CONVERT
LZMA → TAR
Tap to choose your fileDRAG. DROP. DONE.
Upload any file and our engines will handle format detection automatically.
Max 25 MB · Free plan · No signup required
Convert to:
Detecting available formats...
Optimize for
Leave empty to use original name. Extension added automatically.
Uploading...
Processing your file...
Fast, secure LZMA to TAR conversion. No registration required.
Situation. LZMA is a compression/archive format used to package or shrink files. Solution: a TAR, produced below. Need to turn a LZMA into a TAR? The conversion is lossless by definition — archive formats only store file data plus metadata, and every mainstream archive supports the same primitives. File names, folder structure, timestamps and attributes round-trip exactly. One more beat. LZMA is a compression/archive format used to package or shrink files. Receiving format: TAR is the Unix tape archive — a concatenation of files without compression.
LZMA Compressed
Source formatLZMA (Lempel-Ziv-Markov chain Algorithm) is a high-ratio compression algorithm developed by Igor Pavlov for the 7-Zip archiver. It achieves significantly better compression than gzip or bzip2, especially on text and binary data, at the cost of higher memory usage.
TAR Archive
Target formatTAR is a Unix archive format that bundles files together without compression. It is commonly combined with gzip or bzip2 for compressed archives and is the standard for Linux software distribution.
Why convert LZMA to TAR
Some TAR formats support features LZMA lacks: solid compression across many small files, per-file encryption, streamable headers. Repacking a legacy LZMA into a modern TAR is how you opt into those features without changing any of the files inside.
HOW TO CONVERT
LZMA → TAR
Start the job
Upload a LZMA; we read its header to learn how many entries it carries and the compression method used.
Transcode container
Every entry is decompressed, then recompressed with the TAR codec at a balanced default level.
Save the result
Download the TAR when ready. Nothing about the original contents is logged or retained.
Common Use Cases
Share across platforms
Send TAR files to anyone without worrying about whether they have the right software for LZMA.
Embed in documents
Drop TAR output into Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, Notion or a website without conversion warnings.
Optimize size
TAR often produces smaller files than LZMA for web, email and storage.
Archive & future-proof
Store in a widely-supported format that will still open on future operating systems without legacy plugins.
LZMA vs TAR — Strengths and limitations
What each format does best, and where it falls short.
LZMA Strengths
- Highest-ratio mainstream compression (beats gzip by 30%).
- Public domain SDK — royalty-free.
- Mature since 1998 with no breaking changes.
- Core of 7z, xz, .tar.xz workflows.
- Multi-threaded LZMA2 scales across CPU cores.
Limitations
- Slow compression at highest settings.
- Memory-hungry — 1 GB+ for extreme compression levels.
- Zstandard matches its ratios at less memory cost.
TAR Strengths
- Streamable — you can tar files straight to a network pipe, no seek needed.
- Preserves Unix permissions, ownership, symbolic links, and timestamps.
- Universally supported on Unix-like systems.
- Simple format — the GNU tar source has been stable for decades.
- No compression overhead — pair with gzip/xz/zstd as needed.
Limitations
- No built-in compression — plain .tar files are the same size as their contents.
- No random access — reading one file requires scanning from the start.
- Windows tooling is second-class — PowerShell only added native tar in 2018.
LZMA vs TAR — Technical specifications
Side-by-side comparison of the technical details.
LZMA
- MIME type
- application/x-lzma
- Extensions
- .lzma, .lz
- Algorithm
- Lempel-Ziv-Markov chain + range coding
- Public domain SDK
- Yes (since 2001)
- Variants
- LZMA (original), LZMA2 (multi-threaded, used in xz)
TAR
- MIME type
- application/x-tar
- Extension
- .tar
- Block size
- 512 bytes (traditional)
- Header variants
- v7, ustar, POSIX.1-2001 (pax), GNU
- Max filename length
- 100 bytes (v7); unlimited (pax extended headers)
| Specification | LZMA | TAR |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | application/x-lzma | application/x-tar |
| Extensions | .lzma, .lz | — |
| Algorithm | Lempel-Ziv-Markov chain + range coding | — |
| Public domain SDK | Yes (since 2001) | — |
| Variants | LZMA (original), LZMA2 (multi-threaded, used in xz) | — |
| Extension | — | .tar |
| Block size | — | 512 bytes (traditional) |
| Header variants | — | v7, ustar, POSIX.1-2001 (pax), GNU |
| Max filename length | — | 100 bytes (v7); unlimited (pax extended headers) |
LZMA vs TAR — Typical file sizes
Approximate file sizes for common scenarios.
