The command used for creating an archive file is?

The command that is most commonly used for creating an archive file is the "tar" command. This command stands for "tape archive" and is primarily used to consolidate multiple files into a single archive file, known as a tarball, which typically has a .tar extension.

The tar command does not compress files by default; it merely collects them into one file. However, it can be combined with compression options such as gzip or bzip2 to create compressed archives (e.g., .tar.gz or .tar.bz2). This utility is frequently used for backup and transfer purposes in Linux and Unix-like operating systems.

While other commands listed do have functionalities related to archiving or compressing files, their primary purposes differ. For example, "zip" is used both to archive and compress files but is less common in Unix-like environments compared to tar. "cpio" is used for copying files to and from archives, and "gzip" is specifically used for file compression rather than creating an archive. Thus, the primary function of creating an archive in the context of Linux systems is best served by the tar command.