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How to Open and Use GZ Files on Windows 11: A Step-by-Step Guide

You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. This guide will teach you the steps to use native tar commands on Windows 10 from Command Prompt and Ubuntu to extract the content of a .tar.gz file. Both options will extract the contents of the GZ file, but with “Extract Here,” the contents will be placed in the same location as the GZ file. If you select “Extract files,” you can specify a different folder to place the extracted files. As soon as you execute the command, tar will unzip and extract the file.

I know of no built-in method for similar results, If you say tar isn’t working for you. Once the extraction process is complete, a new folder or files will appear in the destination you’ve tracing transactions across cryptocurrency ledgers chosen. These are the contents of the GZ file, and you can now use them as needed. Once you complete the steps, the files and folders will extract to the specified destination.

  1. Right click on the result and select Run as Administrator.
  2. This wikiHow article will teach you how to extract files from compressed GZ archives on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, and iPad.
  3. If you select “Extract files,” you can specify a different folder to place the extracted files.

By following these steps, you should now be able to extract GZ files in whatever manner you find useful. If you’re working with similar file types, our how to open TGZ file guide should come in handy. It is very easy to unzip a GZ file on Windows 10 using Command Prompt, also known as cmd.

To access the files inside, you’ll need to extract them similar to how you’d unzip a ZIP file. Fortunately, it’s easy to extract GZ files on any platform! This wikiHow article will teach you how to extract files from compressed GZ archives on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, and iPad. Windows 11 includes native support to extract “.tar.gz” files using Command Prompt without needing third-party tools. You can even use a Linux distro through the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) to quickly extract tarballs created on another platform. Renaming the file with a .gz file or with another extension will not extract the files.

Unzip a GZ file using Command Prompt

You will need conversion software to perform compression or extraction process. Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology.

How do I extract GZ files on Windows?

While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com. Like any file, GZ files can be used to distribute harmful software, so always ensure you trust the source of the file before opening it. The file extension is important because this determines the type of that document.

Starting from Windows 10 build 17063, tar and curl are supported, therefore it is possible to unzip a .tar.gz file in one step by using tar command, as below. Before we dive into the steps, let’s quickly understand what we’re up against. GZ files are compressed files, similar to ZIP files, created using the Gzip compression utility. They’re often used in Unix and Linux systems but can be opened in Windows 11 with the right tools.

First, press the Start key on your keyboard or the Start icon on the taskbar. Once you see the Command Prompt result, right-click on it and choose the “Run as Administrator” option. People compress large files to RAR and ZIP for storing and sharing them easily and quickly. Similar to these, GZ is also a compressed archive to compress files.

The Unzip to…option opens up another window with extra settings. Find centralized, trusted content and collaborate around the technologies is bitcoin the new safe haven or heading for another crash you use most. As long as you download them from their official websites or trusted sources, they are safe to use.

The extracted content will be saved to the destination folder. A file using .tar.gz format is a file that has been created using the Unix-based archival application tar and then compressed using the gzip compression. These files are often referred to as “tarballs.” While you can find them with a double extension (.tar.gz), the extension can also be shortened to .tgz or .gz. After installing the archiver, you will notice new options in the context menu when you right-click files. These new options are related to the file archiver you’ve installed and are the key to opening your GZ file.

How can I unzip a .tar.gz in one step (using 7-Zip)?

However, newer versions (starting from Windows 10) have it preinstalled. It is assumed the tarball was created on another system. Also, we skipped some options that are usually useful to preserve permissions since they are not required on  Windows 11.

Extract .tar.gz, .tgz, .gz tarballs on Windows 11 using tar

After the option, you have to specify the path of the tarball file to extract. In the command, we start the path with /mnt/c/ since this is Linux, not Windows. It is assumed that you are extracting a tarball created on another system. We are skipping some arguments usually necessary to preserve permissions, which on Windows 10 are not required to access the files. Once you complete the steps, you will have all the files and folders extracted to the destination path you specified after a few moments.

The good thing is, Windows 11 natively supports unzipping and extracting tar.gz files. However, Windows 10 includes native support for tar files, and you can use Command Prompt to extract these files. Or you can even use the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) that includes native support for Ubuntu, Fedora, SUSE, and many other distros.

GZ files might seem intimidating at first, especially if you’re new to Windows 11 or compressed files in general. However, as we’ve just explored, they’re really not that difficult to handle. With a simple file archiver like 7-Zip or WinRAR, you can open GZ files in a matter of minutes and access the data contained within.

Simply download and install the archiver, right-click on the GZ file, select the appropriate option to extract the file, and voila! Since Windows doesn’t natively support .tar.gz files, extracting involves third-party tools or non-native commands. The team evolution dash for ca$h following text outlines the process of extracting a .tar.gz file in a Windows environment. In this guide, you will learn the steps to use native tar commands on Windows 11 using Command Prompt and Ubuntu to extract the content of a .tar.gz file.

Remember, the key to success with GZ files is having the right tools and following the steps carefully. So go ahead, give it a try, and you’ll see that dealing with GZ files on Windows 11 is a piece of cake. Who knows, maybe you’ll become the go-to person for file extraction among your friends and colleagues! While tarball files are more common in the Linux world, you might encounter them occasionally in the Windows world too. For instance, many open-source project use .tar.gz, .tgz, or .gz file compression formats.

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