10+ lzop command examples in Linux [Cheat Sheet]

Introduction to lzop command

File compression is a process in which the file or group of files is compressed into a single archive file to reduce the size. It is used to store or share larger files efficiently after reducing their sizes. There are several tools that you can use to compress files in Linux such as gzip, 7zip, tar,bzip2, xz, lzop, etc.

lzop is a file compressor tool that uses LZO (Lempel-Ziv-Oberhumer) algorithm. lzop stands for Lempel-Ziv-Oberhumer Packer. It favors speed over compression ratio. A file is compressed with the extension .lzo, while keeping the same ownership modes, access, and modification times.

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How to install lzop

lzop might not be installed by default in most of the Linux systems. You can use the following command to install lzop according to your Linux distributions.

To install lzop on CentOS, Fedora and RHEL

$ sudo yum install lzop

To install lzop on Ubuntu and Debian

$ sudo apt install lzop

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Syntax to use lzop command

The syntax for the lzop command is as follows:

$ lzop [ command ] [ options ] [ filename ... ]

lzop only attempts to compress regular files or symbolic links and ignores directories. It can compress a single file only.

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Different examples to use lzop command

1. lzop command to compress a file

You can specify a file name after lzop command to compress that file.

$ lzop filename

Sample Output:

2. Compress multiple files using lzop command

To compress multiple files, you have to specify multiple files.

$ lzop filename1 filename2 filename3

Sample Output:

3. lzop command to decompress a file

You can decompress a .lzo file using -d, --decompress, or --uncompress option. Decompressed files are be placed into same directory as the compressed file.

$ lzop -d filename

OR

$ lzop --decompress filename

Sample Output:

When we first tried to decompress a file, it shows an error as test.txt file already exists in the location. Then we removed the test.txt file and decompressed it again successfully.

You can decompress multiple files at once by specifying all files. You can use *.lzo to decompress all compressed files in the directory.

$ lzop -d *.lzo

Sample output:

4. Extract compressed files to the current working directory

The -x or --extract options extract compressed files to the current working directory. It is similar to the above -d or --decompress option.

$ lzop -x filename

OR

$ lzop --extract filename

5. Show detailed information on compressed file

The -l or --list option can be used to view the detailed information of a compressed lzop file.

$ lzop -l filename

OR

$ lzop --list filename

Sample Output:

• method: compression method
• compressed: size of the compressed file
• uncompr.: size of the uncompressed file
• ratio: compression ratio
• uncompressed_name: name of the uncompressed file
• date & time: time stamp for the uncompressed file

6. Test the integrity of a compressed file

You can check the integrity of a compressed file using -t or --test option.

$ lzop -t filename

OR

$ lzop --test filename

Sample Output:

golinux@ubuntu-PC:~$ lzop -t test.txt.lzo
testing test.txt.lzo OK
golinux@ubuntu-PC:~$ 
golinux@ubuntu-PC:~$ lzop -t test.txt
lzop: test.txt: not a lzop file

7. Force lzop to overwrite existing files

The -f or --force option forces lzop command to overwrite existing files.

$ lzop -f filename

OR

$ lzop --force filename

Sample Output:

8. Specify the compression level when compressing a file

You can specify a compression level to compress a file. By default, lzop uses the compression level -3. The compression level value ranges from -1 to -9.

-1 or --fast indicates the fastest compression method (less compression).

$ lzop -1 filename

OR

$ lzop --fast filename

-9 or --best indicates the slowest compression method (best compression).

$ lzop -9 filename

OR

$ lzop --best filename

9. Delete input files after successful compression or decompression

lzop does not delete input files after compression or decompression. You can use -U or --delete option if you want to delete original files after the successful operation.

$ lzop -U filename

OR

$ lzop --delete filename

Sample Output:

10. Suppress all warnings messages

The -q, --quiet, or --silent option helps to suppress all warnings and decrease the verbosity of some commands like --list or --test.

$ lzop -q filename

OR

$ lzop --quiet filename

OR

$ lzop --silent filename

Sample Output:

11. Display verbose output

The -v or --verbose option can be used to display the verbose output. It displays the name for each file compressed or decompressed. Multiple -v options increase the verbosity of some commands like --list or --test.

$ lzop -v filename

OR

$ lzop --verbose filename

Sample Output:

golinux@ubuntu-PC:~$ lzop -v test.txt
compressing test.txt into test.txt.lzo

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Conclusion

lzop is a file compressor tool which is very similar to gzip. We hope this tutorial helps you to understand how to use lzop commands in Linux. If you still have any confusion, let us know in the comment section below.

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What’s Next

10+ xz command examples in Linux [Cheat Sheet]
10+ bzip2 command examples in Linux [Cheat Sheet]
Linux zip folder | 16 practical Linux zip command examples

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Further Reading

man page for lzop command