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<title>7.19 tarfile -- Read and write tar archive files</title>
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<H1><A NAME="SECTION0091900000000000000000">
7.19 <tt class="module">tarfile</tt> -- Read and write tar archive files</A>
</H1>
<P>
<A NAME="module-tarfile"></A>
<span class="versionnote">New in version 2.3.</span>
<P>
<P>
The <tt class="module">tarfile</tt> module makes it possible to read and create tar archives.
Some facts and figures:
<P>
<UL>
<LI>reads and writes <tt class="module">gzip</tt> and <tt class="module">bzip2</tt> compressed archives.
</LI>
<LI>creates POSIX 1003.1-1990 compliant or GNU tar compatible archives.
</LI>
<LI>reads GNU tar extensions <em>longname</em>, <em>longlink</em> and
<em>sparse</em>.
</LI>
<LI>stores pathnames of unlimited length using GNU tar extensions.
</LI>
<LI>handles directories, regular files, hardlinks, symbolic links, fifos,
character devices and block devices and is able to acquire and
restore file information like timestamp, access permissions and owner.
</LI>
<LI>can handle tape devices.
</LI>
</UL>
<P>
<dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline">
<td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2889' xml:id='l2h-2889' class="function">open</tt></b>(</nobr></td>
<td><var></var><big>[</big><var>name</var><big>[</big><var>, mode
</var><big>[</big><var>, fileobj</var><big>[</big><var>, bufsize</var><big>]</big><var></var><big>]</big><var></var><big>]</big><var></var><big>]</big><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt>
<dd>
Return a <tt class="class">TarFile</tt> object for the pathname <var>name</var>.
For detailed information on <tt class="class">TarFile</tt> objects,
see <em class="citetitle"
>TarFile Objects</em> (section <A href="tarfile-objects.html#tarfile-objects">7.19.1</A>).
<P>
<var>mode</var> has to be a string of the form <code>'filemode[:compression]'</code>,
it defaults to <code>'r'</code>. Here is a full list of mode combinations:
<P>
<div class="center"><table class="realtable">
<thead>
<tr>
<th class="center">mode</th>
<th class="left" >action</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr><td class="center" valign="baseline"><code>'r'</code></td>
<td class="left" >Open for reading with transparent compression (recommended).</td></tr>
<tr><td class="center" valign="baseline"><code>'r:'</code></td>
<td class="left" >Open for reading exclusively without compression.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="center" valign="baseline"><code>'r:gz'</code></td>
<td class="left" >Open for reading with gzip compression.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="center" valign="baseline"><code>'r:bz2'</code></td>
<td class="left" >Open for reading with bzip2 compression.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="center" valign="baseline"><code>'a' or 'a:'</code></td>
<td class="left" >Open for appending with no compression.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="center" valign="baseline"><code>'w' or 'w:'</code></td>
<td class="left" >Open for uncompressed writing.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="center" valign="baseline"><code>'w:gz'</code></td>
<td class="left" >Open for gzip compressed writing.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="center" valign="baseline"><code>'w:bz2'</code></td>
<td class="left" >Open for bzip2 compressed writing.</td></tr></tbody>
</table></div>
<P>
Note that <code>'a:gz'</code> or <code>'a:bz2'</code> is not possible.
If <var>mode</var> is not suitable to open a certain (compressed) file for
reading, <tt class="exception">ReadError</tt> is raised. Use <var>mode</var> <code>'r'</code> to
avoid this. If a compression method is not supported,
<tt class="exception">CompressionError</tt> is raised.
<P>
If <var>fileobj</var> is specified, it is used as an alternative to
a file object opened for <var>name</var>.
<P>
For special purposes, there is a second format for <var>mode</var>:
<code>'filemode|[compression]'</code>. <tt class="function">open()</tt> will return a
<tt class="class">TarFile</tt> object that processes its data as a stream of
blocks. No random seeking will be done on the file. If given,
<var>fileobj</var> may be any object that has a <tt class="method">read()</tt> or
<tt class="method">write()</tt> method (depending on the <var>mode</var>).
<var>bufsize</var> specifies the blocksize and defaults to <code>20 *
512</code> bytes. Use this variant in combination with
e.g. <code>sys.stdin</code>, a socket file object or a tape device.
