(Node.js) Extract a .tar.gz Archive to a Directory

See more Gzip Examples

This example demonstrates how to use the UnTarGz method to extract a .tar.gz archive to a specified directory.

The method performs both the Gzip decompression and TAR extraction in a single step. It operates in streaming mode, meaning it does not create temporary files and uses a constant, minimal amount of memory regardless of archive size.

The bNoAbsolute parameter is set to cktrue in this example to prevent extraction of files with absolute paths. This is a safety measure that helps avoid overwriting files in unintended locations (such as system directories).

This method is ideal for efficiently extracting large .tar.gz archives while maintaining security and low memory usage.

Install Chilkat for Node.js and Electron using npm at Chilkat npm packages for Node.js Chilkat npm packages for Electron on Windows, Linux, MacOS

var os = require('os');
if (os.platform() == 'win32') {  
  var chilkat = require('@chilkat/ck-node23-win64'); 
} else if (os.platform() == 'linux') {
    if (os.arch() == 'arm') {
        var chilkat = require('@chilkat/ck-node23-linux-arm');
    } else if (os.arch() == 'arm64') {
        var chilkat = require('@chilkat/ck-node23-linux-arm64');
    } else {
        var chilkat = require('@chilkat/ck-node23-linux-x64');
    }
} else if (os.platform() == 'darwin') {
  var chilkat = require('@chilkat/ck-node23-mac-universal');
}

function chilkatExample() {

    var success = false;

    // This example demonstrates how to extract a .tar.gz archive to a directory.

    var gzip = new chilkat.Gzip();

    // The .tar.gz file to be extracted:
    var tgzPath = "c:/temp/archive.tar.gz";

    // The destination directory:
    var destDir = "c:/temp/outputDir";

    // Set to true to prevent extraction of files with absolute paths:
    var noAbsolute = true;

    // Extract the archive:
    success = gzip.UnTarGz(tgzPath,destDir,noAbsolute);
    if (success == false) {
        console.log(gzip.LastErrorText);
        return;
    }

    console.log("Archive successfully extracted to: " + destDir);

}

chilkatExample();