TAR.GZ Extractor

About TAR.GZ Extractor

TAR.GZ Extractor on UtilityKit opens .tar.gz, .tgz, and plain .tar archives in your browser, lists every file inside, and lets you download any single entry with one click. The tool detects the gzip magic bytes (0x1F 0x8B), decompresses with pako, then walks the POSIX/USTAR tar header chain to enumerate files. Everything runs locally — no upload, no server, no install. GNU long-name (LongLink) extensions are handled, and pre-decompressed .tar files are accepted as-is. Drop in an archive up to 200 MB, browse the file list with paths and uncompressed sizes, and pull out exactly the files you need without unpacking the rest. Useful when you receive a Linux source tarball, a Docker image layer, or a backup .tgz on a machine that lacks a command-line unarchiver, or when you just want a quick GUI inspection of an unfamiliar archive without opening a terminal.

Why use TAR.GZ Extractor

• All Three Formats Supported: Handles .tar.gz, .tgz, and uncompressed .tar in one tool.
• Browser-Only: pako and the tar parser run entirely in your browser; archives never leave your device.
• GNU Long-Name Aware: Handles GNU LongLink extensions so paths over 100 characters are preserved correctly.
• Selective Extraction: Pull out one file from a large source tarball without expanding the rest to disk.
• No Install: Works without tar, gunzip, 7-Zip, or any desktop archiver — Chromebook-friendly.
• Free & Unlimited: No signup, no email, no ads, no daily cap.

How to use TAR.GZ Extractor

1. Drop a .tar.gz, .tgz, or .tar file onto the dropzone (max 200 MB).
2. The tool checks the gzip magic bytes and, if present, decompresses with pako entirely in your browser.
3. The decompressed tar stream is parsed and every file entry is listed with its path and uncompressed size.
4. Click the down-arrow next to any file to download just that file as a binary blob.
5. Drop a different archive at any time — there is no rate limit and nothing is cached.
6. If decompression fails, the file may not be a real gzip stream — check the file extension matches the magic bytes.

When to use TAR.GZ Extractor

• When you receive a Linux source tarball and only need one file out of it.
• When inspecting a Docker image layer (.tar) or backup tarball (.tgz) on a machine without command-line tools.
• When grabbing a single config or asset from a large npm package tarball.
• When working on a Chromebook or restricted device where installing tar is not allowed.
• When auditing an unfamiliar .tar.gz to confirm what is inside before unpacking on disk.
• When sharing your screen and a GUI extraction looks cleaner than a terminal command.

Examples

Tips

• If a .tar.gz fails to open, try unpacking it once with a desktop tool to confirm the file is not actually a renamed .tar.bz2 or .tar.xz.
• Use this tool to peek inside an npm package tarball: download the .tgz from npmjs and drop it here to see exactly what ships.
• Docker image layers are .tar — drop a single layer file to inspect the per-layer filesystem changes.
• For password-protected or encrypted archives, decrypt them on your desktop first; this tool reads only standard tar/gzip streams.
• Need to bundle files instead? Use the ZIP Creator tool — there is no in-browser tarball builder yet, but ZIP works on every operating system.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Glossary

TAR (Tape Archive)

A POSIX format for combining many files into a single stream, originally for tape backup. The format itself does no compression; gzip or bzip2 are layered on top to make .tar.gz / .tar.bz2.

GZIP

A lossless compression format using DEFLATE. Identified by the magic bytes 0x1F 0x8B at the start of the file. Combined with tar to produce .tar.gz / .tgz.

pako

A pure-JavaScript port of zlib that handles gzip and deflate decompression in the browser. Used here to unwrap the gzip layer before parsing the tar inside.