Compression
zgrep
Search inside compressed files without decompressing them first.
Synopsis
syntax
zgrep [OPTION]... PATTERN [FILE]...
Examples
Search rotated compressed logs
zgrep 'error' /var/log/syslog.*.gz
Case-insensitive search in compressed log
zgrep -i 'timeout' access.log.gz
Count 404s per compressed log file
zgrep -c '404' access.log.*.gz
Common options
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| -i | Case-insensitive |
| -c | Count matches |
| -l | List matching files |
| -n | Show line numbers |
| -h | Suppress filename prefix |
About zgrep
The `zgrep` command search inside compressed files without decompressing them first. Compression commands reduce file sizes for storage and transfer.
Linux supports multiple compression formats, each with different speed and ratio trade-offs. Understanding these tools is essential for working with archives, backups, log rotation, and software distribution packages.
The command accepts 5 commonly used flags shown above, though the full set of options is available in the man page (`man zgrep`). The 3 examples on this page cover typical real-world usage patterns that you can copy and adapt for your own workflows.
Related commands
More Compression Commands
Other commands in the Compression category