To save the disk space on my Linux based nas (network storage server), I have compressed thousands of reports[0-1000].txt files using gunzip program. However, I need to cat .gz file (or open in vim text editor) for reference purposes. I have a log files stores on my nas server in compressed format using gzip command. How do I display compressed Apache log file without using cat command? How to display the contents of gzip text files in screen without unzipping?

You can easily display compressed files on Linux or Unix without using using the cat command, less, or more command. In this example, show the contents of a text file called resume.txt.gz that has been compressed using gzip and friends. Open the Terminal and then type the following commands.

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Syntax

Display resume.txt.gz on screen using cat command like syntax:

Display access_log_1.gz on screen at a time:

Or try zless (less command):

Search access_log_1.gz for 1.2.3.4 IP address using grep command like syntax:

You can use egrep command like syntax:

See also

• A quick introduction to z* commands to read gzip compressed text files on a fly
• Man pages: bash(1)