Each member starts at an even offset with this 60-byte header. Every field is ASCII text, padded on the right with spaces.
The fields
| Offset | Size | Field | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 16 | Name | A name of up to 16 bytes with no spaces, or #1/ and a decimal length |
| 16 | 12 | Date | The modification time, in decimal seconds since 1970 |
| 28 | 6 | UID | The owner’s user number, in decimal |
| 34 | 6 | GID | The owner’s group number, in decimal |
| 40 | 8 | Mode | The file mode, in octal |
| 48 | 10 | Size | The size of the member’s data in decimal, counting a #1/ name before it |
| 58 | 2 | End | Always a backquote and a newline: 60 0A |
The data follows the header (and a long name, if there is one). If the end of the data is at an odd offset, a newline byte pads it, so that the next header starts on an even offset.