedAt":10,"indexable":11,"popularity":12,"summary":13,"howToOs":14,"quickAnswer":20,"answerIntro":21,"whatIs":22,"description":23,"furtherReading":24,"otherMeanings":37,"unverifiedMeaning":4,"openInstructions":38,"recommendedSoftware":56,"commonIssues":57,"securityNotes":83,"faq":88,"aliases":101,"mimeTypes":102,"relatedExtensions":104,"breadcrumbs":151,"categoryAnchor":161,"categoryFuturePath":162,"metaDescription":163,"availableHowToOs":164,"openOnDeviceLinks":165,"cannotOpenReasons":181,"cannotOpenFixes":182,"convertOptions":183,"securityAffiliateMessaging":184,"securityAffiliates":185,"repairAffiliates":186,"recoveryAffiliates":187,"editAffiliates":188},false,"tgz","TGZ Archive File","archives","Archives","2026-03-17T08:09:09+01:00","2026-06-10T15:02:42.697Z",true,30,".TGZ is a gzip-compressed tar archive (a “tarball”). It’s widely used on Linux/macOS and for software source packages and can be extracted by most archive tools.",[15,16,17,18,19],"windows","mac","linux","ios","android","To open .TGZ files on Windows, install an archive tool that supports .tgz (tar+gzip), such as 7-Zip or WinZip (as listed by FileInfo).","To open a .TGZ file, use an archive extractor (or the command line) to unpack it. On Linux/macOS you can usually extract it with tar; on Windows, use an archive tool that supports tar+gzip rather than renaming the file.",".TGZ is the common filename extension for a tar archive that has been compressed with gzip (equivalent to .tar.gz). Technically, it contains a tar stream wrapped in the gzip file format (RFC 1952), commonly identified as application/gzip (RFC 6713).","TGZ files are typically used to bundle many files and folders into a single package and compress it to reduce size for downloading or storage. You’ll commonly see them for distributing open-source software source code, Unix/Linux packages, backups, and datasets.\n\nFunctionally, “.tgz” is just a shorthand variant of “.tar.gz”. Tools like GNU tar can automatically choose gzip compression based on the filename suffix, and can create or extract these archives directly.\n\nBecause TGZ is an archive, it can contain almost anything—documents, binaries, scripts, or installers—so the main risk is not the TGZ format itself, but what you extract and run afterward.",[25,28,31,34],{"title":26,"url":27},"TGZ (Wikipedia) — gzip-compressed tar archive","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TGZ",{"title":29,"url":30},"RFC 1952 — GZIP file format specification","https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc1952",{"title":32,"url":33},"RFC 6713 — Media Types for gzip (application/gzip)","https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6713",{"title":35,"url":36},"shared-mime-info (freedesktop.org) — MIME database used by Linux desktops","https://freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/shared-mime-info/",[],{"windows":39,"macos":43,"linux":47,"ios":51,"android":53},[40,41,42],"Install an archive tool that supports .tgz (tar+gzip), such as 7-Zip or WinZip (as listed by FileInfo).","Right-click the .tgz file → open with your archive tool → extract to a new folder.","If you get a nested .tar after extraction, open/extract the .tar as well (some tools do this in one step).",[44,45,46],"Try double-clicking the .tgz file in Finder (Archive Utility often handles common tar.gz/tgz archives).","If it doesn’t extract cleanly, use Terminal: tar -xzf file.tgz (extracts into the current folder).","Open the extracted folder to access the contents.",[48,49,50],"In a terminal, run: tar -xzf file.tgz (GNU tar can handle .tgz/.tar.gz archives).","Or use your desktop archive manager (often called Archive Manager/File Roller) to extract to a folder.","If needed, verify it’s gzip-compressed: file file.tgz (should indicate gzip compressed data).",[52],"iOS may not natively preview/extract .tgz in Files; if you can’t open it, transfer it to a Mac/PC and extract it with tar or an archive tool.",[54,55],"Use an archive manager app that supports .tgz (tar+gzip). If the app only extracts to a .tar, extract the resulting .tar as a second step.","If extraction fails or the archive is large/complex, move the file to a desktop system and extract it with tar.",{},[58,64,71,77],{"title":59,"description":60,"steps":61},"It extracts to a .tar file and I still can’t see my files","Some tools decompress the gzip layer first (producing a .tar) but don’t automatically unpack the tar archive.",[62,63],"Open/extract the resulting .tar file with the same archive tool.","Alternatively, use tar directly (macOS/Linux): tar -xzf file.tgz.",{"title":65,"description":66,"steps":67},"Extraction fails or reports a corrupted/incomplete archive","The download may be incomplete, or the gzip/tar data may be damaged.",[68,69,70],"Re-download the .tgz from the original source and try extracting again.","Try extracting with a different tool (e.g., switch between a GUI extractor and tar).","On macOS/Linux, test integrity by attempting to list contents: tar -tzf file.tgz (if this fails, the archive is likely broken).",{"title":72,"description":73,"steps":74},"Files don’t appear where expected after extracting","The archive may contain paths that extract into a subfolder, or you extracted into a different working directory.",[75,76],"Search for the extracted folder name or recently modified files in your file manager.","Extract again and explicitly choose a destination folder you can easily find (e.g., Desktop or Downloads).",{"title":78,"description":79,"steps":80},"Permission or ownership