Linux gzip Command Examples

Example 1: Compress a Single File

gzip file.txt

Compresses file.txt, replacing it with file.txt.gz. The original file is removed.

Sample Output: No output unless an error occurs. The file file.txt.gz appears in the directory.

Example 2: Keep the Original File

gzip -k file.txt

Compresses file.txt to file.txt.gz while keeping the original file.txt intact.

Sample Output: Both file.txt and file.txt.gz are present in the directory.

Example 3: Compress to a Specific Output File

gzip -c file.txt > compressed_file.txt.gz

Compresses file.txt and writes the output to compressed_file.txt.gz without deleting the original file. The -c option outputs to stdout, and redirection saves it.

Sample Output: The compressed file compressed_file.txt.gz is created.

Example 4: Compress Multiple Files

gzip *.txt

Compresses all .txt files in the current directory, creating corresponding .txt.gz files and removing the originals.

Sample Output: Files like file1.txt.gz, file2.txt.gz, etc., replace the original .txt files.

Example 5: Force Compression

gzip -f file.txt

Forces compression, overwriting file.txt.gz if it already exists without prompting.

Sample Output: The existing file.txt.gz is overwritten with the new compressed version.

Example 6: Set Compression Level

gzip -9 file.txt

Compresses file.txt using the maximum compression level (9) for the smallest file size, though it takes longer. Levels range from 1 (fastest, least compression) to 9 (slowest, most compression).

Sample Output: Creates file.txt.gz with maximum compression.

Example 7: Verbose Mode

gzip -v file.txt

Compresses file.txt and displays verbose output, including the percentage of compression achieved.

Sample Output:

file.txt: 64.3% -- replaced with file.txt.gz

Example 8: Recursive Compression

gzip -r /path/to/directory

Recursively compresses all files in the specified directory and its subdirectories, creating .gz versions and removing the originals.

Sample Output: No output unless errors occur. All files in the directory tree are compressed to .gz.

Example 9: Compress with Minimal Compression

gzip -1 file.txt

Compresses file.txt using the minimum compression level (1) for faster processing but larger file size.

Sample Output: Creates file.txt.gz with minimal compression.

Example 10: Combine with tar for .tar.gz Files

tar -cvf - files/ | gzip > archive.tar.gz

Creates a tar archive of the files/ directory and compresses it with gzip, saving the result as archive.tar.gz. The tar -cvf - outputs to stdout, which is piped to gzip.

Sample Output: Lists the files being archived, e.g.:

files/file1.txt
files/file2.txt
files/subdir/file3.txt

The compressed archive.tar.gz is created.