# Install tarlz with Homebrew, apt, Nix

Data compressor. Version 0.30 via Homebrew; verified 2026-08-01. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install tarlz.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:tarlz
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install tarlz
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install tarlz
```

  Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: tarlz from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#tarlz
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ta/tarlz/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:tarlz
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.30
- **Source summary:** Data compressor
- **Homepage:** <https://www.nongnu.org/lzip/tarlz.html>
- **Last updated:** 2026-08-01T22:30:10Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- tarlz (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.30
## Project history and usage

Tarlz is a command-line archiver that combines tar-style archiving with lzip compression while preserving alignment between tar members and lzip members. Its niche is careful, recoverable, parallel-friendly tar.lz archives.

### Project history

The official NonGNU page describes Tarlz as a massively parallel combined implementation of the tar archiver and the lzip compressor using lzlib. The official manual is copyrighted 2013-2026 by Antonio Diaz Diaz, and the official download index shows public tarlz tarball releases from 0.3 in March 2018 through 0.29 in January 2026.

### Adoption history

The supplied package-manager metadata shows Tarlz available in Homebrew, Debian, Nix, and Ubuntu. That is the expected adoption path for a small Unix archiving tool: source releases from the upstream lzip project, then distribution packaging for users who need lzip-compatible backup/archive workflows.

### How it is used

Tarlz is used to create and extract multimember tar.lz archives, including appendable and recoverable archive layouts. Official docs emphasize parallel decompression, appending and deleting members, safer recovery from corruption, and POSIX-style backup behavior.

### Why package nerds care

Package nerds care because Tarlz argues for archive format details that ordinary tar pipelines hide: member alignment, CRC-protected metadata, corruption recovery, and parallel decoding. It is the sort of tool that matters to distribution maintainers, backup users, and compression people who care about long-term archive integrity.

### Timeline

- 2018-03: Official download index lists tarlz 0.3.
- 2019-02: Official download index lists tarlz 0.11.
- 2021-06: Official download index lists tarlz 0.21.
- 2023-09: Official download index lists tarlz 0.24.
- 2026-01: Official manual covers tarlz 0.29.

### Related projects

- lzip, lzlib, plzip, lziprecover, GNU tar, POSIX pax format.

### Sources

- <https://download.savannah.nongnu.org/releases/lzip/tarlz/ official release index: tarball versions and dates.>
- <https://www.nongnu.org/lzip/manual/tarlz_manual.html official manual: version 0.29, usage, file-format notes.>
- <https://www.nongnu.org/lzip/tarlz.html official page: purpose, lzip/tar member alignment, recovery and parallel decoding claims.>
- input source_facts.package-manager: brew, Debian, Nix, Ubuntu packaging.


## Security Notes

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

- **Geiger risk:** blue / medium
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - tarlz - 0.27.1-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: tarlz from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | archiver with multimember lzip compression | http://www.nongnu.org/lzip/tarlz.html
- Nix - tarlz: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ta/tarlz/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - tarlz - 0.25-1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: tarlz from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | archiver with multimember lzip compression | http://www.nongnu.org/lzip/tarlz.html


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/tarlz.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/tarlz.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph