zstd

Fast lossless compression algorithm

TLDR

Compress a file

$ zstd [file]

Decompress a file

$ zstd -d [file.zst]

Compress keeping original file

$ zstd -k [file]

Compress with maximum compression

$ zstd -19 [file]

Compress ultra (highest compression)

$ zstd --ultra -22 [file]

Compress with fastest speed

$ zstd -1 [file]

Compress to stdout

$ zstd -c [file] > [file.zst]

Decompress to stdout

$ zstd -dc [file.zst]

Compress with multiple threads

$ zstd -T0 [file]

Test archive integrity

$ zstd -t [file.zst]

Zstandard (zstd) is a fast lossless compression algorithm providing high compression ratios. It offers a wide range of compression/speed trade-offs, from ultra-fast to ultra-compression modes.At similar compression ratios, zstd is typically faster than zlib/gzip and significantly faster than xz/lzma. Higher compression levels approach xz ratios while maintaining faster decompression.zstd supports dictionary compression for small files, parallel compression, and can serve as a drop-in replacement for gzip in many workflows. The format is defined in RFC 8478.

PARAMETERS

-d, --decompress

Decompress files.

-k, --keep

Keep source files.

-c, --stdout

Write to stdout.

-1 to -19

Compression level (default 3).

--ultra

Enable ultra compression (levels 20-22).

-T n, --threads= n

Number of threads (0=auto).

-t, --test

Test compressed file integrity.

-l, --list

List compressed file information.

-f, --force

Force overwrite/compression.

-r

Recurse into directories.

--rm

Remove source file after compression.

-D dict

Use dictionary for compression.

--train

Create dictionary from samples.

-q, --quiet

Suppress output.

-v, --verbose

Verbose mode.

INSTALL

sudo apt install zstd

sudo dnf install zstd

sudo pacman -S zstd

sudo apk add zstd

sudo zypper install zstd

brew install zstd

nix profile install nixpkgs#zstd

CAVEATS

Higher compression levels use more memory. Ultra levels (20-22) require significantly more memory. Dictionary compression requires same dictionary for decompression. Not all tools support .zst format yet.

HISTORY

Zstandard was developed by Yann Collet at Facebook starting in 2015, building on his earlier LZ4 work. It was released publicly in 2016 and became RFC 8478 in 2018. Zstd has been adopted by the Linux kernel for compression, and is supported by tar, HTTP content-encoding, and numerous other tools.