If you need to archive a folder on a remote server and download it to your local machine immediately: ssh user@remote "tar -cz /path/to/dir" > local_file.tar.gz 4. Language-Specific Methods
To save disk space and time, you can pipe the download directly into the tar command without saving the archive locally. : wget -qO- https://example.com | tar -xzv Using curl : curl -L https://example.com | tar -xzv 3. Remote Downloads via SSH Download tar
The most common way to handle these files is via the terminal using curl or wget . : wget https://example.com If you need to archive a folder on
curl -L -o file.tar.gz https://example.com (The -L flag follows redirects) : tar -xzvf file.tar.gz -x : Extract files. -z : Decompress (for .gz files). -v : Verbose (shows progress). -f : Use the specified file. Remote Downloads via SSH The most common way
: Add -C /path/to/folder to the end of your command. 2. Efficiency: Download and Extract in One Step
Downloading and extracting tar archives—often called "tarballs"—is a foundational task for Linux and macOS users, commonly used for software distribution and backups. A tar file (Tape Archive) bundles multiple files into one, while extensions like .tar.gz or .tgz indicate it has also been compressed. 1. Basic Download and Extract Commands
For automation in development, most languages have dedicated libraries: