SoFunction
Updated on 2025-03-09

Detailed explanation of the command to decompress (open) Gz files in Linux

How to unzip (open) a Gz file

Programs that open Gz files

For Windows operating systems:

  • Peazip
  • WinRAR
  • Corel WinZip
  • 7-Zip
  • File Viewer Plus

For macOS:

  • Corel WinZip Mac
  • Incredible Bee Archiver
  • Apple Archive Utility
  • Smith Micro StuffIt Deluxe Mac 16

For Linux-based operating systems:

  • gzip
  • Xarchive
  • Ark
  • Peazip

Steps to decompress Gz files in a Linux-based operating system. Run the following command to extract the Gz file to its original state and delete the original .gz file

gzip -d 

Steps to extract files.

Run the following command to extract files from Linux-based operating systems such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint, CentOS, Fedora OS, Pop OS, Elementary OS, RedHat, and other Linux distributions:

tar -xf 

Use the gunzip command to decompress the gz file:

gunzip <  > 

How to view the contents of archive folders without extracting

Run the following command to view the contents of the file in Linux without decompressing.

tar -tvf 

Extract ., .tgz, .gz compression packages using tar on Windows 10/Windows 11

Use the following steps to extract ., .tgz, .gz, and .zip files on Windows 11.

Open the command with administrator privileges and type the following command to extract files on Windows 11 using tar.

tar -xvzf C:\PATH\TO\FILE\ -C C:\PATH\TO\FOLDER-NAME\EXTRACTION

Extract ., .tgz, .gz compression packages using tar on Linux on Windows (WSL)

Run the following command to extract .gz files on Linux on Windows (Linux On WSL)

sudo tar -xvzf /mnt/c/Path/To/Tar-file/Desktop/ -C /mnt/c/Path/To/Destination/folder

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