MacOS & tar: why is --disable-copyfile and --no-xattrs required for GNU compatibility?

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                          I'm noticing on macOS v13.7 BSD tar files have unexpected contents when unpacking on GNU Linux. 

For GNU compatibility I need to use tar --disable-copyfile --no-xattrs, otherwise I end up with this issues untiring on a GNU system:

tar: Ignoring unknown extended header keyword 

    'LIBARCHIVE.xattr.com.apple.metadata:kMDItemTextContentLanguage'
    ...

Duplicate files F prefixed ._F in the tar file.

I see following workaround posted here  and here , however no explanation why macOS tar needs to behave this way.

Does anyone know why macOS tar is behaving this way?

Asked by atod (77 rep)

Feb 10, 2025, 08:40 PM
Last activity: Mar 12, 2025, 11:38 PM

MacOS & tar: why is --disable-copyfile and --no-xattrs required for GNU compatibility?

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