Extract text from deployment packages (DAR)
To convert DAR packages to another format, you need dar or other Compressed software.
To convert other file formats to the "Disk Archive File" file type, you need software like dar or a similar tool.
The .DAR file extension is most commonly associated with Disk ARchive backup files or Digital.ai (formerly XebiaLabs) deployment packages. As a backup format, the dar command-line utility creates these files to store compressed, differential backups with an internal index for rapid file extraction. Alternatively, enterprise developers use .DAR files to package application code, configurations, and metadata for automated deployment across servers. Other specialized uses include DVD authoring projects from Sony DVD Architect and train diagnostic data from HaslerRail TELOC recorders.
The primary disadvantage of the .DAR format is its lack of accessibility. Disk Archives are heavily reliant on the Linux command line; they are not natively supported by common graphical archive managers like WinRAR, 7-Zip, or the macOS Archive Utility. This makes sharing a .DAR file with a non-technical user practically impossible without forcing them to install specialized software. Similarly, Digital.ai deployment .DAR files are actually just standard ZIP archives with a changed extension, which causes operating systems to throw "unrecognized format" errors when users try to inspect them.
To make the contents of a .DAR file widely accessible, you should convert it to a standard archive format. Converting a .DAR file to ZIP or .TAR.GZ ensures that anyone can extract the internal files on Windows, macOS, or Linux without installing extra tools. For deployment packages, simply converting the file to ZIP exposes the internal XML manifests and binaries for easy review.
Convert.Guru analyzes your DAR file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PDF, DAT, PNG, ZIP, DTO, SFE, K7 and OAR files.
If you want to convert DAR file to OAR, ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ, LZMA, CAB, ACE or ARJ, you can use dar or similar software from the "Backup and Archival Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert XXE, 7Z, Z, PAK, LHA, DEB, UUE, TAR, LZH, ZIP, PKG or RAR files to DAR, try dar or another comparable tool in the "Backup and Archival Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our DAR converter.