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Python Gzip Module

The gzip module provides a simple interface to compress and decompress files just like the GNU programs gzip and gunzip would.

Importing the Module

import gzip

Reading Compressed Files

To open a compressed file for reading, use gzip.open().

import gzip

with gzip.open('file.txt.gz', 'rt') as f:
    file_content = f.read()
    print(file_content)

Writing Compressed Files

To open a compressed file for writing, use gzip.open() with mode 'wt' (for text) or 'wb' (for binary).

import gzip

content = "Hello, world!"
with gzip.open('file.txt.gz', 'wt') as f:
    f.write(content)

Compressing Data

You can compress data directly using gzip.compress().

import gzip

data = b"Hello, world!"
compressed_data = gzip.compress(data)
print(compressed_data)

Decompressing Data

You can decompress data using gzip.decompress().

decompressed_data = gzip.decompress(compressed_data)
print(decompressed_data)

programming/python/python

Created: March 17, 2026 • Last Modified: January 27, 2026