How to Open a TAR File in Windows 10 [6 Easy Methods]

Dedicated tools will easily open TAR files. You can also rely on ZIP archives.

How to » File Opener

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by Milan Stanojevic 

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Key notes

  • TAR files are mostly present on Linux, but what can you do if you encounter them on Windows?
  • In order to open a TAR file in Windows 10, you need to use specialized tools.
  • In this article, we’ll show you how to do that with both expert programs and online archives.
open tar file

TAR files are similar to ZIP files in many ways since they allow you to store multiple files into a single file. This file type is mostly used on Linux, but you can sometimes encounter it on Windows as well.

How can I open a tar file in Windows 10?

If you encounter a TAR file, how do you open it? In today’s article, we’ll show you methods that you can use to open the TAR file on your PC.

1. Convert TAR files in Windows 10 with WinZip

wwinzip on mac

WinZip is one of the best-known file archiver software on the market. The software can work with various file types including, RAR, 7Z, TAR, ISO, IMG, ZIP, GZ, TAZ, TGZ, and many others.

The software is incredibly simple to use and to open a TAR file or any other archive, you just need to double-click it and WinZip will do the rest.

WinZip also offers file protection, allowing you to encrypt and protect your files from unauthorized access.

Other useful features:

  • Ability to access files on PC, network drive, and cloud
  • Works with Dropbox, Google Drive, One Drive, and other cloud services
  • Ability to convert PDF files
  • Available on Mac and PC
  • Ability to split ZIP files
WinZip

WinZip

WinZip is powerful file archiver software that works with all popular file extensions, including TAR files.
Free trial Visit website

2. Open TAR files in Windows 10 with WinRAR

file reducing tool winrar

Another software that can open TAR files in WinRAR. The software also works with other formats including RAR, CAB, ZIP, ARJ, LZH, GZ, UUE, BZ2, JAR, ISO, 7Z, XZ, Z, and others.

The software is simple to use, and you can open a TAR file like any other file. The software also offers strong AES 256-bit encryption, so you can easily protect your files.

Other useful features:

  • Supports both graphical and command line interface
  • Built-in wizards that can help you extract your files
  • Can work with large files
WinRAR

WinRAR

WinRAR is a file achiever software used predominantly to create RAR files, but it fully supports TAR files.
Free trial Visit website

3. Use 7-Zip to convert TAR files in Windows 10

  1. Download 7-Zip and install it.
    7zip open tar file
  2. Locate the TAR file and right-click it.
  3. Choose 7-Zip > Extract Here / Extract To.
  4. Select the location where you want to extract it.

In addition to TAR files, 7-Zip can also work with 35+ different file types, so you can use it to work with other archive file types.

4. Convert TAR files in Windows 10 using Convertio

  1. Visit Convertio website.
  2. Click on Choose Files and upload the file from your PC. Alternatively, you can add a file from Dropbox, Google Drive or any other URL.
    convertio open tar file
  3. Now click the Convert button and wait for the process to finish.
  4. Once the file is converted, download it and you should be able to open it with ease.

Keep in mind that the service works with files that are up to 100MB in size.

5. Open TAR files in Windows 10 with Cloudconvert

A great tool you can use to convert TAR files so that you can open them on Windows 10 is Cloudconvert.

It is a third-party converter service available on browser. Users can convert up to 25 files per day using the free-version of Cloudconvert.

1. Navigate to the Cloudconvert website.

2. Click on the Select File in them middle of the screen.

cloudconverter select file

3. Choose how you want to add your TAR archive. You can upload it from your computer or you can add it from cloud storage.

4. Change the conversion settings if you want.

5. Wait for the conversion process to finish.

6. Download the file.

6. Open TAR files in Windows 10 with Zamzar

  1. Go to the Zamzar website.
  2. Click on the Add Files button and upload the file. If you want, you can also link files that are hosted elsewhere.
    zamzar open tar file
  3. Make sure that ZIP is selected as the output format.
  4. Now click on Convert Now and wait for the process to finish.
  5. After the conversion is done, download your ZIP file.

Keep in mind that this service is limited to 50MB per file for free users. Opening TAR files on Windows PC is simple, as long as you have the right software for the job.

If you don’t want to use a third-party software, you can always convert the TAR file to a ZIP archive online.

More about the topics: file opener, Windows 10 Guides

Milan Stanojevic

Milan Stanojevic Shield

Windows Toubleshooting Expert

Milan has been enthusiastic about technology ever since his childhood days, and this led him to take interest in all PC-related technologies. He's a PC enthusiast and he spends most of his time learning about computers and technology. Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he's one of the Troubleshooting experts in our worldwide team, specializing in Windows errors & software issues.