BZ2 Converter
Convert files to and from BZ2 online for free. Fast, secure, and high-quality file conversion with no sign-up or software required.
Maximum file size is 1GB
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What is a BZ2 file?
The BZ2 file format is a compressed single-file stream generated using the bzip2 algorithm, developed by Julian Seward in 1996. It achieves high compression ratios by stacking the Burrows-Wheeler Transform (BWT) for reversible block sorting, the Move-to-Front (MTF) transform, and Huffman coding for final entropy encoding. Unlike container formats such as ZIP, BZ2 performs pure compression without file aggregation; consequently, it is frequently paired with TAR (Tape Archive) in UNIX environments to create .tar.bz2 archives. The file structure utilizes a 900k block size by default and is identified by the ASCII magic bytes 'BZh'.
How to open a BZ2 file
Most UNIX and Linux distributions provide native kernel-level or shell support for BZ2 extraction via the command-line bzip2 utility or the GNU Tar suite. macOS users can decompress these files using the built-in Archive Utility. Windows operating systems lack native support for the Burrows-Wheeler algorithm and require third-party file management software, specifically 7-Zip, WinRAR, or PeaZip, to decode the stream and extract the underlying content.
BZ2 Technical Info
- Full Name
- Bzip2 Compressed File
- Developed By
- Julian Seward
- Initial Release
- 1996
- MIME Type
- application/x-bzip2
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