[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"extension:v3:en:lz4":3},{"resolvedFromAlias":4,"canonicalExt":5,"ext":5,"name":6,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"updatedAt":9,"popularity":10,"summary":11,"howToOs":12,"quickAnswer":18,"answerIntro":19,"whatIs":20,"description":21,"furtherReading":22,"openInstructions":38,"commonIssues":52,"securityNotes":71,"faq":75,"aliases":85,"mimeTypes":86,"relatedExtensions":87,"breadcrumbs":134,"categoryAnchor":144,"categoryFuturePath":145,"metaDescription":146,"availableHowToOs":147,"openOnDeviceLinks":148,"cannotOpenReasons":164,"cannotOpenFixes":165,"convertOptions":166,"securityAffiliateMessaging":167,"securityAffiliates":168},false,"lz4","LZ4 frame-compressed file","archives","Archives","2026-06-12T09:12:42.320Z",35,".lz4 files hold data compressed with the LZ4 algorithm, typically using the LZ4 “frame” container format. They are commonly opened by decompressing them with the lz4 command-line tools.",[13,14,15,16,17],"windows","mac","linux","ios","android","To open .LZ4 files on Windows, if you have the lz4 executable available, open a Command Prompt in the folder with the file.","To open a .lz4 file, decompress it with the LZ4 tools (lz4/unlz4) or view its contents via lz4cat. On most systems this is done from a terminal using the official lz4 CLI.",".lz4 is most commonly an LZ4 Frame format stream/file that wraps LZ4-compressed blocks with a header (magic number), optional checksums, and size fields. The LZ4 Frame format is designed for fast compression/decompression and streaming. The output after decompression is whatever original data was compressed (e.g., a tar archive, a log, a disk image, etc.).","LZ4 is a fast, lossless compression algorithm and a widely used implementation/library, often chosen when speed is more important than maximum compression ratio. In practice, “.lz4” files usually mean data encoded using the LZ4 Frame format, which defines a standard header and optional integrity checks so tools can safely decode streams and files.",[23,26,29,32,35],{"title":24,"url":25},"GitHub: lz4/lz4 (official project, includes lz4 CLI)","https://github.com/lz4/lz4",{"title":27,"url":28},"Man page: lz4, unlz4, lz4cat","https://www.mankier.com/1/lz4",{"title":30,"url":31},"LZ4 Frame Format Description","https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/lz4/%2B/HEAD/doc/lz4_Frame_format.md",{"title":33,"url":34},"Wikipedia: LZ4 (compression algorithm)","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ4_%28compression_algorithm%29",{"title":36,"url":37},"Apple Developer Documentation: Compression Algorithm.lz4","https://developer.apple.com/documentation/compression/algorithm/lz4",{"windows":39,"macos":42,"linux":45,"ios":48,"android":50},[40,41],"If you have the lz4 executable available, open a Command Prompt in the folder with the file.","Decompress to a file: run \"lz4 -d input.lz4 output\" (or use \"unlz4 input.lz4 output\").",[43,44],"Open Terminal and make sure the lz4 CLI is installed and available in your PATH.","Decompress to a file: run \"lz4 -d input.lz4 output\" or stream to stdout with \"lz4cat input.lz4 > output\".",[46,47],"Open a terminal and confirm the lz4 tools are installed (commands: lz4, unlz4, lz4cat).","Decompress to a file: run \"unlz4 input.lz4 output\" (or \"lz4 -d input.lz4 output\").",[49],"iOS does not commonly provide a standard, built-in way to decompress .lz4 files as standalone files; transfer the .lz4 to a Mac/PC and decompress it there using the lz4 tools.",[51],"Android does not commonly include standard end-user tooling to decompress .lz4 files; transfer the .lz4 to a desktop system and decompress it using the lz4 tools.",[53,59,65],{"title":54,"description":55,"steps":56},"Decompression fails with “not a valid LZ4 frame” or similar","Many tools expect the LZ4 Frame format (with the frame magic number). If the data was stored as raw LZ4 blocks (no frame header) or is not LZ4 at all, frame-based decoders will reject it.",[57,58],"Verify the file really is LZ4 frame-compressed and not a different format that happens to use .lz4.","If you control the producer, prefer generating standard LZ4 Frame format output for .lz4 files (so common tools can decode it).",{"title":60,"description":61,"steps":62},"You decompressed it, but the output file “still won’t open”",".lz4 only describes compression, not the underlying file type. After decompression you may get a tar archive, a log, a database dump, or other binary data that needs its own viewer/extractor.",[63,64],"Decompress to a new file rather than overwriting, so you can inspect the result: \"lz4 -d input.lz4 output\".","Identify the decompressed output type and open it with the appropriate tool (for example, if it’s a tar archive, extract it with a tar tool).",{"title":66,"description":67,"steps":68},"Unexpected output size or “No space left on device”","Compression can drastically reduce stored size; decompressed output can be much larger. Some LZ4 frames may also omit content-size metadata, making it harder to predict the final size before decoding.",[69,70],"Ensure you have enough free disk space for the fully decompressed output.","If you only need to read the contents, consider streaming with lz4cat and processing the data without writing a full intermediate file (e.g., redirect stdout to another command).",[72,73,74],".lz4 files are not executable by themselves, but decompression produces arbitrary data; treat the