Session and utilities

The zcat command

Shows the contents of a .gz file without decompressing it to disk. It is cat + gunzip.

Syntax

zcat archivo.gz

Copy-ready examples

$ printf 'hola\n' > f.txt && gzip -k f.txt && zcat f.txt.gzRead a compressed file

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

Typical mistakes

  • It does not modify or create files: it only shows the contents.

Related commands

gzipgunzipcat

FAQ

What is it for?

To inspect a .gz without using space to decompress it.

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