---
product: Chilkat
product_version: 11.7.0
language: python
language_label: Python
class: UnixCompress
license: bundle
deprecated: false
reference_html: https://www.chilkatsoft.com/refdoc/pythonUnixCompressRef.html
---
# Chilkat UnixCompress — Python — v11.7.0

> Chilkat 11.7.0 · language=python · class=UnixCompress
> Other versions: replace `11.7.0` in this URL. Other languages: `https://www.chilkatsoft.com/ai-docs/v/11.7.0/<lang>/classes/UnixCompress.md`.
> Language-wide rules (install, unlock, error model, strings/bytes): `https://www.chilkatsoft.com/ai-docs/v/11.7.0/python/guide.md`.

## Purpose

**Compress, uncompress, and unpack legacy UNIX `.Z` files.**

`Chilkat.UnixCompress` provides UNIX `compress` and `uncompress` functionality for legacy `.Z` files. It supports file-based, memory-based, and string-based workflows, uses LZW compression, can unpack `.tar.Z` archives, and includes abort and progress-related support for longer-running operations.

**Compress to .Z**

Compress files, memory data, or strings into UNIX `.Z` format using LZW compression.

**Uncompress .Z data**

Expand UNIX-compressed data back to files, memory, byte arrays, or text depending on the application workflow.

**File workflows**

Compress and uncompress directly between input and output files when working with existing filesystem data.

**Memory workflows**

Work with compressed or uncompressed byte data in memory when temporary files are not desired.

**String workflows**

Compress and uncompress text using an explicit character set so string data round-trips correctly.

**Unpack tar.Z archives**

Use `UnTarZ` to decompress and extract legacy `.tar.Z` archives in a single workflow.

**Common pattern:** Use `UnixCompress` when the data is in classic UNIX `.Z` format or when a `.tar.Z` archive must be unpacked. Use `Chilkat.Gzip` for `.gz` and `.tar.gz` files, `Chilkat.Bz2` for `.bz2` files, and `Chilkat.Compression` for raw compression algorithms and general-purpose compression workflows.

For an extended overview, see [UnixCompress Class Overview](https://www.chilkatsoft.com/unixcompress_class_overview.asp).

## Object creation, unlocking and error handling

**Object Creation**

```python
obj = chilkat2.UnixCompress()
```

Call `Global.UnlockBundle` once at the start of the program, before using this or any other Chilkat class. Any string unlocks a fully functional 30-day trial; a purchased unlock code is used in production. See `guide.md` for the exact code in Python.

Minimal complete program:

```python
import chilkat2

# Required once per process. Any string unlocks a 30-day trial; use your purchased code in production.
glob = chilkat2.Global()
if not glob.UnlockBundle("Anything for 30-day trial"):
    print(glob.LastErrorText)
    raise SystemExit(1)

unixCompress = chilkat2.UnixCompress()

success = unixCompress.CompressFile("<inFilename>", "<destPath>")
if not success:
    print(unixCompress.LastErrorText)   # full diagnostic of what went wrong
    raise SystemExit(1)
```

How failure is reported depends on the method's return type and is stated in the note under each method below. In every case the diagnostic text is in the `LastErrorText` property of the object whose method was called.

## Members common to every Chilkat class

Documented once per language in `common-members.md`; listed here so this page is self-contained.

| Property | Signature | Access | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| `DebugLogFilePath` | `string DebugLogFilePath` | read/write | If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. |
| `LastErrorHtml` | `string LastErrorHtml (read-only)` | read-only | Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. |
| `LastErrorText` | `string LastErrorText (read-only)` | read-only | Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. |
| `LastErrorXml` | `string LastErrorXml (read-only)` | read-only | Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. |
| `LastMethodSuccess` | `bool LastMethodSuccess` | read/write | Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: `True` means success, `False` means failure. |
| `VerboseLogging` | `bool VerboseLogging` | read/write | If set to `True`, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. |
| `Version` | `string Version (read-only)` | read-only | Version of the component/library, such as "10.1.0" |

