.gz

What is a .gz file?

A single-file compression format using the gzip algorithm.

Safe format
Type Archive
By Jean-loup Gailly / Mark Adler
MIME application/gzip

Drop any file to identify it

We read file headers, not extensions. Nothing gets uploaded.

What is it

A single-file compression format using the gzip algorithm. Often paired with TAR (.tar.gz or .tgz) to create compressed archives on Unix/Linux systems. Also used for compressing web assets (HTML, CSS, JS) for faster delivery.

Technical details
Full Name
Gzip Compressed File
MIME Type
application/gzip
Developer
Jean-loup Gailly / Mark Adler
Magic Bytes
1F 8B
Safety
.gz is a known, safe format.
What opens it
Built-in on macOS/Linux
FREE macOS / Linux
7-Zip
FREE Windows
Related formats