LINUX · Files & archives · 8 min

Archive only the configuration

Create and inspect a tar archive without including scratch files.

Not completed

Your task

Create configs.tar containing the config directory and its two files. Do not include scratch.txt. Preserve the original files.

What you’re aiming for

The archive contains config/app.conf and config/db.conf, with their original contents.
scratch.txt is not in the archive.
Original configuration files remain.

1. Prepare your practice folder

Use a Linux terminal, such as Ubuntu or WSL on Windows. These examples use Linux file permissions. In WSL, create your practice folder in your Linux home directory (~).

Create a new, empty folder for this exercise. If that name already exists, choose another new name. Continue only after you’re inside the new folder.

NEW PRACTICE FOLDER

mkdir opsrung-linux-archive-config && cd opsrung-linux-archive-config

Run these setup commands in that folder:

SETUP — RUN ONCE

mkdir config
printf 'mode=practice\n' > config/app.conf
printf 'host=local\n' > config/db.conf
printf 'do not archive\n' > scratch.txt

2. Try the task

Work toward the goal above. Start by inspecting the files or resources, then use a hint if you need one.

Hint 1

List the directory before deciding what to archive.

Hint 2

Give tar the config directory explicitly instead of archiving everything.

Hint 3

Use tar -cf to create and tar -tf to inspect the archive.

3. Review your result

Use these commands to look at your result and compare it with the goals. The website does not run or verify them.

REVIEW IN YOUR TERMINAL

tar -tf configs.tar
tar -xOf configs.tar config/app.conf
tar -xOf configs.tar config/db.conf
ls config

What you should see

tar -tf configs.tar lists only config/ and its two files, app.conf and db.conf. Listing order can vary.
Reading app.conf from the archive prints mode=practice; reading db.conf prints host=local.
ls config still lists app.conf and db.conf.

If your result differs: Archive config/ specifically. Archiving the whole practice folder would also include scratch.txt.

Compare with one possible solution

ONE POSSIBLE SOLUTION

tar -cf configs.tar config/
tar -tf configs.tar

Other approaches are fine if you reach the same goal. Opening this solution does not mark the exercise complete.

Finished this exercise?

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