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GZ to TAR Converter

Convert GZ to TAR online for free. Fast, secure, and high-quality conversion with no sign-up or software required.

Free to useNo file stored beyond 1 hourEncrypted over TLS 1.2/1.3No watermarks

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How it works

Three steps to your converted file

Everything happens in your browser tab - upload, pick a format, download. The heavy lifting runs on our servers.

01

Upload your file

Drag and drop, click to browse, or paste a URL. Batches take up to 20 files at once - 230+ input formats across video, audio, image, document, and archive types.

02

Choose an output format

Pick from over a hundred output formats. Filter by category or search by name - every option is open to everyone, no account needed.

03

Convert & download

Hit Convert and grab your download link moments later. Originals are erased when the job completes; results are cleared within about an hour.

What is a GZ file?

A GZ file is a compressed archive generated by the gzip (GNU zip) utility, originally developed by Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler in 1992 as a free software replacement for the LZW-patented Unix compress program. The format utilizes the DEFLATE algorithm, which combines LZ77 compression and Huffman coding to reduce file size losslessly. Defined by IETF RFC 1952, the GZ file structure includes a 10-byte header containing a magic number (0x1F 0x8B), compression method flags, and the original filename, followed by the compressed data stream and a CRC-32 checksum footer for error detection. Unlike ZIP archives, GZ is typically used to compress a single file or stream; multiple files are usually archived into a TAR file before compression, resulting in a .tar.gz extension.

How to open a GZ file

GZ files enjoy native support on Unix-like operating systems, including Linux and macOS, where they can be decompressed via the terminal using the gunzip command or opened with the built-in Archive Utility. On Microsoft Windows, native support is limited, necessitating third-party file archivers such as 7-Zip, WinRAR, or PeaZip to extract contents. Since GZ compresses a single bitstream, if the contained file is a TAR archive, users must perform a second extraction step to access the individual files within the resulting directory.

GZ Technical Info

Full Name
Gnu Zip
Developed By
The GNU Project (Jean-loup Gailly & Mark Adler)
Initial Release
1992
MIME Type
application/gzip

What is a TAR file?

The TAR (Tape Archive) format is a file format standardized by POSIX.1-1988 and later POSIX.1-2001 (pax), originally developed for writing data to sequential I/O devices like magnetic tape drives. Unlike modern archive formats, TAR is purely a container format that concatenates multiple files into a single archive without native compression, preserving file system attributes such as user/group permissions, dates, and directory structures. It is frequently paired with compression utilities like Gzip or Bzip2 in Unix-like environments.

How to open a TAR file

Most Unix-based systems (Linux, macOS, BSD) include native support via the GNU Tar command-line utility. Windows does not natively support TAR extraction in versions prior to Windows 10 (Build 17063), requiring third-party tools. For cross-platform compatibility, 7-Zip and WinRAR are standard utilities for inspecting and extracting TAR containers.

TAR Technical Info

Full Name
Tape Archive
Developed By
AT&T Bell Laboratories
Initial Release
1979
MIME Type
application/x-tar

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Why RunConvert

The fastest way to convert any file

Purpose-built for speed, privacy, and breadth of format support.

Convert GZ to TAR in seconds

Every GZ to TAR conversion runs on our servers, so your device stays fast and the output quality stays intact.

Fast, cloud-powered

No queue, no waiting. Files are processed on high-performance servers and returned in seconds, even for large files.

Secure & private

Encrypted in transit and never shared with anyone. Uploads are erased the moment your job completes, and results shortly after.

Free - no account needed

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Developer API

Convert GZ to TAR via API

Automate GZ to TAR conversions in three steps: create a job, upload your file, then poll for the result.

# 1. Create job
curl -X POST https://api.runconvert.com/v3/jobs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "tag": "gz-to-tar",
    "tasks": {
      "upload-file": {
        "operation": "import/upload"
      },
      "convert": {
        "operation": "convert",
        "input": "upload-file",
        "output_format": "tar"
      },
      "export-result": {
        "operation": "export/url",
        "input": "convert"
      }
    }
  }'

# 2. Upload your file (use upload_url from the response)
curl -X PUT "$UPLOAD_URL" --upload-file input.gz

# 3. Poll for result
curl https://api.runconvert.com/v3/jobs/$JOB_ID?include=tasks \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your RunConvert API key. Get your free API key at runconvert.com/api.