.gz files
.gz file
Gzip Compressed File
A single compressed file — it holds no folder structure of its own.
What opens a .gz file
- Windows
- File Explorer (built in, Windows 11), 7-Zip, WinRAR
- macOS
- Archive Utility (built in), Keka, gunzip (Terminal)
- Linux
- Archive Manager / File Roller (built in), gunzip, Ark
What a .gz file is
Gzip compresses exactly one file, which is why it is nearly always applied to a .tar bundle to give .tar.gz. It is also the compression browsers and web servers negotiate for pages in transit. Windows 11 File Explorer now extracts .gz and .tar.gz; on macOS and Linux, double-clicking or the gunzip command does it.
Converting it
A .gz file is commonly converted to .zip, .7z, .tar or .xz. It is a binary format, so a text editor will show unreadable characters rather than its contents.
Details
- Extension
- .gz
- Full name
- Gzip Compressed File
- Category
- Archives
- MIME type
- application/gzip
- Created by
- GNU Project
- Format
- Binary
Common questions
- How do I open a .gz file?
- On Windows use File Explorer (built in, Windows 11); on macOS use Archive Utility (built in); on Linux use Archive Manager / File Roller (built in). A single compressed file — it holds no folder structure of its own.
- What is a .gz file?
- Gzip Compressed File. Gzip compresses exactly one file, which is why it is nearly always applied to a .tar bundle to give .tar.gz. It is also the compression browsers and web servers negotiate for pages in transit.
- Can I convert a .gz file?
- Yes. It is usually converted to .zip, .7z, .tar or .xz, either by exporting from one of the programs listed above or with a format converter.
Related pages
- .zip — ZIP Archive The universal compressed folder — every operating system opens one with no extra
- .rar — RAR Archive A proprietary archive format with better compression than ZIP and strong recover
- .7z — 7-Zip Archive The open, high-compression archive format from 7-Zip, with proper AES-256 encryp
- .tar — Tape Archive A Unix bundle of files with no compression at all — usually paired with gzip.
- .tgz — Gzipped Tar Archive Shorthand for .tar.gz — a tar bundle compressed with gzip.
- .xz — XZ Compressed File LZMA2 compression — the tightest of the common Unix single-file compressors.
- .bz2 — Bzip2 Compressed File A compressed single file, slower than gzip but usually smaller.
- .sfx — Self-Extracting Archive Module The stub program archivers glue onto an archive to make it extract itself.
Sources
- Media Types Registry — IANA
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place