gzip

The gzip command is used to compress files, replacing the original file with a compressed version ending in .gz. It is one of the most common compression formats in Linux.

Basic Syntax

gzip [OPTION]... [FILE]...

Common Options

Option	Description
-d, --decompress	Decompress the file (equivalent to gunzip).
-k, --keep	Keep (don't delete) input files.
-r, --recursive	Operate recursively on directories.
-v, --verbose	Print name and percentage reduction for each file.
-1 to -9	Regulate the speed of compression (-1 is fastest, -9 is best compression).

Real-world Examples

1. Compress a file:

   gzip file.txt

   (This replaces file.txt with file.txt.gz)

2. Compress a file and keep the original:

   gzip -k file.txt

3. Compress with maximum compression ratio:

   gzip -9 large_file.bin

4. Compress all files in a directory recursively:

   gzip -r /path/to/directory