## Member index

| Member | Kind | Signature |
|---|---|---|
| `AbortCurrent` | property, read/write | `bool AbortCurrent` |
| `CompressFile` | method | `bool CompressFile(string inFilename, string destPath)` |
| `CompressFileToMem` | method | `memoryview CompressFileToMem(string inFilename)` |
| `CompressMemory` | method | `memoryview CompressMemory(memoryview inData)` |
| `CompressMemToFile` | method | `bool CompressMemToFile(memoryview inData, string destPath)` |
| `CompressString` | method | `memoryview CompressString(string inStr, string charset)` |
| `CompressStringToFile` | method | `bool CompressStringToFile(string inStr, string charset, string destPath)` |
| `LoadTaskCaller` | method | `bool LoadTaskCaller(Task task)` |
| `UncompressFile` | method | `bool UncompressFile(string inFilename, string destPath)` |
| `UncompressFileToMem` | method | `memoryview UncompressFileToMem(string inFilename)` |
| `UncompressFileToString` | method | `string UncompressFileToString(string zFilename, string charset)` |
| `UncompressMemory` | method | `memoryview UncompressMemory(memoryview inData)` |
| `UncompressMemToFile` | method | `bool UncompressMemToFile(memoryview inData, string destPath)` |
| `UncompressString` | method | `string UncompressString(memoryview inCompressedData, string charset)` |
| `UnTarZ` | method | `bool UnTarZ(string zFilename, string destDir, bool bNoAbsolute)` |

## Properties

### UnixCompress.AbortCurrent

`Chilkat 11.7.0 · python · UnixCompress · AbortCurrent · property · read/write · since 9.5.0.58`

```python
bool AbortCurrent
```

When set to `True`, causes the currently running method to abort. Methods that always finish quickly (i.e.have no length file operations or network communications) are not affected. If no method is running, then this property is automatically reset to `False` when the next method is called. When the abort occurs, this property is reset to `False`. Both synchronous and asynchronous method calls can be aborted. (A synchronous method call could be aborted by setting this property from a separate thread.)

## Methods

### UnixCompress.CompressFile

`Chilkat 11.7.0 · python · UnixCompress · CompressFile · method`

```python
bool CompressFile(string inFilename, string destPath)
```

Compresses a file to create a UNIX compressed file (.Z). This compression uses the LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch) compression algorithm.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

Async variant: `CompressFileAsync` — same arguments, returns a `Task` (see Async variants below).

### UnixCompress.CompressFileToMem

`Chilkat 11.7.0 · python · UnixCompress · CompressFileToMem · method`

```python
memoryview CompressFileToMem(string inFilename)
```

Unix compresses a file to an in-memory image of a .Z file. (This compression uses the LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch) compression algorithm.)

Returns an empty (zero-length) memoryview on failure. Check the `LastMethodSuccess` property to determine success or failure.

Async variant: `CompressFileToMemAsync` — same arguments, returns a `Task` (see Async variants below).

### UnixCompress.CompressMemory

`Chilkat 11.7.0 · python · UnixCompress · CompressMemory · method`

```python
memoryview CompressMemory(memoryview inData)
```

Compresses in-memory data to an in-memory image of a .Z file. (This compression uses the LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch) compression algorithm.)

Returns an empty (zero-length) memoryview on failure. Check the `LastMethodSuccess` property to determine success or failure.

### UnixCompress.CompressMemToFile

`Chilkat 11.7.0 · python · UnixCompress · CompressMemToFile · method`

```python
bool CompressMemToFile(memoryview inData, string destPath)
```

Unix compresses and creates a .Z file from in-memory data. (This compression uses the LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch) compression algorithm.)

Returns True for success, False for failure.

### UnixCompress.CompressString

`Chilkat 11.7.0 · python · UnixCompress · CompressString · method`

```python
memoryview CompressString(string inStr, string charset)
```

**Full documentation for this method (same in every language):** [List of Valid Charsets](https://www.chilkatsoft.com/ai-docs/v/11.7.0/articles/charsets_supported_by_chilkat.md)

Compresses a string to an in-memory image of a .Z file. Prior to compression, the string is converted to the character encoding specified by `charset`. The `charset` can be any one of a large number of character encodings, such as `utf-8`, `iso-8859-1`, `Windows-1252`, `ucs-2`, etc.

Returns an empty (zero-length) memoryview on failure. Check the `LastMethodSuccess` property to determine success or failure.

### UnixCompress.CompressStringToFile

`Chilkat 11.7.0 · python · UnixCompress · CompressStringToFile · method`

```python
bool CompressStringToFile(string inStr, string charset, string destPath)
```

**Full documentation for this method (same in every language):** [List of Valid Charsets](https://www.chilkatsoft.com/ai-docs/v/11.7.0/articles/charsets_supported_by_chilkat.md)

Unix compresses and creates a .Z file from string data. The `charset` specifies the character encoding used for the byte representation of the characters when compressed. The `charset` can be any one of a large number of character encodings, such as `utf-8`, `iso-8859-1`, `Windows-1252`, `ucs-2`, etc.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

### UnixCompress.LoadTaskCaller

`Chilkat 11.7.0 · python · UnixCompress · LoadTaskCaller · method · since 9.5.0.80`

```python
bool LoadTaskCaller(Task task)
```

Loads the caller of the task's async method.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

### UnixCompress.UncompressFile

`Chilkat 11.7.0 · python · UnixCompress · UncompressFile · method`

```python
bool UncompressFile(string inFilename, string destPath)
```

Uncompresses a .Z file. (This compression uses the LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch) compression algorithm.)

