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bzless

file viewinglinux
The bzless command is one of the most frequently used commands in Linux/Unix-like operating systems. bzless View bzip2 compressed files using the less pager
See ExamplesView Syntax

Quick Reference

Command Name:

bzless

Category:

file viewing

Platform:

linux

Basic Usage:

bzless [options] [arguments]

Common Use Cases

  • 1

    Compressed file viewing

    View bzip2 compressed files with pagination

  • 2

    Data inspection

    Inspect compressed data interactively

  • 3

    Content browsing

    Browse through compressed file contents

  • 4

    Log analysis

    Analyze compressed log files interactively

Syntax

bzless [options] file.bz2

Options

Option Description
+[num] Start at line number [num]
-i, --ignore-case Ignore case in searches
-N, --LINE-NUMBERS Display line numbers
-S, --chop-long-lines Chop (truncate) long lines rather than wrapping
-M, --LONG-PROMPT Show more detailed prompt
-n, --line-numbers Suppress line numbers

Note: bzless supports most options that the less command accepts, as it is a wrapper around bunzip2 and less.

Examples

How to Use These Examples

The examples below show common ways to use the bzless command. Try them in your terminal to see the results. You can copy any example by clicking on the code block.

Basic Examples:

View a compressed file with paging
bzless file.txt.bz2
Search within a compressed file by pressing '/'
bzless large_log.bz2
# Then type your search pattern followed by Enter
Navigate through the file using less commands
bzless document.bz2
# Use arrow keys, Page Up/Down, Space, Enter, etc.

Advanced Examples:

Open at a specific line (line 100)
bzless +100 large_file.bz2
Display line numbers
bzless -N file.txt.bz2
Ignore case in searches
bzless -i file.txt.bz2
# Then type your search pattern followed by Enter
Use with other tools
find . -name "*.bz2" -exec bzless {} \;
View multiple files
bzless file1.bz2 file2.bz2
# Press :n to go to the next file, :p for previous

Try It Yourself

Practice makes perfect! The best way to learn is by trying these examples on your own system with real files.

Understanding Syntax

Pay attention to the syntax coloring: commands, options, and file paths are highlighted differently.

Notes

Key Features:

The bzless command provides a convenient way to view bzip2 compressed files without manually decompressing them:

  • View compressed text files with paging capabilities
  • Search within compressed files using less search functionality
  • Navigate through files with keyboard shortcuts
  • Supports all the features and options of the less pager
  • Preserves disk space by not requiring explicit decompression

Common Less Navigation Commands:

  • Space or Page Down: Move forward one screen
  • b or Page Up: Move backward one screen
  • Down Arrow or Enter: Move forward one line
  • Up Arrow: Move backward one line
  • g: Go to the first line
  • G: Go to the last line
  • /pattern: Search forward for 'pattern'
  • n: Repeat the last search forward
  • N: Repeat the last search backward
  • q: Quit

Implementation Details:

bzless is a shell script that acts as a wrapper. It combines:

  • bunzip2 to decompress the input file
  • less to display the content with paging capabilities

Usage Tips:

  • Use -i for case-insensitive searches in log files
  • Use -S when viewing files with very long lines
  • Use +G to start viewing from the end of the file (useful for logs)
  • Set the LESS environment variable to customize less behavior for all less-based commands including bzless
  • For multiple files, use :n and :p to navigate between them

Limitations:

  • Not suitable for viewing binary or non-text content
  • Requires the bzip2 and less packages to be installed
  • Memory usage increases with larger files as they are decompressed in memory

Common Use Cases

Compressed file viewing

View bzip2 compressed files with pagination

Data inspection

Inspect compressed data interactively

Content browsing

Browse through compressed file contents

Log analysis

Analyze compressed log files interactively

Document viewing

View compressed documents without extraction

Related Commands

These commands are frequently used alongside bzless or serve similar purposes:

bzip2
bunzip2
bzcat
bzcmp
bzdiff
bzgrep
bzmore
less
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Use Cases

1

Compressed file viewing

View bzip2 compressed files with pagination

2

Data inspection

Inspect compressed data interactively

3

Content browsing

Browse through compressed file contents

4

Log analysis

Analyze compressed log files interactively

5

Document viewing

View compressed documents without extraction

Learn By Doing

The best way to learn Linux commands is by practicing. Try out these examples in your terminal to build muscle memory and understand how the bzless command works in different scenarios.

See ExamplesTry Lab Exercises
$ bzless
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