Open a .gz online

Q: How do I open a .gz file online?

Open the page and drop your `.gz` onto it. ZipTool decompresses the file inside it in your browser — no command line, no install, no upload. The original file opens immediately (text, code, image, PDF, audio, or video depending on what was compressed), and you can read or download it.

Q: What is the difference between .gz and .tar.gz?

A `.gz` is a single file compressed with gzip — it decompresses to one file. A `.tar.gz` is a tar bundle of many files that was then gzipped — it decompresses to a folder tree. If you expected many files from a `.gz`, you likely have a `.tar.gz`. ZipTool opens both: a `.gz` as one file, a `.tar.gz` as a tree.

Q: Can I gunzip a file without the command line?

Yes. ZipTool gunzips a `.gz` entirely in your browser with no install — drop the file on the page and the decompressed file opens. The browser uses its native gzip support, so it works the same as `gunzip file.gz` on the command line, just without the terminal.

Decompress (gunzip) a .gz file in your browser — no command line, no upload.

Drop your .gz anywhere on this page

Decompressed entirely in your browser — your file is never uploaded.

A .gz is a single file compressed with gzip — log.gz, backup.sql.gz, data.json.gz. It is not a multi-file container: gzip is a stream compressor, so a lone .gz holds exactly one file, and "opening" it means decompressing that one file back to its original form (the gunzip operation). ZipTool does it in your browser using the platform's native gzip support: you drop the .gz on the page and the decompressed file opens immediately, with nothing uploaded and nothing installed.

You open the page, drop the .gz onto it (or paste a direct URL), and the original file renders locally — text and code in a syntax-highlighting editor, images, PDFs, audio, and video depending on what was inside. The decode runs entirely in your tab; the network is used only to load the page.

.gz versus .tar.gz — they are not the same

The two extensions are constantly confused, and the difference matters. A lone `.gz` is one compressed file — report.csv.gz decompresses to one report.csv. A `.tar.gz` (or .tgz) is a tar bundle of many files that was then gzipped — it decompresses to a whole folder tree. If you expected many files from a .gz and got one, you almost certainly have a mistyped .tar.gz.

ZipTool handles both honestly: a .gz opens as the single file inside it, and a .tar.gz opens as a folder tree. If you have the combined archive, see open a .tar.gz online and extracting a tar.gz online.

How to open a .gz in your browser

No gunzip, no terminal, no install. The browser decompresses locally.

Go to ZipTool and drag the .gz onto the page (or use the file picker, or paste a URL).
The single file inside is decompressed and opened — text and code show in the editor, images and PDFs render, audio and video play.
Download the decompressed file to keep it, or search and read it in place.
Nothing is uploaded — confirm it by opening a .gz and turning off your internet; viewing keeps working.

Why a no-upload gunzip matters

A .gz is very often a log, a database dump, a config export, or raw data — exactly the content you may not want on a stranger's server. The upload-based "decompress gz" sites ask you to send the whole file to their backend, gunzip it there, and trust them with the result. A client-side decompressor removes that step: the file is decoded in your tab and shown to you; no copy exists anywhere else.

Verify it yourself: open a .gz, then watch DevTools' Network tab — you see the page load, but no upload of your file. Disconnect from the internet and confirm viewing keeps working. The same privacy model backs unzipping online without uploading.

Honest limits

A browser-based gunzip is simple and reliable, with a couple of boundaries.

A .gz is one file, not a folder. Gzip compresses a single stream; it is not a packager. If you need many files out, you have a .tar.gz, not a .gz — see open a .tar.gz online.
Other compressors are out of scope here. ZipTool decompresses gzip natively. Files compressed with xz (.xz), bzip2 (.bz2), zstd (.zst), or LZ4 are not handled on this page; use the command line or a desktop tool for those.
Very large files use memory. A .gz is one stream, so a very large compressed file decompresses into one large in-memory file. Open .gz files from sources you trust.

Frequently asked questions

How do I open a .gz file online?

Open the page and drop your .gz onto it. ZipTool decompresses the file inside it in your browser — no command line, no install, no upload. The original file opens immediately (text, code, image, PDF, audio, or video depending on what was compressed), and you can read or download it.

What is the difference between .gz and .tar.gz?

A .gz is a single file compressed with gzip — it decompresses to one file. A .tar.gz is a tar bundle of many files that was then gzipped — it decompresses to a folder tree. If you expected many files from a .gz, you likely have a .tar.gz. ZipTool opens both: a .gz as one file, a .tar.gz as a tree.

Can I gunzip a file without the command line?

Yes. ZipTool gunzips a .gz entirely in your browser with no install — drop the file on the page and the decompressed file opens. The browser uses its native gzip support, so it works the same as gunzip file.gz on the command line, just without the terminal.

Do you upload my .gz file?

No. The file is decompressed entirely in your browser; your contents are never sent to a server, never stored, and never handed to a third party. Confirm it in DevTools — the Network tab shows no upload — and by disconnecting from the internet after the page loads: viewing keeps working.

Can it open .xz, .bz2, or .zst files?

Not on this page. ZipTool decompresses gzip streams natively (so .gz works), but xz, bzip2, zstd, and LZ4 are out of scope here. Use the command line (gunzip, xz -d, bunzip2, zstd -d) or a desktop tool for those.