What is the -t option?

The -t option in the tar command is used to list the contents of a tar archive without extracting it. When you use -t, it shows you the files and directories stored in the archive.

For example:

tar -tf archive.tar

This command will display the list of files and directories contained in archive.tar. You can combine it with the -v option for a more verbose output, which includes additional details like file sizes and modification dates:

tar -tvf archive.tar

If you have any more questions or need further clarification, feel free to ask!