TXT to GZ Converter

What happens when you convert TXT to GZ

• The TXT is compressed with gzip in your browser, as it is, under its own name with .gz added, so unpacking the GZ gives back the TXT byte for byte. Nothing is uploaded.

How to convert TXT to GZ online

1. Press "Choose TXT files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. You can add files of any size your device can hold in memory.
2. There are no settings to choose: the converter keeps everything the target format can hold.
3. Press "Convert to GZ". Nothing large needs to download: your browser compresses the file itself, in a moment for most files.
4. Save each GZ with its download button. Close the tab and every trace of the files is gone from memory.

Why convert TXT to GZ?

TXT files usually come from notes, logs, extracted text and anything that must open everywhere. People convert them to GZ because gzip is the standard compression on Linux and Mac servers, and every command line and archive program unpacks it.

In short, TXT is good at what it was made for, and GZ is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. TXT opens in every browser, text editor and phone, while GZ opens natively on macOS, Linux and Windows 11 since its 2023 update, and with 7-Zip on older Windows.

How to convert TXT to GZ on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android

On Windows

Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your TXT files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each GZ is saved to your Downloads folder.

On a Mac

Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the TXT files from Finder onto the drop zone and the GZ files land in Downloads.

On iPhone and iPad

Open the page in Safari and tap Choose TXT files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted GZ appears in Files, in the Downloads folder.

On Android

Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose TXT files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The GZ is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.

Best settings for TXT to GZ

There is nothing to set: the TXT is compressed with gzip at its standard level, the same one the gzip command uses.

To unpack it, double-click it on a Mac, run gunzip on Linux, or open it with 7-Zip on Windows. Many web servers and log tools also read .gz files directly.

TXT vs GZ: the differences

About TXT and GZ files

What is a TXT file?

A TXT file holds nothing but characters: no fonts, images or layout. Modern text files are usually UTF-8, which covers every language.

What is a GZ file?

Gzip compresses a single file, not a folder. That is why folders are packed into a TAR first and then gzipped, giving .tar.gz, and why a plain .gz holds exactly one file, usually named like the .gz without its extension.

TXT to GZ not working? Common problems

• The file is very large. It is read into your browser's memory, so files of several gigabytes are better compressed with gzip or 7-Zip on a computer.
• The GZ opens as a file without an extension. Some programs drop the name; add .txt back and it opens as before.
• The GZ is hardly smaller. Photos, videos and other files that are already compressed do not shrink further; text and data files do.

Convert TXT to GZ from the command line

gzip, built into Mac and Linux, does the same; -k keeps the original file:

gzip -k input.txt

The converter on this page does the same job in your browser, without installing anything.