Linux Compression & Archiving Essentials: compress, gzip, bzip2, xz, zip, tar, cpio

compress

The compress utility creates .Z files, deleting the original file after compression. Use -d to decompress, which also removes the .Z file and restores the original. uncompress works like -d but supports tab‑completion. To view decompressed output without creating a file, use zcat X.Z > X or zcat X.Z with -c to print to stdout. Additional flags include -f for forced compression on hard‑linked files, -v for verbose output, and -# to set compression level (higher numbers give better compression but slower speed).

gzip

gzip

produces .gz files. Decompression uses -d (or the gunzip alias) and supports tab‑completion. The command zcat X.gz > X works similarly to the compress example. Use -c to output to stdout, -f to force compression, -v for verbose mode, and -# to adjust compression level (e.g., -1 for fast, -9 for best).

bzip2

The bzip2 tool creates .bz2 files. Decompression uses -d (or bunzip2) with tab‑completion. Use bzcat X.bz2 > X to view output. The -k flag preserves the original file during compression or decompression, a feature not available in compress or gzip. Like the others, -c prints to stdout, -f forces compression, -v shows progress, and -# controls compression level.

xz

xz

generates .xz files with higher compression ratios than the previous tools. Decompression uses -d and supports tab‑completion. Use xzcat X.xz > X to view output. The -k flag preserves the original file, and the same set of options ( -c, -f, -v, -#) apply, where higher -# values increase compression at the cost of speed.

Packaging Tools: zip and tar

zip creates .zip archives. Use zip -r archive.zip directory/ to recursively add files. You can pipe data into zip (e.g., cat file | zip archive -) and extract with unzip -p archive.zip > file. Options include -p to preview contents and -v for verbose output.

tar bundles files without compression by default. Common flags: -f specifies the archive name (required for most operations). -c creates an archive (e.g., tar -cf archive.tar file1 file2). -t lists archive contents ( tar -tf archive.tar). -x extracts files ( tar -xf archive.tar). -v adds verbose output. -z compresses with gzip ( .tar.gz), -j with bzip2 ( .tar.bz2), and -J with xz ( .tar.xz). -C extracts to a specific directory. --delete removes files from an archive. split -b SIZE -d archive.tar prefix splits a large tar file into chunks; concatenate with cat to reassemble.

cpio (less common)

The cpio utility archives files via redirection and can handle .cpio or .tar extensions. Common options: -o creates an archive (e.g., find ./etc -print | cpio -ov > etc.cpio). -i extracts an archive ( cpio -idv < etc.cpio). -t lists archive contents ( cpio -tv < etc.cpio). -v shows progress. -d creates directories as needed during extraction. -c uses a newer portable format.

Source: https://www.cnblogs.com/along21/p/7382095.html