bzip3

Compress a file

$ bzip3 [path/to/file_to_compress]

$ bzip3 [[-d|--decode]] [path/to/compressed_file.bz3]

$ bzip3 [[-dc|--decode --stdout]] [path/to/compressed_file.bz3]

$ bzip3 [[-t|--test]] [path/to/compressed_file.bz3]

$ bzip3 [[-v|--verbose]] [path/to/compressed_files.bz3]

$ bzip3 [[-d|--decode]] [[-f|--force]] [path/to/compressed_file.bz3]

$ bzip3 [[-h|--help]]

bzip3 [OPTIONS] [FILES...]
bzip3 -d [OPTIONS] [FILES...]

-z, --compress
    Forces compression. This is the default action if no other action is specified.

-d, --decompress
    Decompresses the specified files. Recognizes files with the .bz3 extension.

-t, --test
    Tests the integrity of the specified compressed files without decompressing them.

-k, --keep
    Keeps (does not delete) input files after compression or decompression. By default, input files are removed.

-f, --force
    Forces overwrite of existing output files. Also forces compression/decompression of files that do not have the standard suffix.

-c, --stdout
    Compresses or decompresses to standard output. No files are deleted. Useful for piping with other commands.

-o <file>, --output <file>
    Specifies the output file name. Can only be used when processing a single input file.

-j <num>, --threads <num>
    Sets the number of parallel threads to use for compression/decompression. A value of 0 typically uses all available logical cores.

-l <level>, --level <level>
    Sets the compression level, from 0 (fastest, less compression) to 9 (slowest, best compression). Default is often 6 or 7.

--fast
    Equivalent to -l1, prioritizing speed over compression ratio.

--best
    Equivalent to -l9, prioritizing the best possible compression ratio.

-v, --verbose
    Increases verbosity, displaying more information about the compression/decompression process.

-S <suffix>, --suffix <suffix>
    Specifies the suffix for compressed files. The default suffix is .bz3.

-h, --help
    Displays a help message and exits.

-V, --version
    Displays version information and exits.

bzip3 is a modern file compression utility designed to surpass the performance of its predecessor, bzip2, and often compete with or exceed xz in terms of speed while maintaining excellent compression ratios. Unlike bzip2 which uses the Burrows-Wheeler Transform, bzip3 typically leverages more advanced algorithms like LZMA2, often combined with a fast hash table for block processing. It is built with multi-threading capabilities from the ground up, allowing it to significantly speed up compression and decompression tasks on multi-core processors. The command can be used to compress files, decompress .bz3 archives, test the integrity of compressed files, and stream data to or from standard output. By default, bzip3 replaces the original file with the compressed or decompressed version, but this behavior can be altered with options.

bzip3 is a relatively new compression utility compared to well-established tools like gzip or bzip2. As such, it may not be pre-installed on all Linux distributions by default, and its compression format (.bz3) is not as widely supported by other archiving tools or systems. While it offers excellent performance, its adoption might not be as widespread as older formats. Always ensure the recipient of .bz3 files has bzip3 installed to decompress them.

When compressing, bzip3 creates a new file with a .bz3 suffix and by default deletes the original input file. When decompressing, it creates the original file and deletes the .bz3 archive. This behavior can be overridden using the -k (--keep) option.

bzip3 is designed to offer a superior balance between compression ratio and speed compared to bzip2, often achieving better compression than gzip and competitive ratios with xz, but with significantly faster execution times, especially on systems with multiple CPU cores, due to its multi-threaded architecture.

bzip3 emerged as a modern initiative to address the limitations of older compression algorithms, particularly bzip2, which is single-threaded and can be slow. Developed to leverage contemporary multi-core processor architectures, bzip3 utilizes advanced compression algorithms, notably LZMA2, to achieve higher compression ratios and significantly faster speeds through parallel processing. Its development focuses on providing a powerful, efficient, and user-friendly alternative for file compression in the Linux ecosystem, aiming to become the go-to utility for general-purpose archiving where speed and ratio are critical.

gzip(1), bzip2(1), xz(1), tar(1)