---
name: "dlb"
section: "6"
platform: "linux"
package: "nethack"
version: "5.0.0-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/dlb"
---

# dlb(6)

NetHack data librarian

## NAME

dlb - NetHack data librarian

## SYNOPSIS

**dlb** {**c**\|**t**\|**x** }\[**v**\] \[**C** *directory*\] \[*file*\] ...

**dlb** {**c**\|**t**\|**x** }\[**v**\] **I** *list-file*

**dlb** {**c**\|**t**\|**x** }\[**v**\] \[**f** *archive-file-name*\] \[*file*\] ...

## DESCRIPTION

*Dlb* is a file archiving tool in the spirit (and tradition) of [*tar*(1)](/tar/1.md) for [*nethack*(6)](/nethack/6.md) version 3.1 and higher. It is used to maintain the archive files from which the game reads special level files and other read-only information. Note that like *tar*, the letters specifying the operation and options are expressed as a continuous string. Unlike *tar*, *dlb* is configured with a default set of file names to process.

### Operations

**c** causes *dlb* to create a new archive from files in the current directory.

**t** lists the files in the archive.

**x** causes *dlb* to extract the contents of the archive into the current directory.

## OPTIONS

- **C** *dir*

  Change directory to *dir* before trying to read any files.

- **f** *archive*

  Read from or write to *archive* instead of LIBFILE (usually the *nhdat* file in the playground).

- **I** *list-file*

  Read from *list-file* the names of files to emplace within or extract from the archive. The default for archive creation is LIBLISTFILE.

- **v**

  Operate verbosely.

## EXAMPLES

Create the default archive from the default file list:

```
dlb c
```

List the contents of the archive *foo*:

```
dlb tf foo
```

## AUTHOR

Kenneth Lorber

## SEE ALSO

[*nethack*(6)](/nethack/6.md), [*tar*(1)](/tar/1.md)

## BUGS

- •

  Not a good *tar* emulation; **-** does not mean stdin or stdout.

- •

  Should include an optional compression facility.

- •

  Not all read-only files for NetHack can be read out of an archive; examining the source is the only way to know which files can be.

## COPYRIGHT

This file is Copyright (C) Kenneth Lorber, 2024 for version :. NetHack may be freely redistributed.  See license for details.