Loona TAR File Extractor - Open TAR Files Online
TAR is the tape-era grandparent of archive formats: on Linux and macOS servers, source code, backups and log bundles still move around as .tar files - and Windows still cannot open them natively. This page opens plain TAR plus its BZIP2- and XZ-compressed variants with a WebAssembly port of libarchive, entirely on your device. (For the even more common .tar.gz, there is a dedicated page linked below.)
How to use the TAR File Extractor
- Drop your .tar, .tar.bz2 or .tar.xz file onto the box above, or click it and pick the file from your device.
- Wait a moment while the archive is read - on first use the extraction engine (about 1 MB) loads once and is then cached by your browser.
- Browse the list of files inside the archive, with paths and sizes.
- Click Download next to any single file, or use Download all as ZIP to save everything as one standard ZIP file.
How it works
A TAR file is not compressed at all - it is a sequence of 512-byte header blocks and file data, padded to a fixed record size, which made it perfect for tape drives. This page first removes any outer compression layer (BZIP2 or XZ) and then walks the TAR headers with libarchive compiled to WebAssembly, listing every entry with its path and size. Files are extracted only when you download them; the Download all as ZIP option re-packs them with JSZip.
Worked example
A server backup arrives as logs-2026.tar.xz (9 MB). You open it here and see 143 log files in dated folders. Instead of unpacking everything, you download just the two logs from the day of the outage (about 300 KB each) and leave the rest packed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between .tar, .tar.bz2 and .tar.xz?
The inside is the same TAR structure; only the outer compression differs. Plain .tar is uncompressed, .tar.bz2 uses BZIP2 (good compression, slower), and .tar.xz uses XZ/LZMA2 (usually the smallest result). All three open on this page.
Where is .tar.gz? It is the most common one I see.
It has its own dedicated page - the TAR.GZ File Extractor linked below - because .tar.gz is what most people actually receive. Technically this page's engine can also read .tar.gz; the dedicated page simply speaks to that search and that file type directly.
Can this tool open .tgz, .tbz2 or .txz files?
.tbz2 and .txz are just short names for .tar.bz2 and .tar.xz, and both are accepted here. .tgz is the short name for .tar.gz - use the TAR.GZ File Extractor page for those.
Why is my .tar file so large compared to a ZIP of the same files?
Because plain TAR does no compression at all - it only bundles. A 100 MB folder becomes a roughly 100 MB .tar. If size matters, the compressed variants (.tar.gz, .tar.xz) or a ZIP are the better choice.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. The engine is WebAssembly running in your browser tab; the archive never leaves your device, and the tool still works offline once the page has loaded.
Related Developer Tools
TAR.GZ File Extractor
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Archive File Extractor
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Unzip File Extractor
Open a ZIP in your browser, see what is inside and extract single files or everything.