Extract text from GNU Zip archives (GZ)
To convert GZ archives to another format, you need gzip or other Compressed software.
To convert other file formats to the "Compressed Archive File" file type, you need software like gzip or a similar tool.
The .GZ file format is a compressed archive created by the gzip utility, initially developed by the GNU Project. It uses the DEFLATE algorithm, combining LZ77 and Huffman coding, to drastically reduce the storage size of data. Typically found in Unix and Linux environments, it is widely used for compressing server log files, database backups, and software packages.
A major disadvantage of the .GZ format is that it only compresses a single file. Unlike a ZIP file, it lacks an internal directory structure and cannot bundle multiple files. To bypass this frustrating limitation, it must be paired with a TAR archive, resulting in a .tar.gz file. Furthermore, native Windows systems historically struggle to open .GZ files without third-party tools, causing bottlenecks for non-technical users.
To share files with Windows or macOS users easily, converting .GZ to ZIP provides the best cross-platform compatibility. If you are archiving multiple files and need a solid folder structure, extract and convert to 7Z or TAR.
Convert.Guru analyzes your GZ file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted DD, GZIP, NII, TAR, FASTA, XES, WARC, FQ, EPG, CDX, ZIP, GCT and BSON files.
If you want to convert GZ file to ZIP, CSV, PDF, TXT, ISO, JSON, XZ, SQL, RAR, 7Z, TAR or BZ2, you can use gzip or similar software from the "Single File Data Compression" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert XXE, 7Z, Z, PAK, LHA, DEB, UUE, TAR, LZH, ZIP, PKG or RAR files to GZ, try gzip or another comparable tool in the "Single File Data Compression" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our GZ converter.