.tar.gz troubles

[obama]

i'm on the chromebooks linux which im pretty sure is debian and i've been trying to install a .tar.gz file i've done the tar xvzf but after that i have no idea how to install it because the tutorials i've watched are different than what happens when i execute the command

[Bulkley]

Usually there are specific instructions in the package tarball. After opening it change to the newly created directory and look for the README.

Tar is one function for which there are ample instructions on the Internet. I never bother remembering how to use it because instructions are so easy to find.

[arochester]

If you are using Google ChromeOS it is derived from Gentoo Linux and not Debian.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrome_OS

What are you trying to install?

[stevepusser]

A tar.gz file is just an archive of what can be any kind of files. Often you have a bunch of source code files that must be built and installed before you can use them--if all else fails, look for included instructions or on the home page of the whatsis tarball.

[sgosnell]

When you run Linux apps in ChromeOS, it's Debian. It uses the Debian repositories, and is based on Debian Stable. I have no idea why Google did it that way, but that's the way it is.

Obama, what tar.gz file are you trying to install? Tar will not install anything, it's just an archive utility, and will extract the files in the archive but nothing else. As noted, a tarball can contain anything at all. Without knowing more about what the tarball is supposed to be, there is no way to help you any further.