def fast_sync_snapshot_decompress( snapshot_path, output_dir ):
    """
    Given the path to a snapshot file, decompress it and 
    write its contents to the given output directory

    Return {'status': True} on success
    Return {'error': ...} on failure
    """
    if not tarfile.is_tarfile(snapshot_path):
        return {'error': 'Not a tarfile-compatible archive: {}'.format(snapshot_path)}

    if not os.path.exists(output_dir):
        os.makedirs(output_dir)

    with tarfile.TarFile.bz2open(snapshot_path, 'r') as f:
        tarfile.TarFile.extractall(f, path=output_dir)

    return {'status': True}
Given the path to a snapshot file, decompress it and 
    write its contents to the given output directory

    Return {'status': True} on success
    Return {'error': ...} on failure