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TZ to TAR Converter

Convert TZ 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 TZ file?

A TZ file is a shorthand extension for a .tar.Z archive, consisting of a TAR container compressed using the historic Unix compress utility based on the Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) algorithm. While largely superseded by Gzip, TZ files persist in legacy Unix systems. The format relies on an adaptive dictionary-based compression scheme and is identified by the magic numbers 0x1F 0x9D within the file header.

How to open a TZ file

Opening a TZ file requires a utility capable of handling LZW compression. On Linux/Unix, the uncompress command or gunzip can decode the stream before passing it to tar. For Windows users, 7-Zip fully supports the LZW algorithm and can extract the underlying TAR archive in a single operation.

TZ Technical Info

Full Name
Compressed Tar Archive
Developed By
Spencer Thomas (Lempel-Ziv-Welch)
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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Why RunConvert

The fastest way to convert any file

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

Convert TZ to TAR in seconds

Every TZ 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 TZ to TAR via API

Automate TZ 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": "tz-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.tz

# 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.