---
name: "zdiff"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "gzip"
version: "1.15-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux", "freebsd", "openbsd"]
url: "https://carta.tech/man/zdiff"
---

# zdiff(1)

compare compressed files

## NAME

zcmp, zdiff - compare compressed files

## SYNOPSIS

**zcmp** \[ cmp\_options \] file1 \[ file2 \]\
 **zdiff** \[ diff\_options \] file1 \[ file2 \]

## DESCRIPTION

The **zcmp** and **zdiff** commands are used to invoke the **cmp** or the **diff** program on files compressed via **gzip**. All options specified are passed directly to **cmp** or **diff**. If only *file1* is specified, it is compared to the uncompressed contents of *file1***.gz***.* If two files are specified, their contents (uncompressed if necessary) are fed to **cmp** or **diff**. The input files are not modified. The exit status from **cmp** or **diff** is preserved.

## SEE ALSO

[cmp(1)](/man/cmp/1.md), [diff(1)](/man/diff/1.md), [zmore(1)](/man/zmore/1.md), [zgrep(1)](/man/zgrep/1.md), [znew(1)](/man/znew/1.md), [zforce(1)](/man/zforce/1.md), [gzip(1)](/man/gzip/1.md), [gzexe(1)](/man/gzexe/1.md)

## BUGS

Messages from the **cmp** or **diff** programs may refer to file names such as "-" instead of to the file names specified.