pax

POSIX archiver

Create archive

$ pax -wf [archive.pax] [directory]

Extract archive

$ pax -rf [archive.pax]

List archive contents

$ pax -f [archive.pax]

Copy directory

$ pax -rw [source] [destination]

Create compressed archive

$ pax -wf - [directory] | gzip > [archive.pax.gz]

pax [options] [pattern...]

pax is the POSIX archiver. Combines tar and cpio functionality.
The tool creates and extracts archives. Portable archive exchange format.

-r

Read (extract) archive.

-w

Write (create) archive.

-f FILE

Archive file.

-v

Verbose output.

-d

Match directories only.

-k

Don't overwrite existing files.

POSIX standard. Less common than tar. Portable format.

pax was created as a POSIX standard replacement for tar and cpio.