Managing file sizes is essential for saving disk space and speeding up transfers. In this guide, you’ll learn how to compress and decompress files and directories using the most common Linux utilities: gzip, bzip2, xz, zip, and tar.
Table of Contents Linux distributions typically include these single-file compressors by default:
Utility File Extension Compression Ratio Typical Speed gzip .gz Moderate Fast bzip2 .bz2 Better Moderate xz .xz Best Slow
Each tool replaces the original file with the compressed version unless instructed otherwise.
Compressing and Decompressing Single Files Use the following commands to compress and decompress individual files:
# Compress gzip file1 # → file1.gz bzip2 file2 # → file2.bz2 xz file3 # → file3.xz # Decompress gunzip file1.gz # → file1 bunzip2 file2.bz2 # → file2 unxz file3.xz # → file3
Alternatively, use the long options for clarity:
gzip --decompress file1.gz bzip2 --decompress file2.bz2 xz --decompress file3.xz
By default, gzip, bzip2, and xz delete the original file after (de)compression. Use -k or --keep to preserve input files.
Preserving Original Files To keep both the source and the compressed version, add the -k (keep) flag:
gzip --keep file1 # Keeping file1 and creating file1.gz bzip2 --keep file2 # Keeping file2 and creating file2.bz2 xz --keep file3 # Keeping file3 and creating file3.xz
You can confirm the flag via:
gzip --help | grep -E '^-k, --keep' # -k, --keep keep (don't delete) input files
Inspecting Compressed Archives To view metadata (compressed size, uncompressed size, compression ratio), use the --list (-l) option:
gzip --list file1.gz # compressed uncompressed ratio uncompressed_name bzip2 --list file2.bz2 xz --list file3.xz
Working with ZIP Archives Unlike gzip/bzip2/xz, the zip utility can bundle multiple files or directories into a single archive:
# Create or update archive.zip with file1 zip archive.zip file1 # Recursively add a directory zip -r archive.zip Pictures/ # adding: Pictures/ (stored 0%) # adding: Pictures/family_dog.jpg (stored 0%)
To extract everything from a ZIP archive:
unzip archive.zip # Archive: archive.zip # inflating: file1 # inflating: Pictures/family_dog.jpg
Combining tar with Compression Since gzip, bzip2, and xz operate on single files, tar is used to first archive multiple files/directories, then compress the archive.
Two-Step Archiving # 1. Create an uncompressed tarball tar --create --file archive.tar file1 file2 dir1/ # 2. Compress the tarball gzip archive.tar # → archive.tar.gz # or bzip2 archive.tar # → archive.tar.bz2 # or xz archive.tar # → archive.tar.xz
One-Step Archiving with Compression Leverage tar’s built-in compression flags:
tar --create --gzip --file archive.tar.gz file1 file2 dir1/ tar --create --bzip2 --file archive.tar.bz2 file1 file2 dir1/ tar --create --xz --file archive.tar.xz file1 file2 dir1/
Or use auto-compression (-a) to match the extension:
tar --create --auto-compress --file archive.tar.gz file1 # shorthand tar caf archive.tar.xz file1
tar will detect compression automatically:tar --extract --file archive.tar.gz tar xf archive.tar.bz2 tar xf archive.tar.xz
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