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Sample TAR.BZ2 Download — Free Bzip2 Tarball Test Files

Download free sample tar.bz2 files with exact sizes — 100KB to 100MB. Use these bzip2 tarball test files to verify extraction pipelines, benchmark compression ratios against tar.gz, and test archival workflows. TAR.BZ2 achieves 10–20% better compression than gzip — common for Linux kernel sources and large software distribution.

sample-100kb.tar.bz2

100 KB
Verified file details
Filename
sample-100kb.tar.bz2
Exact size
102,400 bytes
Displayed size
100 KB
MIME type
application/octet-stream
License
CC0 / Public Domain
Download URL
https://truefilesize.com/files/tar-bz2/sample-100kb.tar.bz2

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sample-500kb.tar.bz2

500 KB
Verified file details
Filename
sample-500kb.tar.bz2
Exact size
512,000 bytes
Displayed size
500 KB
MIME type
application/octet-stream
License
CC0 / Public Domain
Download URL
https://truefilesize.com/files/tar-bz2/sample-500kb.tar.bz2

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sample-1mb.tar.bz2

1 MB
Verified file details
Filename
sample-1mb.tar.bz2
Exact size
1,048,576 bytes
Displayed size
1 MB
MIME type
application/octet-stream
License
CC0 / Public Domain
Download URL
https://truefilesize.com/files/tar-bz2/sample-1mb.tar.bz2

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sample-5mb.tar.bz2

5 MB
Verified file details
Filename
sample-5mb.tar.bz2
Exact size
5,242,880 bytes
Displayed size
5 MB
MIME type
application/octet-stream
License
CC0 / Public Domain
Download URL
https://truefilesize.com/files/tar-bz2/sample-5mb.tar.bz2

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sample-10mb.tar.bz2

10 MB
Verified file details
Filename
sample-10mb.tar.bz2
Exact size
10,485,760 bytes
Displayed size
10 MB
MIME type
application/octet-stream
License
CC0 / Public Domain
Download URL
https://truefilesize.com/files/tar-bz2/sample-10mb.tar.bz2

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sample-50mb.tar.bz2

50 MB
Verified file details
Filename
sample-50mb.tar.bz2
Exact size
52,428,800 bytes
Displayed size
50 MB
MIME type
application/octet-stream
License
CC0 / Public Domain
Download URL
https://truefilesize.com/files/tar-bz2/sample-50mb.tar.bz2

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sample-100mb.tar.bz2

100 MB
Verified file details
Filename
sample-100mb.tar.bz2
Exact size
104,857,600 bytes
Displayed size
100 MB
MIME type
application/octet-stream
License
CC0 / Public Domain
Download URL
https://truefilesize.com/files/tar-bz2/sample-100mb.tar.bz2

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Use cases for sample tar.bz2 files

  • Testing bzip2 extraction in archive handling pipelines
  • Verifying tar.bz2 upload support in web applications
  • Benchmarking bzip2 vs gzip decompression performance
  • Testing Linux package management workflows
  • Validating backup/restore systems with bzip2 archives
  • Testing format detection (bzip2 magic bytes: BZh)

Compression comparison — tar.gz vs tar.bz2

Featuretar.gztar.bz2
Compression ratioGoodBetter (10–20% smaller)
Compression speedFastSlow (2–6x slower)
Decompression speedFastModerate
Memory usageLowHigher
Best forGeneral use, CI/CD, deploysArchival, bandwidth-limited

How to create and extract tar.bz2

# Create a tar.bz2 archive
tar -cjf archive.tar.bz2 folder/

# Extract a tar.bz2 archive
tar -xjf archive.tar.bz2

# List contents without extracting
tar -tjf archive.tar.bz2

# Extract to a specific directory
tar -xjf archive.tar.bz2 -C /target/dir/

# Recompress tar.bz2 to tar.gz (for faster extraction)
bunzip2 -c archive.tar.bz2 | gzip > archive.tar.gz

Technical specifications

FormatTAR (tape archive) + bzip2 compression
Extensions.tar.bz2, .tbz2, .tb2
AlgorithmBurrows-Wheeler transform + Huffman coding
Block size100KB–900KB (configurable)
PreservesUnix permissions, ownership, symlinks
Developed byJulian Seward (1996)

Frequently Asked Questions

tar.bz2 vs tar.gz compression ratio — Which is smaller?
tar.bz2 is typically 10–20% smaller than tar.gz for the same content, because bzip2 uses the more advanced Burrows-Wheeler transform. The tradeoff: bzip2 compression is 2–6x slower and decompression is moderately slower. For most use cases, the speed advantage of tar.gz outweighs the size savings. tar.bz2 is best for bandwidth-limited scenarios and long-term archival.
How to extract tar.bz2 on Windows, Mac, and Linux?
Linux/macOS: tar -xjf archive.tar.bz2 (built-in). Windows: use 7-Zip (free — right-click → Extract Here) which handles bzip2+tar in one step. WinRAR also supports tar.bz2. On Windows 10/11 with WSL, use the native tar command: tar -xjf archive.tar.bz2.
When should I use tar.bz2 instead of tar.gz?
Use tar.bz2 when file size is more important than speed — archival storage, distributing large packages over slow connections, or when hosting bandwidth costs matter. For CI/CD pipelines, deployments, and interactive use, tar.gz is usually better due to faster decompression. tar.xz offers even better compression than tar.bz2 if your tools support it.
Is tar.bz2 still widely used?
tar.bz2 usage has declined in favor of tar.xz (better compression) and tar.gz (faster). However, many existing software packages, Linux kernel archives, and legacy build systems still distribute tar.bz2. It remains a standard format supported by all Unix tools, 7-Zip, and WinRAR.
Can I convert tar.bz2 to tar.gz?
Yes: bunzip2 -c archive.tar.bz2 | gzip > archive.tar.gz. This decompresses the bzip2 layer and recompresses with gzip — the tar archive inside is unchanged. The resulting tar.gz will be slightly larger but faster to extract. You can also use: tar -xjf archive.tar.bz2 && tar -czf archive.tar.gz extracted-folder/.

Other archive formats

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