How do I open a .TAR file on Windows or Mac?

You can open .TAR files using 7-Zip, PeaZip, GNU tar, macOS Terminal, WinZip. If you do not have native software installed, you can use OpenAnyFile's free File Identifier or convert .TAR to a standard format in your browser.

Is a .TAR file safe to open?

This format carries a safety rating of Low Risk. Uncompressed TAR files are often combined with Gzip (.tar.gz) or Bzip2 (.tar.bz2)

Can I convert a .TAR file to other formats?

Yes! .TAR can be converted to formats such as .ZIP, .TGZ directly in your web browser.

What should I do if a .TAR file is corrupted or won't open?

If your .TAR file displays an invalid header or signature error, check its magic bytes hex header (Varies) using OpenAnyFile's Magic Byte Detector or follow our step-by-step file repair guide.

How do I open .TAR files?

You can open .TAR files using 7-Zip, PeaZip, GNU tar, macOS Terminal, WinZip.

Archives • MIME: application/x-tar

.TAR – TAR File Format

Q: What is a .TAR file?

A .TAR file is a TAR File Format associated with Archives. TAR (Tape Archive) is a UNIX standard archive format that consolidates multiple files, file metadata, and directory trees into a single uncompressed stream.

TAR (Tape Archive) is a UNIX standard archive format that consolidates multiple files, file metadata, and directory trees into a single uncompressed stream.

Primary Category Archives

MIME Type application/x-tar

Magic Bytes Signature Varies

Security Risk Rating Low Risk

Recommended Software to Open .TAR

7-Zip

windows, mac, linux • Free

PeaZip

windows, mac, linux • Free

GNU tar

windows, mac, linux • Free

macOS Terminal

windows, mac, linux • Free

WinZip

windows, mac, linux • Free