diff --git a/cratedb_toolkit/cfr/cli.py b/cratedb_toolkit/cfr/cli.py
index 4aab7450..e39b0b98 100644
--- a/cratedb_toolkit/cfr/cli.py
+++ b/cratedb_toolkit/cfr/cli.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 import click
 from click_aliases import ClickAliasedGroup
 
-from cratedb_toolkit.cfr.systable import SystemTableExporter, SystemTableImporter
+from cratedb_toolkit.cfr.systable import Archive, SystemTableExporter, SystemTableImporter
 from cratedb_toolkit.util.cli import (
     boot_click,
     error_logger,
@@ -46,8 +46,20 @@ def cli(ctx: click.Context, cratedb_sqlalchemy_url: str, verbose: bool, debug: b
 def sys_export(ctx: click.Context, target: str):
     cratedb_sqlalchemy_url = ctx.meta["cratedb_sqlalchemy_url"]
     try:
-        stc = SystemTableExporter(dburi=cratedb_sqlalchemy_url, target=path_from_url(target))
+        target_path = path_from_url(target)
+        stc = SystemTableExporter(dburi=cratedb_sqlalchemy_url, target=target_path)
+
+        archive = None
+        if target_path.name.endswith(".tgz") or target_path.name.endswith(".tar.gz"):
+            archive = Archive(stc)
+
         path = stc.save()
+
+        if archive is not None:
+            path = archive.make_tarfile()
+            archive.close()
+            logger.info(f"Created archive file {target}")
+
         jd({"path": str(path)})
     except Exception as ex:
         error_logger(ctx)(ex)
diff --git a/cratedb_toolkit/cfr/systable.py b/cratedb_toolkit/cfr/systable.py
index 9fb122a4..051549c3 100644
--- a/cratedb_toolkit/cfr/systable.py
+++ b/cratedb_toolkit/cfr/systable.py
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@
 
 import datetime as dt
 import logging
+import os
+import tarfile
+import tempfile
 import typing as t
 from pathlib import Path
 
@@ -87,19 +90,42 @@ def ddl(self, tablename_in: str, tablename_out: str, out_schema: str = None, wit
         return sql
 
 
-class SystemTableExporter:
+class PathProvider:
+
+    def __init__(self, path: t.Union[Path]):
+        self.path = path
+
+
+class Archive:
+
+    def __init__(self, path_provider: PathProvider):
+        self.path_provider = path_provider
+        self.temp_dir = tempfile.TemporaryDirectory()
+        self.target_path = self.path_provider.path
+        self.path_provider.path = Path(self.temp_dir.name)
+
+    def close(self):
+        self.temp_dir.cleanup()
+
+    def make_tarfile(self) -> Path:
+        source_path = self.path_provider.path
+        with tarfile.open(self.target_path, "x:gz") as tar:
+            tar.add(source_path.absolute(), arcname=os.path.basename(source_path))
+        return self.target_path
+
+
+class SystemTableExporter(PathProvider):
     """
     Export schema and data from CrateDB system tables.
     """
 
     def __init__(self, dburi: str, target: t.Union[Path], data_format: DataFormat = "jsonl"):
+        super().__init__(target)
         self.dburi = dburi
-        self.target = target
         self.data_format = data_format
         self.adapter = DatabaseAdapter(dburi=self.dburi)
         self.info = InfoContainer(adapter=self.adapter)
         self.inspector = SystemTableInspector(dburi=self.dburi)
-        self.target.mkdir(exist_ok=True, parents=True)
 
     def read_table(self, tablename: str) -> pl.DataFrame:
         sql = f'SELECT * FROM "{SystemTableKnowledge.SYS_SCHEMA}"."{tablename}"'  # noqa: S608
@@ -123,8 +149,9 @@ def dump_table(self, frame: pl.DataFrame, file: t.Union[t.TextIO, None] = None):
             raise NotImplementedError(f"Output format not implemented: {self.data_format}")
 
     def save(self) -> Path:
+        self.path.mkdir(exist_ok=True, parents=True)
         timestamp = dt.datetime.now().strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H-%M-%S")
-        path = self.target / self.info.cluster_name / timestamp / "sys"
+        path = self.path / self.info.cluster_name / timestamp / "sys"
         logger.info(f"Exporting system tables to: {path}")
         system_tables = self.inspector.table_names()
         path_schema = path / ExportSettings.SCHEMA_PATH
diff --git a/tests/cfr/test_cli.py b/tests/cfr/test_cli.py
index 2ef639e9..412b096f 100644
--- a/tests/cfr/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/cfr/test_cli.py
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 import json
+import os.path
 import re
 import shutil
 import sys
+import tarfile
 
 import tests
 
@@ -49,6 +51,44 @@ def test_cfr_cli_export_success(cratedb, tmp_path, caplog):
     assert len(data_files) >= 10
 
 
+def test_cfr_cli_export_to_archive_file(cratedb, tmp_path, caplog):
+    """
+    Verify `ctk cfr sys-export some-file.tgz` works.
+    """
+
+    target = os.path.join(tmp_path, "cluster-data.tgz")
+
+    # Invoke command.
+    runner = CliRunner(env={"CRATEDB_SQLALCHEMY_URL": cratedb.database.dburi, "CFR_TARGET": str(tmp_path)})
+    result = runner.invoke(
+        cli,
+        args=f"--debug sys-export {target}",
+        catch_exceptions=False,
+    )
+    assert result.exit_code == 0
+
+    # Verify log output.
+    assert "Exporting system tables to" in caplog.text
+    assert re.search(r"Successfully exported \d+ system tables", caplog.text), "Log message missing"
+
+    # Verify outcome.
+    path = Path(json.loads(result.output)["path"])
+    assert "cluster-data.tgz" in path.name
+
+    data_files = []
+    schema_files = []
+    with tarfile.open(path, "r") as tar:
+        name_list = tar.getnames()
+        for name in name_list:
+            if "data" in name:
+                data_files.append(name)
+            elif "schema" in name:
+                schema_files.append(name)
+
+    assert len(schema_files) >= 19
+    assert len(data_files) >= 10
+
+
 def test_cfr_cli_export_failure(cratedb, tmp_path, caplog):
     """
     Verify `ctk cfr sys-export` failure.