I need a cheatsheet for the gzip command.
Compress a file
Example Usage:
gzip file.txt
What it does:
Compresses the specified file using the gzip algorithm, replacing the original file with a compressed version. The compressed file will have the .gz extension.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
- file.txt: The path to the file to be compressed.
Compress multiple files
Example Usage:
gzip file1.txt file2.txt
What it does:
Compresses multiple files in one command, creating .gz versions of each.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
- file1.txt: The first file to be compressed.
- file2.txt: The second file to be compressed.
Compress and keep the original file
Example Usage:
gzip -k file.txt
What it does:
Compresses the file while retaining the original (uncompressed) version. The compressed file will have the .gz extension.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
- -k: Keeps the original file after compression. Without this option, the original is deleted.
Compress with a specific compression level
Example Usage:
gzip -9 file.txt
What it does:
Compresses the file using the maximum compression level (9), which may take longer but produce smaller files.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
- -9: Sets the compression level to 9 (the highest, with 1 being the fastest and 9 the most compressed). Available levels: 1-9.
Decompress a file
Example Usage:
gzip -d file.gz
What it does:
Decompresses the specified .gz file, restoring the original content. The compressed file is replaced with the decompressed version.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
- -d: Decompresses the file. This is equivalent to using
gunzip but is a valid option for gzip.
Force compression (override existing files)
Example Usage:
gzip -f file.txt
What it does:
Forces compression of the file, overwriting any existing .gz file with the same name if it exists.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
- -f: Forces compression, even if the output file already exists. Useful to avoid prompts for confirmation.
Compress to standard output
Example Usage:
gzip -c file.txt > file.gz
What it does:
Compresses the file and writes the output to standard output, which can be redirected to a file or another program.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
- -c: Outputs the compressed data to standard output instead of modifying the input file. Requires redirection to save the result.
Example Usage:
gzip -l file.gz
What it does:
Displays details about the compressed file, such as original size, compressed size, and compression ratio.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
- -l: Lists information about the compressed file. If no file is specified, it lists all
.gz files in the current directory.
Recursively compress files in a directory
Example Usage:
gzip -r /path/to/dir
What it does:
Recursively compresses all files in the specified directory and its subdirectories.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
- -r: Recursively processes files in the directory. This is useful for batch compression of directories.
Compress without saving the filename
Example Usage:
gzip -n file.txt
What it does:
Compresses the file and omits saving the original filename in the compressed data, which can help in reducing file size slightly.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
- -n: Omits the original filename from the compressed file. This is often used with
.gz files where the filename is not needed.
