gunzip
gunzip
The gunzip
command in Unix and Linux is used to decompress files that have been compressed with gzip. It is a straightforward tool for handling gzip-compressed files and is commonly used for file decompression tasks.
Basic Usage
The basic syntax for the gunzip
command is:
gunzip [options] [file(s)]
options
: Optional command-line options to control the behavior ofgunzip
.file(s)
: The name(s) of the file(s) to decompress.
Examples
Decompressing a File
To decompress a file using gunzip
:
gunzip filename.txt.gz
This command decompresses filename.txt.gz
and restores it to filename.txt
.
Decompressing with -d
Option
The -d
option can also be used to achieve the same result:
gunzip -d filename.txt.gz
Decompressing Multiple Files
To decompress multiple files at once:
gunzip file1.txt.gz file2.txt.gz
This command decompresses file1.txt.gz
and file2.txt.gz
, resulting in file1.txt
and file2.txt
.
Options
Keep Original File
-k
: Keep the original compressed file after decompression.
Verbose Output
-v
: Verbose mode, display decompression statistics.
Practical Use Cases
Automated Decompression
To decompress all .gz
files in a directory and its subdirectories:
gunzip -r /path/to/files/*.gz
This command recursively decompresses all .gz
files under /path/to/files
.
Keeping Original Files
To keep the original .gz
files after decompression:
gunzip -k file1.txt.gz file2.txt.gz
This command decompresses file1.txt.gz
and file2.txt.gz
while keeping the original compressed files.
Summary
The gunzip
command is a simple yet effective tool for decompressing gzip-compressed files in Unix and Linux environments. It offers options for maintaining original files, providing verbose output, and handling multiple files simultaneously. Understanding its usage and options can help you efficiently manage file decompression tasks on your system.
help
Usage: /usr/bin/gunzip [OPTION]... [FILE]...
Uncompress FILEs (by default, in-place).
Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.
-c, --stdout write on standard output, keep original files unchanged
-f, --force force overwrite of output file and compress links
-k, --keep keep (don't delete) input files
-l, --list list compressed file contents
-n, --no-name do not save or restore the original name and timestamp
-N, --name save or restore the original name and timestamp
-q, --quiet suppress all warnings
-r, --recursive operate recursively on directories
-S, --suffix=SUF use suffix SUF on compressed files
--synchronous synchronous output (safer if system crashes, but slower)
-t, --test test compressed file integrity
-v, --verbose verbose mode
--help display this help and exit
--version display version information and exit
With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.
Report bugs to <bug-gzip@gnu.org>.
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