BZ2 to tar.gz for tools that moved on
Old bzip2 tarballs re-wrapped in the compression today's pipelines default to.
Runs in your browser. Your file never leaves your computer.
- Fitsgzip-assuming pipelines
- TreeRebuilt identically
- SizeSlightly up; gzip is looser
- ProcessedLocally, in memory
Pipelines and package tooling standardised on gzip tarballs, and the .tar.bz2 files of an earlier era occasionally need re-wrapping to fit. The conversion unpacks the bzip2 layer and the tar within, then rebuilds as .tar.gz: same tree, same bytes per file, the wrapper modern scripts assume. Sizes grow slightly, gzip being looser than bzip2, a fair price for frictionless tooling. Everything runs in memory, in the browser, unshared.
Questions
Why not keep bz2 if it compresses better?
Where tooling handles it, do; this page serves the scripts and systems that only speak gzip tarballs.
Do file contents change?
No, only the compression wrapper; every file inside is byte-identical.
Local conversion?
Yes, fully in-browser.
Related conversions
- BZ2 to ZIPThe bzip2 layer and any tarball inside unpacked, then rebuilt as an archive for everyone.
- Extract BZ2Bzip2 files and their tarballs unpacked into a folder, patience included for the format's pace.
- RAR to tar.gzArchives headed to servers and build systems, repacked into the bundle Linux tools expect.
- 7z to tar.gzFrom the Windows power-user format to the Unix standard bundle, restructured in one pass.
- TAR to tar.gzThe missing compression layer added: same bundle, gzip-packed, as the tools always intended.
- XZ to tar.gzFor older systems and stubborn scripts that never learned xz: same tree, friendlier wrapper.
Part of convert archives in your browser. Every other conversion is on the conversions index.