decompressed output as untrusted until you know what it is.","Be cautious with untrusted .lz4 files that decompress to extremely large outputs (disk exhaustion) or long-running streams; the LZ4 Frame format can be used for streaming and may not always carry a known content size.","Use well-maintained decoders (such as the official lz4 project) because parsing framed compressed data is complex and decoder bugs can be a risk surface.",[76,79,82],{"question":77,"answer":78},"Is .lz4 the same as .zip or .7z?","Not exactly. .lz4 typically contains a single LZ4-compressed stream using the LZ4 Frame format; it’s a compression container for data, not a general multi-file archive format like ZIP or 7z.",{"question":80,"answer":81},"How do I “extract” a .lz4 file?","Decompress it with lz4/unlz4 (for example: \"lz4 -d input.lz4 output\"). If the decompressed output is itself an archive (like a tar), then extract that archive with the appropriate tool.",{"question":83,"answer":84},"What’s the difference between LZ4 and the LZ4 Frame format?","LZ4 is the compression algorithm. The LZ4 Frame format is a standardized wrapper around LZ4-compressed blocks that includes headers and optional checksums so files/streams can be decoded reliably.",[],[],[88,94,100,106,112,118,124,129],{"ext":89,"name":90,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":91,"summary":92,"howToOs":93},"zip","ZIP Archive",93,"ZIP archives are widely used to compress and bundle multiple files or folders for easier storage and sharing.",[13,14,15,16,17],{"ext":95,"name":96,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":97,"summary":98,"howToOs":99},"rar","RAR Archive",66,".rar files are compressed archive containers used to bundle and compress one or more files, often including split (multi-part) archives. They’re commonly opened by WinRAR and can usually be extracted by tools like 7-Zip and The Unarchiver.",[13,14,15,16,17],{"ext":101,"name":102,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":103,"summary":104,"howToOs":105},"bz2","bzip2 Compressed File",65,".bz2 is a bzip2-compressed file, typically used to shrink a single file for storage or download. To use the contents, you usually decompress it with an extractor such as 7-Zip or the bzip2 command-line tool.",[13,14,15,16,17],{"ext":107,"name":108,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":109,"summary":110,"howToOs":111},"7z","7-Zip Archive",64,"A .7z file is a 7-Zip compressed archive, commonly used to bundle and compress files with high compression ratios. Open it with 7-Zip on Windows or compatible archive tools such as WinRAR, Keka, The Unarchiver, p7zip, ZArchiver, or RAR.",[13,14,15,16,17],{"ext":113,"name":114,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":115,"summary":116,"howToOs":117},"gz","Gzip Compressed File",57,"GZ files are compressed using the gzip algorithm, commonly used for reducing file size and bundling files with TAR.",[13,14,15,16,17],{"ext":119,"name":120,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":121,"summary":122,"howToOs":123},"br","Brotli-compressed data",55,".br files contain data compressed with the Brotli algorithm, commonly used for web delivery. You open them by decompressing with Brotli tools or compatible archivers, then opening the extracted original file.",[13,14,15,16,17],{"ext":125,"name":126,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":121,"summary":127,"howToOs":128},"crx","Chrome/Chromium Extension Package (CRX)",".crx is the packaged format used to distribute Google Chrome and other Chromium-based browser extensions. It is essentially a signed wrapper around a ZIP archive containing the extension’s files.",[13,14,15,16,17],{"ext":130,"name":131,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":121,"summary":132,"howToOs":133},"ipa","iOS/iPadOS App Store Package (IPA)",".ipa is the package format for iOS/iPadOS apps. It is essentially a ZIP archive that contains an app bundle (typically under Payload/*.app) and related metadata used for installation and distribution.",[13,14,15,16,17],[135,138,141],{"label":136,"to":137},"Home","/",{"label":139,"to":140},"File Extension Index","/file-extension",{"label":142,"to":143},".LZ4","/file-extension/lz4","category-archives","/category/archives","Learn what .LZ4 files are, how to open them on every platform, common fixes, and security best practices.",[13,14,15,16,17],[149,152,155,158,161],{"os":13,"label":150,"to":151},"Open .LZ4 on Windows","/how-to/open-lz4-on-windows",{"os":14,"label":153,"to":154},"Open .LZ4 on Mac","/how-to/open-lz4-on-mac",{"os":15,"label":156,"to":157},"Open .LZ4 on Linux","/how-to/open-lz4-on-linux",{"os":16,"label":159,"to":160},"Open .LZ4 on iOS","/how-to/open-lz4-on-ios",{"os":17,"label":162,"to":163},"Open .LZ4 on Android","/how-to/open-lz4-on-android",[54,60,66],[57,58],[],"archive",[169,173],{"name":170,"description":171,"affiliateUrl":172},"Avast","Avast offers free and premium antivirus software that protects against viruses, malware, ransomware, and phishing. Scan files before opening them to ensure safety.","https://www.avast.com/lp-aff-consumer-store?expid=inf601",{"name":174,"description":175,"affiliateUrl":176},"Norton","Norton 360 delivers comprehensive antivirus protection, VPN, and identity theft monitoring. Scan files for threats before opening to keep your device secure.","http://buy.norton.com/aff_home?utm_campaign=en-ww_nor_n36_aff_nas_nau_nah_cj_nad_low:_sec_nat_mktc_norton_360"]