What is an XZ file?
XZ is a compressed file format that utilizes the LZMA2 compression algorithm. It was designed as a replacement for the popular gzip and bzip2 formats, and offers a number of advantages over these older standards. XZ files are well-supported across many platforms, and can be decompressed quickly and easily. While they are not as common as ZIP or RAR files, XZ archives can be used to store large amounts of data without sacrificing compression quality. If you need to compress or decompress large files, the XZ file extension is worth considering.
XZ File Format
XZ file are generated and saved as binary files to disc. It uses the LZMA algorithm to compress data, and can achieve a compression ratio of up to 50%. XZ files are typically used for software distributions and backup archives. They can be decompressed using the XZ utility, which is included in most Linux distributions.
Unzip XZ Files on Linux/Unix
In order to unzip XZ files, install xz-utils package first:
$ sudo apt-get install xz-utils
Use the unxz command to extract .xz files:
$ unxz compressed_xz_file.xz
or using with –decompress option of XZ:
$ xz --decompress compressed_xz_file.xz