easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
XK0-006 Practice Question: Which command will create a compressed tar…
Which command will create a compressed tar archive of a directory?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between create (`-c`), extract (`-x`), and list (`-t`) flags, and the requirement of `-z` for gzip compression, causing candidates to confuse `-czf` with `-xzf` or omit `-z` entirely.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
tar -czf archive.tar.gz dir
The `-czf` flags combine `-c` (create archive), `-z` (compress with gzip), and `-f` (specify archive file name). This creates a compressed tar archive of the specified directory, outputting a `.tar.gz` file. The command `tar -czf archive.tar.gz dir` is the standard syntax for this operation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
tar -czf archive.tar.gz dir
Why this is correct
This creates a gzip compressed tar archive.
- ✗
tar -xzf archive.tar.gz
Why it's wrong here
This extracts a tar.gz archive.
- ✗
tar -cf archive.tar dir
Why it's wrong here
This creates an uncompressed tar archive.
- ✗
tar -tf archive.tar
Why it's wrong here
This lists the contents of a tar archive without creating.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This XK0-006 question is part of Courseiva's 979-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This XK0-006 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the XK0-006 exam.