pax

Pax is a command line tool used for creating, extracting, and modifying archive files on Unix-like systems. It stands for "Portable Archive Interchange", and it was primarily developed as an alternative to the tar command. Pax supports various archive formats, including the popular tar format as well as cpio, which makes it versatile in terms of compatibility. It can handle both compressed and uncompressed archives, allowing users to select from a range of compression algorithms such as gzip, bzip2, or xz. One of the key features of pax is its ability to preserve file attributes, such as ownership, permissions, and timestamps, while extracting or creating archives. Pax also supports extended file attributes, allowing users to include additional metadata like ACLs or SELinux labels in the archive. Unlike tar, which has platform-specific extensions, pax aims to provide a more standardized and portable archive solution across different Unix systems. Additionally, pax supports a wide range of command line options, providing users with flexibility in terms of archive creation or extraction. Pax is also scriptable, enabling users to write scripts to automate archival tasks or perform batch operations on files and directories. Overall, pax is a powerful and flexible command line tool for managing archive files, offering a portable and standardized solution with various customization options.