Working with .xar Archives (with examples)

Command: xar -cf

xar -cf archive.xar path/to/directory

Motivation: When you have a directory with multiple files and you want to create a single archive file that contains all of them, you can use the xar -cf command. This can be useful for organizing or transferring multiple files as a single unit.

Explanation:

• xar: The command itself.

• -cf: The option flags used to specify a create operation and file name respectively. -c stands for “create” and -f is used to specify the file name of the archive that will be created.

• archive.xar: The name of the resulting archive file. You can choose any desired name or extension for the archive.

• path/to/directory: The path to the directory containing the files you want to include in the archive. Make sure to provide the correct path to the directory.

Example Output: The command xar -cf archive.xar path/to/directory will create an archive file named archive.xar in the current working directory. The archive will include all the files present in the specified path/to/directory.

Command: xar -tf

xar -tf archive.xar

Motivation: When you have an existing .xar archive and want to see the list of files contained within it, the xar -tf command can be used. This can be helpful for verifying the contents of an archive without extracting it.

Explanation:

• xar: The command itself.

• -tf: The option flags used to specify a list operation and the file name respectively. -t stands for “list” and -f is used to specify the file name of the archive you want to inspect.

• archive.xar: The name of the .xar archive file you want to list the contents of.

Example Output: The command xar -tf archive.xar will output the file names and directory structure of the specified archive.xar file. This allows you to quickly view the contents of the archive without actually extracting it.

Command: xar -xf

xar -xf archive.xar

Motivation: When you have an existing .xar archive and want to extract its contents into the current working directory, the xar -xf command is used. This allows you to extract and access the files stored within the archive.

Explanation:

• xar: The command itself.

• -xf: The option flags used to specify an extract operation and the file name respectively. -x stands for “extract” and -f is used to specify the file name of the archive you want to extract.

• archive.xar: The name of the .xar archive file you want to extract.

Example Output: The command xar -xf archive.xar will extract all the files and directories from the specified archive.xar file into the current working directory. After executing this command, you will find the extracted files and directories in your current directory, preserving their original structure.