bzip2
TLDR
Compress file
SYNOPSIS
bzip2 [options] [file...]
DESCRIPTION
bzip2 compresses files using the Burrows-Wheeler block-sorting compression algorithm. It typically achieves better compression ratios than gzip but is slower. By default, it replaces the original file with a compressed .bz2 file.
The tool is commonly used for compressing tarballs and large files.
PARAMETERS
-d, --decompress
Decompress file-k, --keep
Keep original files-f, --force
Overwrite existing files-c, --stdout
Write to standard output-t, --test
Test compressed file integrity-v, --verbose
Verbose mode-1 to -9
Compression level (1=fast, 9=best, default: 9)-q, --quiet
Suppress warnings
WORKFLOW
bzip2 file.txt
# Decompress
bzip2 -d file.txt.bz2
# Compress keeping original
bzip2 -k file.txt
# Compress to stdout
bzip2 -c file.txt > file.txt.bz2
# Test integrity
bzip2 -t file.txt.bz2
# Compress tar archive
tar -cjf archive.tar.bz2 directory/
COMPRESSION
Block size affects memory usage and compression:
- -1 - 100 KB blocks (fast, lower compression)
- -9 - 900 KB blocks (slow, better compression, default)
CAVEATS
Slower than gzip. Default removes original file (use -k to keep). Single-threaded (use pbzip2 or lbzip2 for parallel). Memory usage proportional to block size. .bz2 files larger than .xz but smaller than .gz typically.
HISTORY
bzip2 was created by Julian Seward in 1996 as a replacement for the earlier bzip, using improved algorithms for better compression.
