Set LZMA compression level via tar [duplicate]

Question

How can I set the compression level for this command?

tar --lzma -cf files/compressed/lzma/archive.lzma -C files/original/ .

With --bzip I just use:

BZIP2=-9 tar --bzip2 -cf files/compressed/bzip2//archive.tar.bz2 -C files/original/ .

but with the --lzma option LZMA=-9 doesn't work.

Is this enviroment variable name incorrect? Where can I get the correct variable name?

Why duplicate? I did not ask how to set compress setting the XZ but lzma... I do not want write command by pipelines but only tar... — Lajdák Marek
– Lajdák Marek, Commented Jul 30, 2015 at 14:07
Retracted it, yours that that have the same answer, so I firstly think it duplicated. — cuonglm
– cuonglm, Commented Jul 30, 2015 at 14:10
@cuonglm You was right is a duplicate - sorry. But i don't understand in tar --help is parameter --xz and --lzma with description filter the archive through xz they are not different comprimation methods? — Lajdák Marek
– Lajdák Marek, Commented Jul 30, 2015 at 14:24
@LajdákMarek xz can compress and decompress lzma files in most cases. See man xz for details... — Stephen Kitt
– Stephen Kitt, Commented Jul 30, 2015 at 14:28

Stephen Kitt · Accepted Answer · 2015-07-30 14:08:34Z

If your version of tar uses xz for --lzma (which is likely, even Debian 6 used that), you can use the XZ_OPT variable:

XZ_OPT=-9 tar --lzma ...

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