Create GZip in C#

GZip archives (.gz) are used to compress one or more files using the GNU zip compression algorithm. It is commonly used for file compression in UNIX operating systems. In this article, you will learn how to compress files using GZip (.gz) programmatically in C#. Moreover, the article will also cover how to decompress GZip archives in C#.

C# API to Compress and Decompress Files using GZip

To compress and decompress files using GZip, we will use Aspose.ZIP for .NET. It is a powerful API that lets you work with popular archive formats including ZIP, 7z, GZip, etc. You can either download the API or install it using NuGet.

PM> Install-Package Aspose.Zip

Compress Files using GZip in C#

The following are the steps to compress files using GZip in C#.

The following code sample shows how to compress files to GZip in C#.

using (GzipArchive archive = new GzipArchive())
{
// set source
archive.SetSource("data.bin");
// create archive
archive.Save("archive.gz");
}
view raw create-gzip.cs hosted with ❤ by GitHub

Decompress a GZip Archive in C#

The following are the steps to decompress a GZip archive in C# using Aspose.ZIP for .NET.

  • Create an object of the GzipArchive class and initialize it with GZip archive’s path.
  • Create a file for extracted content using File.Create(String) method.
  • Open GZip for extraction using GZipArchive.Open() method.
  • Read the extracted content and write it to the file.

The following code sample shows how to decompress a GZip archive using C#.

// load the GZip archive
using (var archive = new GzipArchive("archive.gz"))
{
// create a file
using (var extracted = File.Create("data.bin"))
{
// open archive
var unpacked = archive.Open();
byte[] b = new byte[8192];
int bytesRead;
// write to file
while (0 < (bytesRead = unpacked.Read(b, 0, b.Length)))
extracted.Write(b, 0, bytesRead);
}
}
view raw extract-gzip.cs hosted with ❤ by GitHub

Extact a GZip Archive into Stream in C#

You can also extract a GZip archive into a memory stream object. The following are the steps to perform this operation.

The following code sample shows how to extract a GZip archive into a memory stream using C#.

// create a memory stream
var ms = new MemoryStream();
// load GZip archive
using (GzipArchive archive = new GzipArchive(File.OpenRead("sample.gz")))
{
// extract and copy to memory stream
archive.Open().CopyTo(ms);
Console.WriteLine(archive.Name);
}
view raw extract-gzip-to-stream.cs hosted with ❤ by GitHub

Get a Free API License

You can get a free temporary license in order to use the API without evaluation limitations.

Conclusion

In this article, you have learned how to compress or decompress files using GZip in C#. Furthermore, you have seen how to extract a GZip to stream programmatically. You can explore more about Aspose.ZIP for .NET using documentation. In addition, you can contact us to share your queries via our forum.

See Also