TAR Contents Viewer: List Files in a .tar Archive
Drop in a .tar archive to see what is inside without unpacking it. The viewer reads the 512-byte header blocks and lists every entry with its name, size, and type (file, directory, or symlink), along with the total file count and size. The archive is read entirely in your browser and never uploaded, and no files are extracted.
How to view the contents of a TAR file
- Drag a .tar file onto the box, or click browse to pick one.
- Read the table of entries with each name, size, and type.
- Check the totals at the top for the file count and combined size.
Examples
A small archive
project.tar containing src/ and one 100-byte file
2 entries: src/ (Directory), hello.txt (File, 100 B)
Frequently asked questions
Is my archive uploaded anywhere?
No. The .tar file is read and parsed entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing is sent to a server, so even private archives stay on your device.
Does it extract or decompress the files?
No. It only reads the 512-byte header blocks that describe each entry, then skips over the file data to reach the next header. The contents of your files are never decoded or written anywhere.
How does it list the contents without unpacking?
A TAR archive is a sequence of 512-byte blocks. Each stored item starts with a header block holding its name, octal size, mode, and a type flag. The viewer walks those headers and reports one row per entry.
Does it work with .tar.gz or .tgz files?
Not directly. Those are TAR archives compressed with gzip, so they must be decompressed to a plain .tar first. This tool reads uncompressed .tar archives as produced by tar without the -z flag.
What do the entry types mean?
Each header carries a type flag: a regular file, a directory, or a symbolic link. The table labels each row accordingly, and only regular files are counted toward the file total.
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