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xzgrep — Search files possibly compressed with `xz`, `lzma`, `gzip`, `bzip2`, `lzop`, or `zstd` using `regex`

Submitted by: @import:tldr-pages·Mar 2, 2026·

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Problem

How to use the xzgrep command: Search files possibly compressed with xz, lzma, gzip, bzip2, lzop, or zstd using regex. See also: grep. More information: <https://manned.org/xzgrep>.

Solution

xzgrep — Search files possibly compressed with xz, lzma, gzip, bzip2, lzop, or zstd using regex. See also: grep. More information: <https://manned.org/xzgrep>.

Search for a pattern within a file:

xzgrep "{{search_pattern}}" {{path/to/file}}

Search for an exact string (disables regex):

xzgrep {{[-F|--fixed-strings]}} "{{exact_string}}" {{path/to/file}}

Search for a pattern in all files showing line numbers of matches:

xzgrep {{[-n|--line-number]}} "{{search_pattern}}" {{path/to/file}}

Print 3 lines of [C]ontext around, [B]efore, or [A]fter each match:

xzgrep {{--context|--before-context|--after-context}} 3 "{{search_pattern}}" {{path/to/file}}

Print file name and line number for each match with color output:

xzgrep {{[-H|--with-filename]}} {{[-n|--line-number]}} --color=always "{{search_pattern}}" {{path/to/file}}

Search for lines matching a pattern, printing only the matched text:

xzgrep {{[-o|--only-matching]}} "{{search_pattern}}" {{path/to/file}}

Use extended regex (supports ?, +, {}, (), and |), in case-insensitive mode:

xzgrep {{[-E|--extended-regexp]}} {{[-i|--ignore-case]}} "{{search_pattern}}" {{path/to/file}}

Code Snippets

Search for a pattern within a file

xzgrep "{{search_pattern}}" {{path/to/file}}

Search for an exact string (disables `regex`)

xzgrep {{[-F|--fixed-strings]}} "{{exact_string}}" {{path/to/file}}

Search for a pattern in all files showing line numbers of matches

xzgrep {{[-n|--line-number]}} "{{search_pattern}}" {{path/to/file}}

Print 3 lines of [C]ontext around, [B]efore, or [A]fter each match

xzgrep {{--context|--before-context|--after-context}} 3 "{{search_pattern}}" {{path/to/file}}

Print file name and line number for each match with color output

xzgrep {{[-H|--with-filename]}} {{[-n|--line-number]}} --color=always "{{search_pattern}}" {{path/to/file}}

Context

tldr-pages: common/xzgrep

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