LZMA
- Text/source archive 15-25% of original
- Linux kernel source (.tar.xz = LZMA2) ~125 MB
- Windows system backup (.lzma) 25-40% of original
TAR
- 1 MB of source files (uncompressed .tar) ~1 MB
- Same files as .tar.gz 150-400 KB
- Linux kernel source (.tar.xz) ~120 MB
Quality & Compatibility
File attributes that both formats understand (modification time, Unix permissions, symlinks) round-trip cleanly. Obscure metadata that one side lacks (e.g., advanced ACLs in one direction) is dropped silently rather than causing the conversion to fail.
Tips for Best Results
- Archives with thousands of tiny files benefit hugely from "solid" compression (one of the Advanced options) — TAR formats that support it can shrink 20-50% over per-file compression.
- When the LZMA contains symlinks, test that they still resolve after conversion; some TAR formats represent them differently on Windows vs Unix.
- Deterministic timestamps (via Advanced → reset mtimes) make the TAR reproducible for CI artefact verification; otherwise two "identical" conversions will produce slightly different bytes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The free tier accepts files up to 25 MB without registration, email capture or watermarks; paid plans go up to 2 GB. Paid plans raise the size cap, enable batch conversions and provide a REST API for automation, but nothing on the free tier is quality-limited — the output is exactly the same as on any paid plan.
Yes — because LZMA and TAR use different compression codecs, every entry is decompressed from the LZMA and re-compressed for the TAR. The uncompressed data is identical on both sides, and the re-compression happens entirely inside our processing container.
Uploads run over HTTPS, files are processed in isolated containers, and both the source LZMA and the TAR output are auto-deleted within two hours. No account is required, file contents are never logged, and KaijuConverter does not use uploads for AI training. The paid plan adds a signable data-processing agreement for regulated workflows.
Usually yes, modestly, when the original LZMA used an older codec like Deflate. Against modern LZMA2 / Zstd TAR containers expect 10-30% savings on mixed content and almost no change on pre-compressed payloads. Advanced → compression level lets you trade speed for ratio.
Most files finish in well under a minute. Small images and documents are typically ready in a few seconds; large video or audio files scale roughly with duration. Upload speed from your network is usually the dominant factor, not server time.
Yes. Provide the password during upload; we use it only to decrypt inside the processing container and never log or persist it. The resulting TAR can be re-encrypted with a password of your choice (AES where the target format supports it).
RELATED CONVERSIONS
Other popular pairs involving LZMA or TAR
More from LZMA
More ways to reach TAR
Related comparisons
See these formats side by side to understand which fits your use case best.
Related Guides
TAR/GZ Archive Format: The Unix Compression Standard Explained
Complete guide to TAR archive format: file structure, gzip/bzip2/xz/zstd compression options, metadata preservation, incremental backups, SSH streaming, and comparison with ZIP.
Read guideRAR Archive Format: The Proprietary Compression Powerhouse
Complete guide to RAR archive format: RAR4 vs RAR5, solid archives, multi-volume splitting, recovery records, AES-256 encryption, comparison with ZIP/7z/Zstandard.
Read guideTGA Files: Truevision TARGA Format for Games, VFX, and 3D Textures
Complete guide to TGA (Truevision TARGA) image files — file structure, color depth, RLE compression, game development use cases, FFmpeg/ImageMagick conversion, and TGA vs PNG comparison.
Read guideSecure & Private Conversion
Your files are encrypted during transfer, processed in isolated containers, and automatically deleted within 60 minutes. We never read, share, or store your data.