GNU gzip

gzip is a file format and a file compression program. The program uses the Deflate algorithm to compress and decompress a single file using the gzip file format.

Key facts

Software.name: NetBSD Gzip / FreeBSD Gzip
Software.logo: Gzip-Logo.svg
Software.developer: The NetBSD Foundation
Software.operating system: Unix-like, Plan 9, Inferno
Software.genre: Data compression
Software.programming language: C
Software.license: Simplified BSD License
Software.website: hide
File format.name: gzip (file format)
File format.extension: .gz, .tgz, .gzip
File format.mime: application/gzip
File format.developer: Jean-Loup Gailly

Article

8 sections

Contents

File format
File structure
Implementations
Damage recovery
Derivatives and other uses
See also
References
External links

gzip is a file format and a file compression program. The program uses the Deflate algorithm to compress and decompress a single file using the gzip file format.

gzip was released in 1992 as a free software replacement for the compress program because its compression algorithm, LZW, was covered by patents from Unisys and IBM, which did not expire until 2003 and 2004. Jean-Loup Gailly designed the gzip file format, which was later specified by RFC 1952, and originally wrote the gzip program. Mark Adler wrote the decompression part. gzip is now developed by the GNU project.