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

101 KB

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File details and verification

Filename: sample-100kb.tar.bz2
Exact size: 103,587 bytes
Displayed size: 101 KB
Catalog status: Valid catalog fixture
SHA-256: a4082b7a829cfe4a52a6ce0b1914869a21bbc9cda2137e04a8e7d0e92cf4cc92
Header signature: Matched (bzip2)
Verified on: 2026-08-10
MIME type: application/octet-stream
License: CC0 / Public Domain
Download URL: https://cdn.truefilesize.com/tar-bz2/sample-100kb.tar.bz2

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sample-500kb.tar.bz2

503 KB

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File details and verification

Filename: sample-500kb.tar.bz2
Exact size: 515,089 bytes
Displayed size: 503 KB
Catalog status: Valid catalog fixture
SHA-256: 944d245d6c10928bdbddee513474c1c23fa4d2f61051fd0d22771cd72f72e2a2
Header signature: Matched (bzip2)
Verified on: 2026-08-10
MIME type: application/octet-stream
License: CC0 / Public Domain
Download URL: https://cdn.truefilesize.com/tar-bz2/sample-500kb.tar.bz2

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sample-1mb.tar.bz2

1.01 MB

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File details and verification

Filename: sample-1mb.tar.bz2
Exact size: 1,054,432 bytes
Displayed size: 1.01 MB
Catalog status: Valid catalog fixture
SHA-256: a4f32c25ec0016945202beabb245a0e134a9d9a07b5b28860bba0a5da5792128
Header signature: Matched (bzip2)
Verified on: 2026-08-10
MIME type: application/octet-stream
License: CC0 / Public Domain
Download URL: https://cdn.truefilesize.com/tar-bz2/sample-1mb.tar.bz2

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sample-5mb.tar.bz2

5.02 MB

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File details and verification

Filename: sample-5mb.tar.bz2
Exact size: 5,267,005 bytes
Displayed size: 5.02 MB
Catalog status: Valid catalog fixture
SHA-256: a2544b7f7add7c9a62f3f8fb88bc8fde1d6d2c3855171fef079e41f428318c28
Header signature: Matched (bzip2)
Verified on: 2026-08-10
MIME type: application/octet-stream
License: CC0 / Public Domain
Download URL: https://cdn.truefilesize.com/tar-bz2/sample-5mb.tar.bz2

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sample-10mb.tar.bz2

10.05 MB

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File details and verification

Filename: sample-10mb.tar.bz2
Exact size: 10,533,056 bytes
Displayed size: 10.05 MB
Catalog status: Valid catalog fixture
SHA-256: 64e01db92c2139d6e5a17b24c13d2fe49ca7c79be4530c2057a1883ba43362ce
Header signature: Matched (bzip2)
Verified on: 2026-08-10
MIME type: application/octet-stream
License: CC0 / Public Domain
Download URL: https://cdn.truefilesize.com/tar-bz2/sample-10mb.tar.bz2

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sample-50mb.tar.bz2

50.22 MB

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File details and verification

Filename: sample-50mb.tar.bz2
Exact size: 52,663,680 bytes
Displayed size: 50.22 MB
Catalog status: Valid catalog fixture
SHA-256: ec9b66abe9f477317d82b148f3d117049eca5b00dce68484c42610e9616c96dd
Header signature: Matched (bzip2)
Verified on: 2026-08-10
MIME type: application/octet-stream
License: CC0 / Public Domain
Download URL: https://cdn.truefilesize.com/tar-bz2/sample-50mb.tar.bz2

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sample-100mb.tar.bz2

100 MB

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File details and verification

Filename: sample-100mb.tar.bz2
Exact size: 105,325,032 bytes
Displayed size: 100 MB
Catalog status: Valid catalog fixture
SHA-256: 43373740034b13751a28b052c4329bb1bd6b32cf208bb5cdaab2c23c652286db
Header signature: Matched (bzip2)
Verified on: 2026-08-10
MIME type: application/octet-stream
License: CC0 / Public Domain
Download URL: https://cdn.truefilesize.com/tar-bz2/sample-100mb.tar.bz2

See how TrueFileSize generates and measures sample files, or review the editorial policy.

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

Feature	tar.gz	tar.bz2
Compression ratio	Good	Better (10–20% smaller)
Compression speed	Fast	Slow (2–6x slower)
Decompression speed	Fast	Moderate
Memory usage	Low	Higher
Best for	General use, CI/CD, deploys	Archival, 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

Format	TAR (tape archive) + bzip2 compression
Extensions	.tar.bz2, .tbz2, .tb2
Algorithm	Burrows-Wheeler transform + Huffman coding
Block size	100KB–900KB (configurable)
Preserves	Unix permissions, ownership, symlinks
Developed by	Julian 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

TAR.GZ ZIP 7Z RAR

Sample TAR.BZ2 Download — Free Bzip2 Tarball Test Files

Use cases for sample tar.bz2 files

Compression comparison — tar.gz vs tar.bz2

How to create and extract tar.bz2

Technical specifications

Frequently Asked Questions

Other archive formats

Related reading

How to Fix ZIP Extraction Errors: 7 Common Causes

Fix Unsupported File Type Errors — MIME Type & Extension Validation

Preventing Zip Bomb Attacks — Detection and Safe Extraction