Tar and curl support now natively available on Windows 10

You can now use tar or curl command-line tools natively on Windows 10, no extra steps required.

Tar and curl tools on Windows 10
Tar and curl tools on Windows 10

Tar and curl are among the most common open-source tools for developers and advanced users running Linux, and now they are natively available on Windows 10.

If you’re unfamiliar tar allows users to extract files and create archives, while curl is a tool to transfer files between servers.

This means that you no longer need to install the Windows Subsystem for Linux to extract “.tar.gz” or “.zip” compressed files (like previouly needed), and you’ll be able to perform file transfers with a familiar command line tool. The best part is that the tools are included with Windows 10 by default, so there are no extra steps to get started.

To start using tar, simply open a Command Prompt console, and type tar -help to see the available options. In the same way, you can type curl -help to see the available options to start using curl.

If tar and curl are not available on your device, it’s likely because you’re now running Windows 10 (Redstone 4) expected to roll out in 2018. These tools are included starting with Windows 10 build 17063 and later.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.