Question 1

What is bzip2 and how does it work?

Accepted Answer

Bzip2 is a free, open-source file compression format using the Burrows-Wheeler block-sorting algorithm combined with Huffman coding. It typically achieves 10–15% better compression than gzip at the cost of slower speed. The .bz2 extension is common on Linux/macOS for individual files — unlike zip it does not bundle multiple files into an archive on its own.

Question 2

Why can this tool only decompress, not compress?

Accepted Answer

Browser-side bzip2 compression libraries are unreliable due to JavaScript memory limits and the algorithm's high memory demands during compression. For reliable bzip2 compression use the CLI: bzip2 file.txt (compresses to file.txt.bz2) or tar -cjf archive.tar.bz2 dir/. This tool uses seek-bzip for safe in-browser decompression.

Question 3

What input formats does the bzip2 decompressor accept?

Accepted Answer

You can paste the bzip2 data as Base64 (the most common format for sharing binary data as text) or as a hex string (pairs of hex digits, optionally separated by spaces or colons). You can also drag and drop or select a .bz2 file directly for immediate decompression.

Question 4

How do I get Base64 or hex from a .bz2 file?

Accepted Answer

On macOS/Linux: base64 file.txt.bz2 produces Base64 output. For hex: xxd -p file.txt.bz2. On Windows PowerShell: [Convert]::ToBase64String([IO.File]::ReadAllBytes('file.bz2')). Alternatively, just drop the .bz2 file directly into the File Upload area of this tool.

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Bzip2 Decompressor

Or drop a .bz2 file