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ZGREP(1) User Commands ZGREP(1) NAME zgrep - search compressed files for a regular expression SYNOPSIS zgrep [options] <pattern> [files] DESCRIPTION zgrep is a front end to the program grep that allows transparent search on any combination of compressed and uncompressed files. If any file given is compressed, its decompressed content is used. If a file given does not ex- ist, and its name does not end with one of the known extensions, zgrep tries the compressed file names corresponding to the formats supported un- til one is found. If a file fails to decompress, zgrep continues searching the rest of the files. If a file is specified as '-', data are read from standard input, decom- pressed if needed, and fed to grep. Data read from standard input must be of the same type; all uncompressed or all in the same compressed format. If no files are specified, recursive searches examine the current working directory, and nonrecursive searches read standard input. 'zgrep --verbose -V' prints the version of the grep program used. The formats supported are bzip2, gzip, lzip, xz, and zstd. Some options only work if the grep program used supports them. OPTIONS -?, --help display this help and exit -V, --version output version information and exit -a, --text treat all files as text -A, --after-context=<n> print <n> lines of trailing context -b, --byte-offset print the byte offset of each line -B, --before-context=<n> print <n> lines of leading context -c, --count only print a count of matching lines per file -C, --context=<n> print <n> lines of output context --color[=<when>] show matched strings in color -e, --regexp=<pattern> use <pattern> as the pattern to match -E, --extended-regexp <pattern> is an extended regular expression --exclude=<pattern> exclude files matching a shell pattern -f, --file=<file> obtain patterns from <file> -F, --fixed-strings <pattern> is a set of newline-separated strings -G, --basic-regexp <pattern> is a basic regular expression (default) -h, --no-filename suppress the prefixing file name on output -H, --with-filename print the file name for each match -i, --ignore-case ignore case distinctions -I ignore binary files -l, --files-with-matches only print names of files containing matches -L, --files-without-match only print names of files containing no matches --label=<label> use <label> as file name for standard input --line-buffered flush output on every line -m, --max-count=<n> stop after <n> matches -M, --format=<list> process only the formats in <list> -n, --line-number print the line number of each line -N, --no-rcfile don't read runtime configuration file -o, --only-matching show only the part of a line matching <pattern> -O, --force-format=<fmt> force the input format -P, --perl-regexp <pattern> is a Perl regular expression -q, --quiet, --silent suppress all messages -r, --recursive operate recursively on directories -R, --dereference-recursive recursively follow symbolic links -s, --no-messages suppress error messages -T, --initial-tab make tabs line up (if needed) -U, --binary don't strip CR characters at EOL (DOS/Windows) -v, --invert-match select non-matching lines --verbose verbose mode (show error messages) -w, --word-regexp match only whole words -x, --line-regexp match only whole lines -Z, --null print 0 byte (ASCII NUL) after file name --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 options '-M' and '-O' are 'bz2', 'gz', 'lz', 'xz', 'zst', and 'un' for uncompressed. EXIT STATUS 0 if at least one match was found, 1 if no matches were found, 2 if trou- ble. REPORTING BUGS Report bugs to zutils-bug@nongnu.org Zutils home page: http://www.nongnu.org/zutils/zutils.html COPYRIGHT Copyright (C) 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. SEE ALSO The full documentation for zgrep is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and zgrep programs are properly installed at your site, the command info zutils should give you access to the complete manual. zutils 1.16 February 2026 ZGREP(1)
NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | OPTIONS | EXIT STATUS | REPORTING BUGS | COPYRIGHT | SEE ALSO
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