# XZ Utils

XZ Utils is free general-purpose data compression software with high compression ratio. XZ Utils were written for POSIX-like systems, but also work on some not-so-POSIX systems. XZ Utils are the successor to LZMA Utils.

## Features

- High compression ratio
- Fast decompression
- Small memory requirements for decompression
- Multi-threading support for compression
- Integrity checking (CRC32, CRC64, SHA-256)
- Easy-to-use command line interface
- API for integration with applications

## Main Components

- **xz** - The primary compression/decompression tool
- **unxz** - Decompression tool (symlink to xz)
- **xzcat** - Decompresses to standard output (symlink to xz)
- **lzma** - Compatibility tool for LZMA format (symlink to xz)
- **unlzma** - Decompression tool for LZMA format (symlink to xz)
- **lzcat** - Decompresses LZMA to standard output (symlink to xz)
- **xzdec** - Small decompressor for embedded use
- **lzmadec** - Small LZMA decompressor for embedded use
- **lzmainfo** - Shows information stored in LZMA files
- **liblzma** - Compression library with C API

## Usage Examples

### Basic Compression
```bash
# Compress a file
xz file.txt

# Compress with maximum compression
xz -9 file.txt

# Compress keeping the original file
xz -k file.txt
```

### Basic Decompression
```bash
# Decompress a file
unxz file.txt.xz

# Decompress to standard output
xzcat file.txt.xz
```

### Advanced Options
```bash
# Compress with custom dictionary size
xz --dict-size=64MiB file.txt

# Compress with multiple threads
xz -T4 file.txt

# Test integrity of compressed file
xz -t file.txt.xz
```

## Library Integration

The liblzma library provides a C API for applications to integrate XZ compression capabilities. Header files are installed in `${PREFIX}/include/lzma/` and the library can be linked with `-llzma`.

## Licenses

XZ Utils is distributed under multiple libre licenses:
- BSD Zero Clause License (0BSD)
- GNU Lesser General Public License v2.1 (LGPLv2.1)
- GNU General Public License v2 (GPLv2)
- GNU General Public License v3 (GPLv3)

You can choose to use the software under any of these licenses.

## Documentation

Comprehensive man pages are available for all commands and the library API. Additional documentation and examples can be found in `${PREFIX}/share/doc/xz/`.

## More Information

For more details, visit the official website: https://tukaani.org/xz/