However, such a <tt class="class">TarFile</tt> object is limited in that it does
not allow to be accessed randomly, see ``Examples''
(section <A href="tar-examples.html#tar-examples">7.19.3</A>). The currently possible modes:
<P>
<div class="center"><table class="realtable">
<thead>
<tr>
<th class="center">Mode</th>
<th class="left" >Action</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr><td class="center" valign="baseline"><code>'r|'</code></td>
<td class="left" >Open a <em>stream</em> of uncompressed tar blocks for reading.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="center" valign="baseline"><code>'r|gz'</code></td>
<td class="left" >Open a gzip compressed <em>stream</em> for reading.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="center" valign="baseline"><code>'r|bz2'</code></td>
<td class="left" >Open a bzip2 compressed <em>stream</em> for reading.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="center" valign="baseline"><code>'w|'</code></td>
<td class="left" >Open an uncompressed <em>stream</em> for writing.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="center" valign="baseline"><code>'w|gz'</code></td>
<td class="left" >Open an gzip compressed <em>stream</em> for writing.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="center" valign="baseline"><code>'w|bz2'</code></td>
<td class="left" >Open an bzip2 compressed <em>stream</em> for writing.</td></tr></tbody>
</table></div>
</dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><b><span class="typelabel">class</span> <tt id='l2h-2890' xml:id='l2h-2890' class="class">TarFile</tt></b>
<dd>
Class for reading and writing tar archives. Do not use this
class directly, better use <tt class="function">open()</tt> instead.
See ``TarFile Objects'' (section <A href="tarfile-objects.html#tarfile-objects">7.19.1</A>).
</dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline">
<td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2891' xml:id='l2h-2891' class="function">is_tarfile</tt></b>(</nobr></td>
<td><var>name</var>)</td></tr></table></dt>
<dd>
Return <tt class="constant">True</tt> if <var>name</var> is a tar archive file, that
the <tt class="module">tarfile</tt> module can read.
</dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline">
<td><nobr><b><span class="typelabel">class</span> <tt id='l2h-2892' xml:id='l2h-2892' class="class">TarFileCompat</tt></b>(</nobr></td>
<td><var>filename</var><big>[</big><var>, mode</var><big>[</big><var>,
compression</var><big>]</big><var></var><big>]</big><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt>
<dd>
Class for limited access to tar archives with a
<tt class="module"><a href="module-zipfile.html">zipfile</a></tt>-like interface. Please consult the
documentation of the <tt class="module"><a href="module-zipfile.html">zipfile</a></tt> module for more details.
<var>compression</var> must be one of the following constants:
<dl><dt><b><tt id='l2h-2893' xml:id='l2h-2893'>TAR_PLAIN</tt></b></dt>
<dd>
Constant for an uncompressed tar archive.
</dd></dl>
<dl><dt><b><tt id='l2h-2894' xml:id='l2h-2894'>TAR_GZIPPED</tt></b></dt>
<dd>
Constant for a <tt class="module"><a href="module-gzip.html">gzip</a></tt> compressed tar archive.
</dd></dl>
</dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><b><span class="typelabel">exception</span> <tt id='l2h-2895' xml:id='l2h-2895' class="exception">TarError</tt></b></dt>
<dd>
Base class for all <tt class="module">tarfile</tt> exceptions.
</dd></dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><b><span class="typelabel">exception</span> <tt id='l2h-2896' xml:id='l2h-2896' class="exception">ReadError</tt></b></dt>
<dd>
Is raised when a tar archive is opened, that either cannot be handled by
the <tt class="module">tarfile</tt> module or is somehow invalid.
</dd></dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><b><span class="typelabel">exception</span> <tt id='l2h-2897' xml:id='l2h-2897' class="exception">CompressionError</tt></b></dt>
<dd>
Is raised when a compression method is not supported or when the data
cannot be decoded properly.
</dd></dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><b><span class="typelabel">exception</span> <tt id='l2h-2898' xml:id='l2h-2898' class="exception">StreamError</tt></b></dt>
<dd>
Is raised for the limitations that are typical for stream-like
<tt class="class">TarFile</tt> objects.
</dd></dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><b><span class="typelabel">exception</span> <tt id='l2h-2899' xml:id='l2h-2899' class="exception">ExtractError</tt></b></dt>
<dd>
Is raised for <em>non-fatal</em> errors when using <tt class="method">extract()</tt>, but
only if <tt class="member">TarFile.errorlevel</tt><code> == 2</code>.
</dd></dl>
<P>
<div class="seealso">
<p class="heading">See Also:</p>
<dl compact="compact" class="seemodule">
<dt>Module <b><tt class="module"><a href="module-zipfile.html">zipfile</a></tt>:</b>
<dd>Documentation of the <tt class="module"><a href="module-zipfile.html">zipfile</a></tt>
standard module.
</dl>
<P>
<dl compact="compact" class="seetitle">
<dt><em class="citetitle"><a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/tar/manual/html_chapter/tar_8.html#SEC134"
>GNU tar manual, Basic Tar Format</a></em></dt>
<dd>Documentation for tar archive files,
including GNU tar extensions.</dd>
</dl>
</div>
<P>
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<A NAME="CHILD_LINKS"><STRONG>Subsections</STRONG></a>
<UL CLASS="ChildLinks">
<LI><A href="tarfile-objects.html">7.19.1 TarFile Objects</a>
<LI><A href="tarinfo-objects.html">7.19.2 TarInfo Objects</a>
<LI><A href="tar-examples.html">7.19.3 Examples</a>
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<span class="release-info">Release 2.4.3, documentation updated on 29 March 2006.</span>
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