# zstd — Fast Compression with Zstandard > Practical guide to zstd (Zstandard) — fast compression with an excellent speed-to-ratio balance, multi-threading and tar integration. Source: https://www.jpkc.com/db/en/cheatsheets/archives/zstd/ zstd (Zstandard) is a modern compression tool from Meta that strikes a remarkable balance between speed and compression ratio – at the default level 3 it compresses in near real time, while higher levels reach ratios on par with xz. On top of that come multi-threading, seamless tar integration and dictionary compression for many small files. This guide walks you through the commands you reach for daily, from quick compression to a streamed database backup. ## Compress `zstd ` — Compress a file (creates file.zst, keeps original). ```bash zstd data.log ``` `zstd - ` — Compress with a specific level (1=fastest, 19=best, default 3). ```bash zstd -19 data.log ``` `zstd --ultra - ` — Use ultra compression levels (20-22, very slow but smallest). ```bash zstd --ultra -22 data.log ``` `zstd -o ` — Compress to a specific output filename. ```bash zstd -o backup.zst data.log ``` `zstd --rm ` — Compress and remove the original file. ```bash zstd --rm data.log ``` `zstd -T ` — Multi-threaded compression (0=auto-detect cores). ```bash zstd -T0 -19 largefile.dat ``` ## Decompress `zstd -d .zst` — Decompress a file. ```bash zstd -d data.log.zst ``` `unzstd .zst` — Decompress (alias for zstd -d). ```bash unzstd data.log.zst ``` `zstd -d -o .zst` — Decompress to a specific filename. ```bash zstd -d -o restored.log data.log.zst ``` `zstdcat .zst` — Decompress to stdout (like zcat for gzip). ```bash zstdcat data.log.zst | grep 'error' ``` `zstd -d --rm .zst` — Decompress and remove the compressed file. ```bash zstd -d --rm data.log.zst ``` ## Piping & Streaming ` | zstd > .zst` — Compress piped data. ```bash mysqldump mydb | zstd > backup.sql.zst ``` `zstd -d < .zst | ` — Decompress and pipe to a command. ```bash zstd -d < backup.sql.zst | mysql mydb ``` `tar cf - | zstd > .tar.zst` — Create a tar.zst archive (tar + zstd). ```bash tar cf - project/ | zstd -T0 > project.tar.zst ``` `zstd -d < .tar.zst | tar xf -` — Extract a tar.zst archive. ```bash zstd -d < project.tar.zst | tar xf - ``` `tar --zstd -cf .tar.zst ` — Create tar.zst using tar's built-in zstd support (GNU tar). ```bash tar --zstd -cf project.tar.zst project/ ``` `tar --zstd -xf .tar.zst` — Extract tar.zst using tar's built-in support. ```bash tar --zstd -xf project.tar.zst ``` ## Multiple Files `zstd ` — Compress multiple files individually. ```bash zstd *.log ``` `zstd -d *.zst` — Decompress multiple files. ```bash zstd -d *.zst ``` `zstd -r ` — Recursively compress all files in a directory. ```bash zstd -r /var/log/old/ ``` ## Info & Testing `zstd -l .zst` — Show compression info (ratio, sizes). ```bash zstd -l data.log.zst ``` `zstd -t .zst` — Test integrity of a compressed file. ```bash zstd -t backup.sql.zst ``` `zstd -b ` — Benchmark compression/decompression speed. ```bash zstd -b data.log ``` `zstd -b -e ` — Benchmark across compression levels. ```bash zstd -b1 -e19 data.log ``` `zstd -V` — Show the zstd version. ```bash zstd -V ``` ## Conclusion zstd is the obvious choice today when you want speed and compression ratio at the same time: the default level 3 is blazing fast, `-T0` scales across all cores, and `tar --zstd` makes archiving convenient. Keep two things in mind: `--rm` deletes the original irreversibly – only use it once the compressed file has safely arrived. And the ultra levels `--ultra -20` through `-22` need significantly more memory not just when compressing but also when decompressing – so use them with care on tightly provisioned target systems. ## Further Reading - [zstd – GitHub project](https://github.com/facebook/zstd) – source code, releases and documentation - [Zstandard – official project site](https://facebook.github.io/zstd/) – format specification, benchmarks and manual ## Related Commands - [7z](https://www.jpkc.com/db/en/cheatsheets/archives/7z/) – high-ratio archive format with strong LZMA compression - [gzip](https://www.jpkc.com/db/en/cheatsheets/archives/gzip/) – classic, widely supported compressor (DEFLATE) - [tar](https://www.jpkc.com/db/en/cheatsheets/archives/tar/) – bundles files into an archive, often paired with zstd