How to move an entire directory tree

The Unix tar command can be used to build a so-called ``tarball'' file containing all the files in a given directory tree (that is, a given directory, any subdirectories below that directory, subdirectories of those subdirectories, and so on).

Once you have built a tarball file, you can use that file:

• To create a copy of that directory tree in a different location on that system or any other Unix system, or
• To archive the contents of a directory tree as a backup.

See these pages for the three main techniques:

• How to make a tar archive
• Listing the contents of a tar archive
• Extracting the contents of a tar archive

Last updated: 2000/09/20 21:11:28 UT
URL: http://www.nmt.edu/tcc/help/unix/tar.html