Compression

Stream compression formats
A stream format takes a stream of bytes, and outputs a different, hopefully smaller, stream of bytes. These compression formats are often used internally in other data structures to compress data, as well as in network protocols, such as http. Used stand-alone, a stream compression format does not offer archiving capability, however in the UNIX doctrine, an archiver like tar can be combined with an archive format to produce a proper compressed archive.

Compression algorithms and compressed data formats
(excluding formats usually used as file formats)


 * Arithmetic coding
 * Brotli
 * Burrows–Wheeler transform
 * DEFLATE
 * DivANS
 * EXEPACK2
 * FastLZ
 * Fractal compression
 * HPACK (used to compress HTTP headers)
 * Huffman coding
 * Adaptive Huffman coding
 * Canonical Huffman code
 * Lempel–Ziv–Stac (LZS)
 * LZ4
 * LZ77
 * LZ77 with Huffman coding
 * LZ78
 * LZFSE
 * LZHAM
 * LZMA
 * LZMA2
 * LZMW
 * LZO (Lempel–Ziv–Oberhumer)
 * LZSS (Lempel–Ziv–Storer–Szymanski)
 * LZW
 * LZX
 * LZX Delta
 * MSZIP
 * PKWARE DCL Implode
 * PPMd
 * Prediction by partial matching (PPM)
 * Run-length encoding
 * PackBits
 * RLE90
 * Shannon–Fano coding
 * Snappy (Google-created compression also used by Apple in iWork formats)
 * zlib
 * Zstandard (Zstd)
 * Zstandard dictionary

Graphics compression
See Graphics for compression formats used primarily with graphics.

Specific file formats/programs
(multi-file compressors are in Archiving)


 * 9CDR (Amiga FileImploder Clone)
 * ABC (Advanced Blocksorting Compressor)
 * ABComp (.abp)
 * BARF (.x, .x??)
 * BGZF
 * BWTC32Key (.B3K)
 * bzip (.bz)
 * bzip2 (.bz2)
 * BZip3 (.bz3)
 * CAZIP
 * ChiefLZ (.LZZ)
 * compact (Gene Olson) (.W)
 * compact (Unix) (.C)
 * compress (Unix) (.Z)
 * CMP (NEW-DOS)
 * CrLZH (.?y?)
 * CRN (.crn) - compressed text files used for PC-Write manual
 * Crunch (.?z?)
 * Crunch-Mania
 * DACT
 * DUPA (Amiga FileImploder Clone)
 * EDI Install archive
 * EDI Install packed file
 * EDI LZSSLib
 * Error Code Modeler (.ecm)
 * File Imploder (Amiga) (.imp)
 * FlySpeed st/exp
 * Freeze/Melt (Unix) (.F)
 * gzip (.gz)
 * Hammer
 * HAP v2.x
 * ICE (.ice, by Michael Lamanuzzi)
 * Inflate (.infl) - parody format that actually increases size
 * InstallIt!
 * JAM (W. Jiang)
 * JAM Packer, The
 * JCalG1 (.jc, Commodore Amiga)
 * Kboom11
 * lrzip (.lrz)
 * LZARI
 * LZHUF
 * Lzip (.lz)
 * LZMA_Alone (.lzma)
 * lzop (.lzo)
 * LZS221
 * LZSS (Haruhiko Okumura)
 * LZWCOM
 * LzwPak
 * Microsoft KWAJ installation compression
 * Microsoft SZ installation compression
 * Mozilla LZ4 (.jsonlz4)
 * MS-DOS installation compression (.??_)
 * MULTIKIT COMPRESS
 * NOAH
 * Nova Compress
 * NPack
 * NRV (Not Really Vanished)
 * Oodle Data Compression
 * pack (Unix) (.z)
 * PGNPack
 * PowerPacker (.pp)
 * Pro-Pack
 * PUT and GET (Scott Jennings)
 * Quasijarus Strong Compression
 * RAC
 * RKUC
 * rzip (.rz)
 * SCO compress LZH
 * SEMONE (.one)
 * SFDN Packer
 * SHARC (density)
 * Softdisk Text Compressor (.ctx)
 * Splint
 * SQ2
 * Squash - single file compression on RISC OS
 * Squeeze/SQ (.?q?)
 * SQUEEZE (AJP Systems)
 * squeeze (Daniel Bernstein) (.MW)
 * Squish (Mike Albert)
 * Sunzip (.sz)
 * TERSE
 * Top4
 * TTCOMP
 * TTW
 * tzip
 * Tzip (Text ZIP)
 * UHBC
 * WWPACK
 * XPK
 * XZ (.xz)
 * Yaz0
 * zchunk
 * Zoo filter format
 * Zoo Z format
 * ZSQ (LZW compression)

Transparent file compression
(A mostly-obsolete technique in which a background process hooks into the OS and decompresses files transparently when they are read. Compression might be done manually. The line between this and Disk compression can be blurry.)


 * AFX (Atari ST)
 * CFS (Computer Concepts Compression)
 * DIET
 * Diet Disk
 * Pack-Ice
 * SLIM
 * Turbo Packer
 * XPACK

Disk compression
(Transparent disk compression software and the like, excluding filesystem formats.)


 * DiskDoubler
 * DriveSpace and DoubleSpace
 * JAM (disk compression)
 * Stacker

For filesystem formats that feature compression, see Filesystem (especially Filesystem).

Executable compression
See Executable compression.

Links

 * Data-compression with playing cards
 * What is the most compressed file ever?
 * History of Lossless Data Compression Algorithms