TAR.Z to TAR Converter

Convert TAR.Z 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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Maximum file size is 1GB

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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.

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.

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.

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 tar.z file?

The tar.z extension (often shortened to .taz) denotes a TAR archive compressed using the legacy Unix compress utility. This format relies on the Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) adaptive compression algorithm. Historically significant in early Unix System V environments, it predates the DEFLATE algorithm used in gzip. Due to the patent encumbrances on LZW (Unisys) in the 1990s and lower compression efficiency compared to modern standards, it is technically obsolete but remains in legacy repository archives.

How to open a tar.z file

While the format is deprecated, most Unix-like systems (Linux, BSD, macOS) retain backward compatibility via the uncompress utility or gunzip, which can detect and decompress LZW streams (command: zcat file.tar.z | tar -xvf -). On Windows, 7-Zip provides robust support for opening legacy Z-compressed archives, as does the multi-format archiver IzArc.

tar.z Technical Info

Full Name: Tape Archive + Unix Compress
Developed By: Spencer Thomas (LZW implementation)
Initial Release: 1984
MIME Type: application/x-compress

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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Convert TAR.Z to TAR in seconds

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

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

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Developer API

Convert TAR.Z to TAR via API

Automate TAR.Z 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": "tar.z-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.tar.z

# 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.