Open and browse TAR archive contents directly in your browser - no command line, no 7-Zip, no software needed. Handles plain .tar tarballs and compressed .tar.gz, .tgz, .tar.bz2 and .tar.xz automatically. Navigate folders, preview images and text, and extract individual files. Common for Linux source code, backups, and Docker layers. Need other formats? Use the ZIP Viewer, the Archive Viewer for RAR, 7Z and more, or the GZ Opener for plain .gz files. Want to build an archive? Try the Archive Creator.
or click to browse - works for tarballs up to 500 MB
Drag your .tar, .tar.gz, .tgz, .tar.bz2 or .tar.xz file onto the upload area, or click to browse. The tarball is read in your browser via WebAssembly - nothing is uploaded to a server.
Compressed tarballs are decompressed automatically, then the inner TAR tree is shown. Click folders or use the breadcrumb trail to navigate, and search files by name across the whole archive.
Click any text, code, or image file to open it without extracting - handy for inspecting source trees, config files, or a Dockerfile before unpacking.
Grab single files with the download icon, hand-pick items via the checkboxes, or click Extract All as ZIP to repackage everything with a branded README inside.
Working with other formats? Use the ZIP Viewer, the Archive Viewer for RAR, 7Z and more, or the GZ Opener for plain .gz files. Want to build a new archive? Use the Archive Creator.
TAR (Tape Archive) is the standard archive format of the Unix and Linux world, dating back to 1979. The name comes from its original purpose: writing files sequentially to magnetic tape. A .tar file bundles many files and folders into one - preserving permissions, ownership, symlinks, and directory structure - but it does not compress on its own. That's why TAR is almost always paired with a compressor.
This viewer handles all of them. It decompresses the outer layer (GZIP, bzip2, or xz) and then reads the inner TAR structure automatically, so you see the file tree directly - no two-step "decompress then untar" needed.
.tar.gz or .tar.xztar is the go-to tool for Unix/Linux backups because it preserves permissions and symlinksThe key difference: ZIP compresses each file individually and is the Windows default. TAR.GZ bundles first, then compresses the whole thing - which gives better ratios on many small similar files (like source code) and preserves Unix metadata that ZIP loses. Open ZIP files with the ZIP Viewer; for everything at once use the Archive Viewer, and build new archives with the Archive Creator.
Plain TAR plus TAR.GZ, TGZ, TAR.BZ2, and TAR.XZ - the outer compression is detected and handled automatically.
Walk through nested directories with breadcrumb navigation. The full Unix directory tree is preserved.
Find any file by name across the entire tarball without unpacking it first - great for deep source trees.
Preview source code, config files, README and LICENSE, JSON and images inline before extracting.
Download only the files you need. No need to untar a whole source release for one config file.
Convert the tarball contents to a clean ZIP with the original folder structure and a branded README.
No need to remember tar -xzvf flags. Works on Windows and Chromebooks where tar isn't installed.
All processing runs in your browser via WebAssembly. Your TAR files are never uploaded to any server.
Drag your .tar file onto this page and the contents appear in your browser instantly. No 7-Zip, no WinRAR, no tar -xzvf command line. The tarball is read locally using WebAssembly, so it works on Windows, Mac, Chromebooks - any device with a browser. This is especially handy on Windows where TAR isn't a native double-click format.
Yes - TAR.GZ (.tgz), TAR.BZ2 (.tbz2) and TAR.XZ (.txz) are all supported. The viewer decompresses the outer layer and then reads the inner TAR structure automatically, so you see the file tree directly without a separate "decompress then untar" step.
A plain .tar file bundles multiple files into one without compression - it just preserves the directory structure, permissions, and symlinks. A .tar.gz (or .tgz) is that same TAR archive then compressed with GZIP to shrink it. TAR.BZ2 and TAR.XZ use bzip2 and xz compression instead, trading speed for smaller files. This viewer handles all of them and shows the contents the same way.
Yes - all processing happens locally in your browser using WebAssembly. Your TAR files are never uploaded to any server, so there's no risk of data exposure - safe for source code, server backups, and proprietary archives. When you close the tab, all data is cleared from memory. Still concerned? Please contact us and we'll be happy to help!
Yes - click the download icon next to any file to extract just that one entry, perfect when you only need one file from a large source release without untarring everything. You can also tick multiple files and folders to bundle a custom selection, or click Extract All as ZIP to repackage everything with the original folder structure and a branded README inside.
Since processing happens in your browser, the practical limit depends on your device's available memory. The viewer handles tarballs up to 500 MB comfortably on modern devices. Larger archives may still work but parsing speed varies. The file list usually loads quickly even when full extraction takes longer - so you can browse and grab individual files without waiting.
Use the dedicated ZIP Viewer for ZIP files and the GZ Opener for plain GZIP files. The Archive Viewer handles all formats including RAR, 7Z, ISO and CAB. To build a new archive, use the Archive Creator.