What does the 'tar' command do?

The 'tar' command is primarily used to create archives, commonly referred to as tarballs. This command collects multiple files and directories into a single file, which simplifies the process of storage and transfer. This is particularly useful for backing up data, distributing software packages, or grouping files for compression, as tar itself does not compress the files within the tarball by default, but it can be used in conjunction with compression utilities.

The tar command can also be utilized for extracting files from a tarball, but its fundamental purpose lies in archiving files together into one file. Its versatility allows users to specify options for creating, extracting, and listing contents of the archive, making it a crucial tool in Linux and Unix-like systems for managing file collections efficiently.