Pax (program): Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

pax is a utility defined and created by the IEEE Std 1003.2 (POSIX.2) standard. By default, it creates archives in ustar format, also defined by the POSIX standard. Rather than sort out the incompatible options that have crept up between tar and cpio, along with their implementations across various versions of UNIX, the IEEE designed a new archive utility.