Backing Up and Recovering Directories: Quick Reference for tar

To create a tar backup to tape:

This can include files and directories.

	NOTE: This overwrites anything already on the tape. v (verbose) is optional throughout. tar assumes the system default tape device file /dev/rmt/0m; this is implicit in all the tape examples that follow. You can specify a different device file (or a disk file; see the next example) by means of the f option.

To add files to the tape only if they are not already there, or have been modified since they were last written to the tape:

tar uv /home/me

New and changed files in the directory /home/me are added to the end of the tape (old versions of the files are not overwritten on the tape).

To find out what’s already on the tape:

tar tv

To write out the tape table of contents to a file:

tar tv > /home/me/backup.12.26.2007

To print out the tape table of contents:

tar tv | lp lp_options  

To extract a file (get it back off the tape):

tar x /users/me/mystuff/needed

To extract a directory (and any of its sub-directories)

tar x /users/me/mystuff

To restore all the files on the tape (write them back to disk):

tar x

	NOTE: tar recreates the directories on the tape if they aren’t already on the system.