problems after extraction (especially on Unix-like systems)","Tar archives can store file permissions and may restore them on extraction, which can create files you can’t easily execute or modify as expected.",[81,82],"Extract into a folder you own (e.g., inside your home directory).","Adjust permissions after extracting if needed (e.g., chmod for scripts you intend to run), and avoid running extracted files until you understand what they are.",[84,85,86,87],"A .tgz archive can contain executables or scripts; don’t run extracted files unless you trust the source and understand what you extracted.","Be cautious of archives containing unexpected paths or many files; extract into a new, empty folder so you can review what was created.","Archive parsers can have vulnerabilities; keep your extraction tool updated, especially when opening .tgz files from untrusted sources.","Treat .tgz files from unknown sources like any software package: inspect contents (e.g., tar -tzf) before extracting/running anything.",[89,92,95,98],{"question":90,"answer":91},"Is .tgz the same as .tar.gz?","Yes. .tgz is a shorter, common variant for a tar archive compressed with gzip.",{"question":93,"answer":94},"Can I open a .tgz file without extracting it?","Many archive tools let you browse the contents without fully extracting. On macOS/Linux you can list contents with: tar -tzf file.tgz.",{"question":96,"answer":97},"What MIME type is associated with .tgz?","It’s commonly treated as a gzip payload (application/gzip per RFC 6713). Desktop environments on Linux use the shared-mime-info database to map extensions like .tgz to MIME types.",{"question":99,"answer":100},"Can I convert a file to .tgz by renaming it?","No. Renaming only changes the extension. To create a real .tgz, you must tar the files and compress with gzip (for example using tar with gzip support).",[],[103],"application/x-gtar-compressed",[105,111,117,123,129,135,141,146],{"ext":106,"name":107,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":108,"summary":109,"howToOs":110},"zip","ZIP Archive",93,"ZIP archives are widely used to compress and bundle multiple files or folders for easier storage and sharing.",[15,16,17,18,19],{"ext":112,"name":113,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":114,"summary":115,"howToOs":116},"rar","RAR Archive",66,".rar files are compressed archive containers used to bundle and compress one or more files, often including split (multi-part) archives. They’re commonly opened by WinRAR and can usually be extracted by tools like 7-Zip and The Unarchiver.",[15,16,17,18,19],{"ext":118,"name":119,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":120,"summary":121,"howToOs":122},"bz2","bzip2 Compressed File",65,".bz2 is a bzip2-compressed file, typically used to shrink a single file for storage or download. To use the contents, you usually decompress it with an extractor such as 7-Zip or the bzip2 command-line tool.",[15,16,17,18,19],{"ext":124,"name":125,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":126,"summary":127,"howToOs":128},"7z","7-Zip Archive",64,"A .7z file is a 7-Zip compressed archive, commonly used to bundle and compress files with high compression ratios. Open it with 7-Zip on Windows or compatible archive tools such as WinRAR, Keka, The Unarchiver, p7zip, ZArchiver, or RAR.",[15,16,17,18,19],{"ext":130,"name":131,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":132,"summary":133,"howToOs":134},"gz","Gzip Compressed File",57,"GZ files are compressed using the gzip algorithm, commonly used for reducing file size and bundling files with TAR.",[15,16,17,18,19],{"ext":136,"name":137,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":138,"summary":139,"howToOs":140},"br","Brotli-compressed data",55,".br files contain data compressed with the Brotli algorithm, commonly used for web delivery. You open them by decompressing with Brotli tools or compatible archivers, then opening the extracted original file.",[15,16,17,18,19],{"ext":142,"name":143,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":138,"summary":144,"howToOs":145},"crx","Chrome/Chromium Extension Package (CRX)",".crx is the packaged format used to distribute Google Chrome and other Chromium-based browser extensions. It is essentially a signed wrapper around a ZIP archive containing the extension’s files.",[15,16,17,18,19],{"ext":147,"name":148,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":138,"summary":149,"howToOs":150},"ipa","iOS/iPadOS App Store Package (IPA)",".ipa is the package format for iOS/iPadOS apps. It is essentially a ZIP archive that contains an app bundle (typically under Payload/*.app) and related metadata used for installation and distribution.",[15,16,17,18,19],[152,155,158],{"label":153,"to":154},"Home","/",{"label":156,"to":157},"File Extension Index","/file-extension",{"label":159,"to":160},".TGZ","/file-extension/tgz","category-archives","/category/archives","Learn what .TGZ files are, how to open them on every platform, common fixes, and security best practices.",[15,16,17,18,19],[166,169,172,175,178],{"os":15,"label":167,"to":168},"Open .TGZ on Windows","/how-to/open-tgz-on-windows",{"os":16,"label":170,"to":171},"Open .TGZ on Mac","/how-to/open-tgz-on-mac",{"os":17,"label":173,"to":174},"Open .TGZ on Linux","/how-to/open-tgz-on-linux",{"os":18,"label":176,"to":177},"Open .TGZ on iOS","/how-to/open-tgz-on-ios",{"os":19,"label":179,"to":180},"Open .TGZ on Android","/how-to/open-tgz-on-android",[59,65,72,78],[62,63],[],"archive",[],[],[],[]]