Unix / Linux: Tar Command Remove a Directory From a Tar Ball

To remove a directory from a tar ball in Unix or Linux, you can use the tar command with the --delete option.

Here is an example of how you can remove the directory dir1 from the tar ball archive.tar:

tar --delete -f archive.tar dir1

This will remove the directory dir1 from the tar ball archive.tar.

Note that the --delete option only works for tarballs in the ustar format. If the tarball is in a different format (e.g., pax or cpio), you will need to use a different method to remove the directory.

For example, you can extract the tarball to a temporary directory, delete the directory you want to remove, and then create a new tarball from the temporary directory. Here is an example of how you can do this:

# Extract the tarball to a temporary directory
mkdir temp
tar -xf archive.tar -C temp

# Remove the directory
rm -r temp/dir1

# Create a new tarball from the temporary directory
tar -cf archive.tar -C temp .

# Clean up the temporary directory
rm -r temp

Overall, the tar command with the --delete option is a useful tool for removing a directory from a tar ball in Unix or Linux. It allows you to easily delete directories from tarballs in the ustar format.