The zcat command dumps uncompressed data from a .gz file to stdout without recreating the original file. The .gz file remains intact.
Syntax:
$ zcat [options] [files]
Example:
$ ls test.gz
$ zcat test.gz A test file # file test contains a line "A test file"
$ ls test.gz
zcat Command Examples
1. To read zipped file:
# zcat text.gz
2. To see compressed file stats:
# zcat -l
3. To get the software lisence:
# zcat -L
4. To see the version of the zcat:
# zcat -V
zcat reads one or more files that have been compressed with gzip or compress and write them to standard output. Read standard input if no files are specified or if – is specified as one of the files; end input with EOF. zcat is identical to gunzip -c and takes the options described for gzip/gunzip.