{
 "id": "tape-archive",
 "name": "Tape Archive",
 "category": "archive",
 "identifiers": {
  "extensions": [
   "tar",
   "tgz",
   "tbz",
   "txz",
   "tlz",
   "tsz",
   "taz",
   "tz"
  ],
  "mime": [
   "application/x-tar"
  ],
  "puid": [
   "x-fmt/265"
  ],
  "wikidata": [
   "Q283579"
  ],
  "loc_fdd": [
   "fdd000531"
  ],
  "magic": [
   {
    "offset": 257,
    "hex": "7573746172"
   }
  ],
  "uti": [
   "public.tar-archive"
  ],
  "signatures": [
   {
    "name": "TAR (Tape Archive)",
    "sequences": [
     {
      "position": "bof",
      "offset": 0,
      "pattern": "[21:ef]{104}[30:37][20:37](00|20){5}[30:37][20:37](00|20){5}[30:37][20:37]00{10}[30:37](00|20){10}[30:37](00|20){5}[30:37][00:37](00|20)"
     }
    ]
   }
  ]
 },
 "status": "writable",
 "summary": "An archive format originally intended to archive files on backup tapes without a file system of their own. TAR files are usually uncompressed.",
 "tools": [
  {
   "name": "ABViewer",
   "url": "https://cadsofttools.com/products/abviewer/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "ACDSee",
   "url": "https://www.acdsee.com",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "proprietary license"
  },
  {
   "name": "Advanced Guard for Information Security",
   "url": "http://evc.ctc.com/products/agis/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "Altap Salamander",
   "url": "http://www.altap.cz",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "ALZip",
   "url": "https://www.altools.co.kr/download/alzip.aspx",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "freeware"
  },
  {
   "name": "Apache Tika",
   "url": "https://tika.apache.org",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "Apache Software License 2.0",
   "open_source": true
  },
  {
   "name": "Archive Utility",
   "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q963462",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "B1 Free Archiver",
   "url": "http://www.b1.org/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "proprietary license"
  },
  {
   "name": "diffoscope",
   "url": "https://diffoscope.org/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "GNU tar",
   "url": "https://www.gnu.org/software/tar/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": true
  },
  {
   "name": "Hachoir",
   "url": "http://hachoir.readthedocs.io/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "GNU General Public License, version 2.0",
   "open_source": true
  },
  {
   "name": "libarchive",
   "url": "https://libarchive.org/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": true,
   "license": "2-clause BSD License",
   "open_source": true
  },
  {
   "name": "Mathematica",
   "url": "https://www.wolfram.com/mathematica/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": true,
   "license": "proprietary license"
  },
  {
   "name": "ouch",
   "url": "https://crates.io/crates/ouch",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": true,
   "license": "MIT License",
   "open_source": true
  },
  {
   "name": "PhotoRec",
   "url": "http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "GNU General Public License",
   "open_source": true
  },
  {
   "name": "PowerArchiver",
   "url": "https://www.powerarchiver.com/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "PuriFile",
   "url": "https://purifile.com",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "Q1275912",
   "url": "https://peazip.github.io/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": true,
   "license": "GNU Lesser General Public License, version 3.0 or later",
   "open_source": true
  },
  {
   "name": "Q215051",
   "url": "https://7-zip.org",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": true,
   "license": "GNU Lesser General Public License",
   "open_source": true
  },
  {
   "name": "WinRAR",
   "url": "https://www.rarlab.com/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "proprietary license"
  },
  {
   "name": "WinZip",
   "url": "https://www.winzip.com/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "shareware"
  },
  {
   "name": "Zipeg",
   "url": "http://www.zipeg.com/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "BSD licenses",
   "open_source": true
  }
 ],
 "projects": [
  {
   "name": "File Formats Wiki",
   "url": "http://fileformats.archiveteam.org/wiki/Tape_Archive",
   "kind": "wiki"
  },
  {
   "name": "PRONOM x-fmt/265",
   "url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/PRONOM/x-fmt/265",
   "kind": "format-doc"
  },
  {
   "name": "Wikidata Q283579",
   "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q283579",
   "kind": "wiki"
  }
 ],
 "provenance": {
  "sources": [
   "ffw",
   "pronom",
   "wikidata"
  ]
 },
 "updated": "2026-10-24",
 "aliases": [
  "tar"
 ],
 "structure": [],
 "parsers": [],
 "conversions": [],
 "samples": [],
 "claims": [],
 "verification": []
}