Session and utilities

The gunzip command

Decompresses .gz files and recovers the original.

Syntax

gunzip [-k] archivo.gz

Most useful options

-kKeeps the .gz
-cWrites the result to screen
-lLists info about the compressed file

Copy-ready examples

$ printf 'texto\n' > f.txt && gzip -k f.txt && gunzip -k f.txt.gz && lsDecompress

You can try them in the browser terminal: it does not touch your computer.

Typical mistakes

  • gunzip only understands .gz; for .bz2 or .xz use their own tools.

Related commands

gzipzcattar

FAQ

Can I recover a file deleted by gzip?

No: if gzip deleted the original without -k, only the .gz remains, which must be decompressed.

Learn to actually use it

The basic Linux course takes you from zero to console fluency with 24 self-grading lessons.

Start the free course