Returns True for success, False for failure.

Async variant: `UncompressFileAsync` — same arguments, returns a `Task` (see Async variants below).

### UnixCompress.UncompressFileToMem

`Chilkat 11.7.0 · python · UnixCompress · UncompressFileToMem · method`

```python
memoryview UncompressFileToMem(string inFilename)
```

Uncompresses a .Z file directly to memory. (This compression uses the LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch) compression algorithm.)

Returns an empty (zero-length) memoryview on failure. Check the `LastMethodSuccess` property to determine success or failure.

Async variant: `UncompressFileToMemAsync` — same arguments, returns a `Task` (see Async variants below).

### UnixCompress.UncompressFileToString

`Chilkat 11.7.0 · python · UnixCompress · UncompressFileToString · method`

```python
string UncompressFileToString(string zFilename, string charset)
```

**Full documentation for this method (same in every language):** [List of Valid Charsets](https://www.chilkatsoft.com/ai-docs/v/11.7.0/articles/charsets_supported_by_chilkat.md)

Uncompresses a .Z file that contains a text file. The contents of the text file are returned as a string. The character encoding of the text file is specified by `charset`. Typical charsets are `iso-8859-1`, `utf-8`, `windows-1252`, `shift_JIS`, `big5`, etc.

Returns an empty string on failure. Check the `LastMethodSuccess` property to determine success or failure.

Async variant: `UncompressFileToStringAsync` — same arguments, returns a `Task` (see Async variants below).

### UnixCompress.UncompressMemory

`Chilkat 11.7.0 · python · UnixCompress · UncompressMemory · method`

```python
memoryview UncompressMemory(memoryview inData)
```

Uncompresses from an in-memory image of a .Z file directly into memory. (This compression uses the LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch) compression algorithm.)

Returns an empty (zero-length) memoryview on failure. Check the `LastMethodSuccess` property to determine success or failure.

### UnixCompress.UncompressMemToFile

`Chilkat 11.7.0 · python · UnixCompress · UncompressMemToFile · method`

```python
bool UncompressMemToFile(memoryview inData, string destPath)
```

Uncompresses from an in-memory image of a .Z file to a file. (This compression uses the LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch) compression algorithm.)

Returns True for success, False for failure.

### UnixCompress.UncompressString

`Chilkat 11.7.0 · python · UnixCompress · UncompressString · method`

```python
string UncompressString(memoryview inCompressedData, string charset)
```

**Full documentation for this method (same in every language):** [List of Valid Charsets](https://www.chilkatsoft.com/ai-docs/v/11.7.0/articles/charsets_supported_by_chilkat.md)

Uncompresses from an in-memory image of a .Z file directly to a string. The `charset` specifies the character encoding used to interpret the bytes resulting from the decompression. The `charset` can be any one of a large number of character encodings, such as `utf-8`, `iso-8859-1`, `Windows-1252`, `ucs-2`, etc.

Returns an empty string on failure. Check the `LastMethodSuccess` property to determine success or failure.

### UnixCompress.UnTarZ

`Chilkat 11.7.0 · python · UnixCompress · UnTarZ · method`

```python
bool UnTarZ(string zFilename, string destDir, bool bNoAbsolute)
```

Unpacks a .tar.Z file. The decompress and untar occur in streaming mode. There are no temporary files and the memory footprint is constant (and small) while untarring.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

Async variant: `UnTarZAsync` — same arguments, returns a `Task` (see Async variants below).

## Events and callbacks

This binding has no event callbacks. For progress, percent-done or cancellation use the `*Async` variant of a method and poll the returned `Task` (`PercentDone`, `Finished`, `Cancel`).

## Async variants

Each returns a `Task` instead of the result and takes the same arguments as the synchronous method; run the task, wait for `Finished`, then read the result from the task. No new Async methods are added from 11.7.0 on.

```python
Task CompressFileAsync(string inFilename, string destPath)
Task CompressFileToMemAsync(string inFilename)
Task UncompressFileAsync(string inFilename, string destPath)
Task UncompressFileToMemAsync(string inFilename)
Task UncompressFileToStringAsync(string zFilename, string charset)
Task UnTarZAsync(string zFilename, string destDir, bool bNoAbsolute)
```

## Related classes

[`Task`](https://www.chilkatsoft.com/ai-docs/v/11.7.0/python/classes/Task.md)