How to add progress bar to a somearchive.tar.xz extract

Using pv to pipe the file to tar.

1. Firstly, you’ll need to install pv, which on macOS can be done with:

   brew install pv
   

   On Debian or Ubuntu, it can be done with: apt install pv (Thanks @hyperbola!).

2. Pipe the compressed file with pv to the tar command:

   pv mysql.tar.gz | tar -xz   
   

Here’s the sample output of this command:

For those curious, this works by pv knowing the total file size of the file you pass it and how much of it has been “piped” to the tar command. It uses those two things to determine the current progress, the average speed, and the estimated completion time. Neat!