compressionarchivetarxz

Create a tar.xz in one command

I am trying to create a .tar.xz compressed archive in one command. What is the specific syntax for that?

I have tried tar cf - file | xz file.tar.xz, but that does not work.

Solution

  • Use the -J compression option for xz. And remember to man tar :)

    tar cfJ <archive.tar.xz> <files>

    Edit 2015-08-10:

    If you're passing the arguments to tar with dashes (ex: tar -cf as opposed to tar cf), then the -f option must come last, since it specifies the filename (thanks to @A-B-B for pointing that out!). In that case, the command looks like:

    tar -cJf <archive.tar.xz> <files>