┌─ FILE ANALYSIS ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ┐
│ DEVELOPER : Lasse Collin / The Tukaani Project
│ CATEGORY : Archive
│ MIME TYPE : application/x-xz
│ MAGIC BYTES : FD377A585A00
└ ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ┘
What is an XZ file?
XZ is a lossless data compression format that uses the LZMA2 algorithm to achieve high compression ratios. It is widely used in the Linux ecosystem for distributing source code tarballs and software packages. XZ typically achieves better compression than gzip and bzip2 at the cost of slower compression speed.
How to open XZ files
- 7-Zip (Windows) — Free, open-source
- tar (Linux, macOS) —
tar -xf archive.tar.xz - xz (Linux, macOS) —
xz -d file.xz - PeaZip (Windows, Linux) — Free GUI
Technical specifications
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Algorithm | LZMA2 |
| Compression Ratio | Higher than gzip/bzip2 |
| Integrity Check | CRC32, CRC64, SHA-256 |
| Multi-threading | Supported |
| Decompression RAM | Typically 10-100 MB |
Common use cases
- Linux packages: Source tarballs (.tar.xz) for distro packaging.
- Software distribution: Compressed releases on GNU/Linux.
- Archiving: High-ratio compression for long-term storage.
- Kernel releases: Linux kernel source archives.