---
name: "xzless"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "xz"
version: "5.8.4-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/xzless"
---

# xzless(1)

view xz or lzma compressed (text) files

## NAME

xzless, lzless - view xz or lzma compressed (text) files

## SYNOPSIS

**xzless** \[*file*...\]\
 **lzless** \[*file*...\] (DEPRECATED)

## DESCRIPTION

**xzless** is a filter that displays text from compressed files to a terminal. Files supported by [**xz**(1)](/xz/1.md) are decompressed; other files are assumed to be in uncompressed form already. If no *files* are given, **xzless** reads from standard input.

**xzless** uses [**less**(1)](/less/1.md) to present its output. Unlike **xzmore**, its choice of pager cannot be altered by setting an environment variable. Commands are based on both [**more**(1)](/more/1.md) and [**vi**(1)](/vi/1.md) and allow back and forth movement and searching. See the [**less**(1)](/less/1.md) manual for more information.

The command named **lzless** is provided for backward compatibility with LZMA Utils. It is deprecated and will be removed in a future version.

## ENVIRONMENT

- **LESSMETACHARS**

  A list of characters special to the shell. Set by **xzless** unless it is already set in the environment.

- **LESSOPEN**

  Set to a command line to invoke the [**xz**(1)](/xz/1.md) decompressor for preprocessing the input files to [**less**(1)](/less/1.md).

## SEE ALSO

[**less**(1)](/less/1.md), [**xz**(1)](/xz/1.md), [**xzmore**(1)](/xzmore/1.md), [**zless**(1)](/zless/1.md)