# Install gzrt with Homebrew, apt, Nix, zypper, MacPorts Gzip recovery toolkit. Version 0.8 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:gzrt ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install gzrt ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install gzrecover ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: archivers/gzrecover/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install gzrt ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: gzrt from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#gzrt ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/gz/gzrt/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install gzrt ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: gzrt from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:gzrt - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 0.8 - **Source summary:** Gzip recovery toolkit - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** GPL-2.0-or-later - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T18:08:21+00:00 ## Executables - gzrecover (cli) - gzrecover (alias) ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 0.8 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://www.urbanophile.com/arenn/coding/gzrt/gzrt.html - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage The Gzip Recovery Toolkit, centered on the gzrecover program, is a small recovery utility for extracting readable data from corrupted gzip files. Its history is thin but practical: it exists because ordinary gzip and tar workflows can fail hard when a compressed backup contains bad sectors or corrupted bytes. ### Project history Aaron M. Renn's project page explains the origin in backup recovery: a gzip archive failed partway through restore, and gzrecover was written to skip bad data and salvage what could be read. The page and README both stress that recovery is best-effort and that recovered output must be manually verified. The project page lists gzrt 0.8 from October 2013 and points to a GitHub repository for sources. GitHub repository metadata records the public repository as created in February 2012, with the description 'gzip Recovery Toolkit aka gzrecover'. ### Adoption history gzrt adoption is mostly in Unix package repositories where administrators may need it once, urgently, for a damaged .gz or .tar.gz backup. The supplied package facts show Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, MacPorts, Nix, and zypper coverage, which is broad for a niche recovery tool. Its adoption is also tied to gzip's dominance. Because .gz and .tar.gz files are common backup and source-distribution artifacts, a recovery utility for damaged gzip streams has a place in package collections even when it is not a daily-use command. ### How it is used gzrecover reads a corrupted gzip file or standard input and writes recovered output to a .recovered file by default, with options for output filename, standard-output pipeline mode, verbose logging, and splitting recovered segments. For recovered tarballs, the documentation recommends GNU cpio because tar may stop on format errors. The project page cautions that many apparently corrupted gzip archives were transferred in FTP ASCII mode and should be re-transferred in binary mode before attempting recovery. That warning is part of the tool's operational history: it is a last-resort recovery command, not a replacement for gunzip. ### Why package nerds care gzrt is interesting to package nerds because it is tiny, old-school, and high-leverage: a single-purpose C utility that can rescue data from the same compressed archives package systems and admins rely on. It also illustrates why distributions keep niche tools around: the value appears when a corrupted backup is the only copy. It pairs naturally with gzip, zlib, tar, and cpio. The documented tarball recovery flow is a classic Unix composition: run gzrecover to salvage a stream, then use cpio to extract around damaged tar records. ### Timeline - 2002: Copyright history for gzrecover begins. - 2012: The public GitHub repository was created. - 2013: gzrt 0.8 was published with bug fixes and improvements. - 2010s-2020s: Package-manager coverage included Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, MacPorts, Nix, and zypper according to the supplied package facts. ### Related projects - gzrt is directly related to GNU gzip, zlib, GNU tar, and GNU cpio. It belongs beside other data-recovery and archive-repair utilities rather than general compression tools. ### Sources - - - - - ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** gzrt - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - gzrt - 0.8-1+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: gzrt from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | gzip recovery toolkit | http://www.urbanophile.com/arenn/hacking/gzrt/ - Nix - gzrt: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/gz/gzrt/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - gzrt - 0.8-1build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: gzrt from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | gzip recovery toolkit | http://www.urbanophile.com/arenn/hacking/gzrt/ - zypper - gzrt - 0.8-2.22: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: gzrt from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | Recover data from a corrupted gzip file | https://www.urbanophile.com/arenn/hacking/gzrt/gzrt.html - MacPorts - gzrecover: installed executable or alias match | MacPorts ports tree: archivers/gzrecover/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Archive and compression packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/archive-compression-tools/) - Matched archive or compression metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [Database and data packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/database-data-tools/) - Matched database, SQL, migration, or data-store metadata. - [afio](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/afio/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: archive, cli, system. - [archivemount](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/archivemount/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: archive, cli, system. - [bacula-fd](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/bacula-fd/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, recovery, system. - [borgbackup](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/borgbackup/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: archive, cli, system. - [clzip](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/clzip/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: archive, cli, system. - [cpio](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cpio/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: archive, cli, system. - [crabz](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/crabz/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, gzip, system. - [ddrescue](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ddrescue/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data-recovery, system. - [par2](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/par2/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: archive, cli, data, data-recovery, recovery. - [recoverpy](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/recoverpy/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, data, data-recovery, recovery, system. - [zip-a-folder](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/npm/zip-a-folder/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: archive, cli, gzip, system. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/gzrt.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/gzrt.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph