ustar(1)                     BSD Reference Manual                     ustar(1)

NAME
     ustar - write ustar format archives using pax

SYNOPSIS
     ustar [-]{crtux}[bBefhmpv] [tarfile] [blocksize] [paxflags] file ...

DESCRIPTION
     Ustar will read and write extended tar interchange format archives as
     specified in POSIX.1 {8} 10.1.1. The default blocksize for character spe-
     cial archive files is 10240.  All blocksizes less than or qual to 32256
     that are multiples of 512 are supported.  You can include any of the aru-
     ments to pax(1) before the file name list.

OPTIONS
     You can ommit the initial dash '-' on the option cluster, like tradition-
     al tar.  One and only one of the following is required:

     -c      Create a new tarfile.

     -r      Append the named files to the archive.

     -t      Print table of contents.

     -u      Update files in archive (add files if they are not in archive or
             have changed).

     -x      Extract the named files.

     The optional arguments are:

     -b      Set blocking factor (requires argument blocksize).

     -B      Force blocking (this is a no-op, it's the default).

     -e      Exit on error.

     -f      Specify archive name (requires argument tarfile) default is
             $TAPE.

     -h      Follow symlinks as if they were normal files or directories.

     -m      Set modification time of extracted files to time extracted.

     -p      Preserve file permissions etc..

     -v      Verbose.

     The options -io are allowed but have no affect and print a warning.

     The options -lwFX014578CI are not allowed and generate fatal errors.

     Some useful pax flags (See pax(1) for a complete reference):
     -c      Match all members except those specified by operands.
     -d      Extract directory only (not recursive and not contents).
     -k      Prevent overwriting of existing files.
     -s /old/new/[gp]
             Apply substitution on member names.
     -t      Don't update access times on files read by pax.
     -C records
             Limit number of records written per volume.
     -T from[,to]


             Select files based on modification time [yy[mm[dd[hh]]]]m[.ss].

     -X      Don't cross device boundries.

EXAMPLES
     tar cvf tarfile /usr
             Archive everything under /home.
     tar tvf tarfile
             List the contents of the archive named tarfile.
     tar cvf tarfile -X -s ',^/var,,' /
             Archive everything in the root filesystem except /var files.

BUGS
     ustar is implemented as a perl script front end to pax(1).

SEE ALSO
     pax(1),  tar(1).

BSDI BSD/386                    March 26, 1993                               2