What is a gz file and how do I open a gz file?
A GZ, or GNU Zipped Archive file is a compression utility developed by Jean-Loup Gailly and Mark Adler as a free software to replace Compress in early Unix systems. It allows for better compression and freedom from patented algorithms. GZ was adopted by the GNU Project, and is relatively popular on the Internet. GZIP produces files with a GZ extension, which can be decompressed by GUNZIP.
By default, GZIP keeps the original file name as well as the time stamp in the compressed file. These are used when decompressing the file with the option -N. This is useful when a compressed file name was truncated or when the time stamp was not preserved after the file was transferred.
A file or folder, or even a group of files and folders can be selected by a user and compressed as one GZ file. Multiple GZ files can even be compressed as one GZ file, or these GZ files can be placed by the folder that can then be compressed as a GZ file. The GZIP compression technology and the GZ compression format were developed for Linux systems, though there are certain Microsoft Windows decompression applications implemented with support for decompressing and opening these GZ files. Gzip is normally used to compress just a single file. Users of Mac platforms can also install and use some compatible Mac decompression tools to open and view the archived content of these GZ files.
HOW TO OPEN A .GZ FILE?
In order to extract a .gz file you can use GZIP/GNUZIP program. It is a software application used for file compression. It is based on the DEFLATE algorithm, which is a combination of LZ77 and Huffman coding.
Use the following command: $ gunzip file.gz
Recommended gz file download:
WinZip
PCMag.com Editors' Choice award!WinZip software is recommended for opening gz files. WinZip creates Zip and Zipx files, and extracts content from 25+ files types, including Zip, Zipx, RAR, 7Z, TAR, GZIP and more. It also offers 128 and 256-bit AES encryption, PDF conversion, image resizing and file splitting for large archives. WinZip supports multiple sharing options, including email, social media and cloud services.
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Dare to be Creative Archiver
Apple Archive Utility
Detail gz file extension information:
File Format: Gnu Zipped Archive
Primary Association: Compressed Files
Mime Type: application/gzip, application/gzip-compressed, application/gzipped, application/octet-stream, application/x-compress, application/x-compressed, application/x-gunzip, application/x-gzip, gzip/document, image/xcf, application/x-gzip-compressed
Relevant gz file links:
How to open gz file on YoutubeHow to open gz file on Wikipedia
How to open gz file on Microsoft.com
