TarSmith

A simple, interactive installer for tar archives (.tar.gz, .tar.xz, .tar.bz2, etc.) that automates the installation process for Linux applications distributed as compressed archives.

Features

• 🎯 Smart Detection: Automatically detects the extracted directory and application name
• 📦 Multiple Formats: Supports .tar.gz, .tar.xz, .tar.bz2, .tar.zst, and uncompressed .tar files
• 🖥️ Installation Types: Choose between user-level (~/.local/tarsmith) or system-wide (/opt) installation
• 🎨 Desktop Integration: Optionally create desktop entries for GUI applications
• 🔗 PATH Management: Automatically adds selected executables to your PATH
• 🛠️ Multiple Executables: Select which binaries to add to PATH (useful for tools like Node.js with node, npm, npx, etc.)
• 🐚 Shell Detection: Automatically configures PATH for bash, zsh, or fish shells
• ✨ Zero Configuration: Sensible defaults - just press Enter to accept
• 🚀 Non-Interactive Mode: Use command-line flags for automated installations

Demo

Watch TarSmith in action:

2025-11-13.17-20-39.mp4

Installation

Prerequisites

• tar command-line tool (usually pre-installed on Linux)

Download Pre-built Binary (Recommended)

Pre-built binaries are available in the Releases section.

1. Download the binary
2. Make it executable:

   chmod +x tarsmith

3. Move it to a directory in your PATH (optional):

   sudo mv tarsmith /usr/local/bin/tarsmith

   Or for user-level installation:

   mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
   mv tarsmith ~/.local/bin/tarsmith

Build from Source

If you prefer to build from source, you'll need:

• Rust (latest stable version)

git clone https://github.com/sharifmdathar/tarsmith
cd tarsmith
cargo build --release

The binary will be available at target/release/tarsmith.

Install System-Wide (Optional)

sudo cp target/release/tarsmith /usr/local/bin/

Usage

Basic Usage

tarsmith <archive-file>

Command-Line Options

• -s, --system: Install system-wide to /opt (non-interactive)
• -u, --user: Install user-level to ~/.local/tarsmith (non-interactive)
• -d, --no-desktop: Skip desktop entry creation
• -p, --no-path: Skip adding executables to PATH
• -h, --help: Print help information
• -V, --version: Print version information

Examples

Install Node.js

tarsmith node-v24.11.1-linux-x64.tar.xz

When prompted:

• Installation type: Press Enter (defaults to user-level)
• Desktop entry: Press Enter (skip, since Node.js is CLI-only)
• Add to PATH: Press Enter (defaults to all executables: node, npm, npx, corepack)

After installation, restart your terminal or run source ~/.bashrc (or your shell's config file) to use the commands.

Install Android Studio

tarsmith android-studio-2025.2.1.7-linux.tar.gz

When prompted:

• Installation type: Press Enter (user-level)
• Desktop entry: Select 2 for studio executable
• Add to PATH: Select 2 for studio executable (or all for all executables)

Install with Custom Selections

tarsmith myapp-1.0.0-linux.tar.gz

• Desktop entry: Select 1 for the main executable
• Add to PATH: Enter 1 3 5 to add specific executables (space-separated), or all for all

Non-Interactive Installation

Install without prompts using command-line flags:

# User-level installation (non-interactive)
tarsmith node-v24.11.1-linux-x64.tar.xz -u
# or: tarsmith node-v24.11.1-linux-x64.tar.xz --user

# System-wide installation (non-interactive)
sudo tarsmith android-studio.tar.gz -s
# or: sudo tarsmith android-studio.tar.gz --system

# Skip desktop entry creation
tarsmith app.tar.gz -u -d
# or: tarsmith app.tar.gz --user --no-desktop

# Skip PATH symlinks
tarsmith app.tar.gz -u -p
# or: tarsmith app.tar.gz --user --no-path

# Full non-interactive installation (using shorthand)
sudo tarsmith app.tar.gz -s -d -p
# or: sudo tarsmith app.tar.gz --system --no-desktop --no-path

Non-interactive mode defaults:

• When --system or --user is specified:
  • Desktop entry: Uses the first executable found (unless --no-desktop)
  • PATH: Adds all executables to PATH (unless --no-path)

How It Works

1. Extraction: Detects compression format and extracts the archive to the chosen directory
2. Detection: Finds the main extracted folder by matching archive name and checking for bin/ directories
3. Name Inference: Extracts a clean app name (removes version numbers and platform suffixes)
4. Executable Discovery: Scans the bin/ directory for executable files
5. Desktop Entry: Optionally creates a .desktop file for GUI applications
6. PATH Setup: Creates symlinks in ~/.local/bin (user-level) or /usr/local/bin (system-wide)
7. Shell Configuration: Automatically adds ~/.local/bin to PATH in your shell config file

Installation Locations

User-Level (Default)

• Installation: ~/.local/tarsmith/<app-name>/
• Desktop Entry: ~/.local/share/applications/<app-name>.desktop
• PATH Symlinks: ~/.local/bin/
• No sudo required

System-Wide

• Installation: /opt/<app-name>/
• Desktop Entry: /usr/share/applications/<app-name>.desktop
• PATH Symlinks: /usr/local/bin/
• Requires sudo for desktop entries

Supported Archive Formats

• .tar.gz / .tgz - Gzip compression
• .tar.xz / .txz - XZ compression
• .tar.bz2 - Bzip2 compression
• .tar.zst - Zstandard compression
• .tar - Uncompressed

Features in Detail

Smart Directory Detection

TarSmith uses multiple strategies to find the correct extracted directory:

1. Exact match with archive name
2. Name variations (handles hyphens/underscores)
3. Directories containing bin/ folder (sorted by modification time)
4. Newest directory as fallback

This ensures it finds the right folder even if the archive structure is unexpected.

Multiple Executable Selection

When multiple executables are found, you can:

• Select one for desktop entry (GUI launcher)
• Select multiple for PATH (space-separated: 1 2 3 or type all)

Perfect for tools like Node.js where you want node, npm, npx, and corepack all available.

Automatic PATH Configuration

For user-level installations, TarSmith automatically:

• Checks if ~/.local/bin is already in PATH
• Detects your shell (bash/zsh/fish)
• Adds the appropriate export statement to your shell config
• Avoids duplicate entries

Troubleshooting

"Command not found" after installation

Restart your terminal or run:

source ~/.bashrc  # for bash
source ~/.zshrc   # for zsh

Wrong directory detected

TarSmith prioritizes directories with bin/ folders and sorts by modification time. If it picks the wrong one:

• Ensure the archive extracts to a directory with a bin/ subdirectory
• The directory name should match or be similar to the archive name

Permission denied errors

• For user-level installation: Ensure you have write permissions to ~/.local/
• For system-wide installation: Run with sudo for desktop entries in /usr/share/applications/

Requirements

• Rust: 1.70+ (for edition 2024)
• Dependencies:
  • dirs crate (for home directory detection)
• System: Linux (uses Unix-specific features)

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Author

Created to simplify the installation of Linux applications distributed as tar archives.