It's working now - needs the chdir function, not tar->cwd! 
chdir($vsvroot);
foreach my $vsvxdb (<cntl/*>) {
    $tar->add_files($vsvxdb);
}
$tar->write("$vsvroot/tmp/cntlbkup.tar");

[download]
I think that the doc is actually telling me that tar->cwd is relevant only for extraction, not for creation.

In reply to Re^4: Archive::Tar from somewhere outside my runtime directory by murrayn
in thread Archive::Tar from somewhere outside my runtime directory by murrayn

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