This EX200 practice question tests your understanding of essential tools. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A system administrator is trying to compress the contents of the directory /home/user/project into a tarball named project_backup.tar.gz using the command: tar -czf project_backup.tar.gz /home/user/project. The command completes without errors, but when the administrator tries to list the contents of the tarball using tar -tzf project_backup.tar.gz, it shows a leading slash (/) in the paths, like /home/user/project/file1. The administrator wants to create the tarball with relative paths instead. What change should be made to the tar command?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use tar -czf project_backup.tar.gz -C /home/user project
Option C is correct because the `-C` option changes the working directory to `/home/user` before archiving, so the argument `project` is interpreted as a relative path. This strips the leading slash and stores paths like `project/file1` instead of absolute paths. The `-C` option is the standard way to create tarballs with relative paths in a single command.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Use tar -czf project_backup.tar.gz --absolute-names /home/user/project
Why it's wrong here
--absolute-names preserves absolute paths, which is the opposite of what is needed.
✗
Use tar -czf project_backup.tar.gz -P /home/user/project
Why it's wrong here
-P also preserves absolute paths.
✓
Use tar -czf project_backup.tar.gz -C /home/user project
Why this is correct
The -C option changes to /home/user and then archives the 'project' directory, resulting in relative paths.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use tar -czf project_backup.tar.gz -h /home/user/project
Why it's wrong here
-h dereferences symbolic links, not related to path handling.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Red Hat often tests the `-C` option as the correct way to create tarballs with relative paths, and the trap here is that candidates mistakenly think `-P` or `--absolute-names` removes leading slashes, when in fact they preserve them.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When `tar` creates an archive, it stores paths exactly as provided on the command line. By default, `tar` strips the leading slash from absolute paths for security reasons, but the GNU `tar` manual notes that this behavior can be overridden with `-P`. Using `-C` changes the base directory before adding files, so the path becomes relative to that directory. This is especially useful in scripts and automation where tarballs must be extracted cleanly into any target directory without overwriting system files.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Essential Tools — This question tests Essential Tools — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use tar -czf project_backup.tar.gz -C /home/user project — Option C is correct because the `-C` option changes the working directory to `/home/user` before archiving, so the argument `project` is interpreted as a relative path. This strips the leading slash and stores paths like `project/file1` instead of absolute paths. The `-C` option is the standard way to create tarballs with relative paths in a single command.
What should I do if I get this EX200 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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