File option positioning in tar command


Context

While trying to run the following tar command

tar -vcfz filename.tar.gz filename.sql

I got this error

tar: filename.tar.gz: Cannot stat: No such file or directory
tar: Exiting with failure status due to previous errors

Solution

The problem with the command above, is that the -f option has to be the last one in the sequence of options, otherwise it assumes that the next option (in this example z) is the file argument.

Then, the right way to write the command would be:

tar -vczf filename.tar.gz filename.sql

References

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer’s view in any way.