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TBZ to TAR Converter

Convert TBZ 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 tbz file?

A tbz file is a shorthand extension for .tar.bz2, representing a POSIX tarball compressed with the Bzip2 algorithm. Developed by Julian Seward, Bzip2 utilizes the Burrows-Wheeler Transform (BWT) followed by Move-to-Front (MTF) transforms and Huffman coding. This stack allows for significantly tighter compression than the traditional gzip (DEFLATE) method at the cost of higher CPU usage during compression and decompression. It is widely used in BSD operating systems for packaging ports and system files.

How to open a tbz file

Linux and macOS environments natively support tbz extraction via the command line using tar -jxf file.tbz, where the -j flag invokes the bzip2 decompressor. For Windows users, 7-Zip, WinZip, and WinRAR all possess the necessary libraries to decode the BWT blocks and extract the internal tar archive without requiring command-line interaction.

tbz Technical Info

Full Name
Tape Archive + Bzip2
Developed By
Julian Seward
Initial Release
1996
MIME Type
application/x-bzip2

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 TBZ to TAR in seconds

Every TBZ 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

Convert without creating an account - no credit card, no trial clock. Sign in only if you want history and higher daily limits.

Developer API

Convert TBZ to TAR via API

Automate TBZ 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": "tbz-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.tbz

# 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.