ZUPDATE(1)

📦
version 1.16 · 5 versions
, in ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

✨ ZUPDATE(1) ✨ — like, the user commands corner of the manual, but make it cute 🎀

okay bestie, so this is the page for zupdate, and ngl it's lowkey a glow-up artist for your compressed files 💅

🌸 NAME 🌸

zupdate — recompress bzip2, gzip, xz, zstd files to lzip format 🦋

🌈 SYNOPSIS 🌈

zupdate [options] [files]

periodt, that's the whole vibe.

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so zupdate recompresses files from bzip2, gzip, xz, and zstd formats into lzip format. each original gets compared with the new file and then deleted (unless you say otherwise, more on that below 👀). only regular files with standard file name extensions get recompressed — everything else is just ignored, no biggie, it's not their moment.

compressed files are decompressed and then recompressed on the fly ✨, so no temporary files are ever created. not one. zero. iconic behavior honestly.

and why lzip as the destination? because it's the most appropriate format for long-term archiving, that's why 👑 iykyk.

if you don't specify any files, recursive searches examine the current working directory, and nonrecursive searches... do nothing. literally nothing. the vibes are just sitting there 🫶

if the lzip-compressed version of a file already exists, that file gets skipped — unless you pass the option --force. and if you do pass --force, and the comparison with the existing lzip version fails, then an error is returned and the original file is not deleted. the whole operation of zupdate is meant to be safe and not cause any data loss. so listen: existing lzip-compressed files are never overwritten nor deleted. never ever. no cap 💀

the names of the original files must have one of these extensions:

  • '.bz2', '.gz', '.xz', '.zst', or '.Z' — these get recompressed to '.lz' 💖
  • '.tbz', '.tbz2', '.tgz', '.txz', or '.tzst' — these get recompressed to '.tlz' 🌸

✨ OPTIONS ✨

  • -h, --help — display this help and exit 🥰
  • -V, --version — output version information and exit 💫
  • -d, --destdir=<dir> — write recompressed files into <dir> 📁
  • -e, --expand-extensions — expand combined extensions; tgz --> tar.lz 🧚
  • -f, --force — don't skip a file even if the .lz exists 💪
  • -i, --ignore-errors — ignore non-fatal errors 🙈
  • -k, --keep — keep (don't delete) input files 🫶
  • -l, --lzip-verbose — pass one option -v to the lzip compressor 🗣️
  • -M, --format=<list> — process only the formats in <list> 🎯
  • -N, --no-rcfile — don't read runtime configuration file 🚫
  • -q, --quiet — suppress all messages 🤫
  • -r, --recursive — operate recursively on directories 🔁
  • -R, --dereference-recursive — recursively follow symbolic links 🔗
  • -v, --verbose — be verbose (a 2nd -v gives more) 📢
  • -x, --exclude=<pattern> — exclude files matching a shell pattern 🚫🌸
  • -0 .. -9 — set compression level [default 9] 🔥
  • --bz2=<command> — set compressor and options for bzip2 format 🍓
  • --gz=<command> — set compressor and options for gzip format 🍓
  • --lz=<command> — set compressor and options for lzip format 🍓
  • --xz=<command> — set compressor and options for xz format 🍓
  • --zst=<command> — set compressor and options for zstd format 🍓

valid formats for option '-M' are 'bz2', 'gz', 'xz', and 'zst'. that's the list, bestie, memorize it 💅

👑 EXIT STATUS 👑

  • 0 — if all the compressed files were successfully recompressed (if needed), compared, and deleted (if requested) ✅ slay
  • 1 — if a non-fatal error occurred (file not found or not regular, or has invalid format, or can't be deleted) 😬
  • 2 — if a fatal error occurred (invalid command-line options, compressor can't be run, or comparison fails) 💀

🐛 REPORTING BUGS 🐛

found a bug? spill it to zutils-bug@nongnu.org 📧

Zutils home page: http://www.nongnu.org/zutils/zutils.html 🏠

Copyright © 2026 Antonio Diaz Diaz. License GPLv2+: GNU GPL version 2 or later http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html

this is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. there is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. (say it with me: no warranty, no cap 😭)

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

the full documentation for zupdate is maintained as a Texinfo manual 📚. if the info and zupdate programs are properly installed at your site, the command

info zutils

should give you access to the complete manual ✨

and that's the whole page, bestie 🎀 this was zutils version 1.16, dated February 2026 — written by the zupdate girlies, for the zupdate girlies 💖 mwah, go compress something iconic 🦋💅

📦 where this page comes from