# lz4 > Compress or decompress .lz4 files. > More information: . - Compress a file: `lz4 {{path/to/file}}` - Decompress a file: `lz4 -d {{file.lz4}}` - Decompress a file and write to `stdout`: `lz4 -dc {{file.lz4}}` - Package and compress a directory and its contents: `tar cvf - {{path/to/directory}} | lz4 - {{dir.tar.lz4}}` - Decompress and unpack a directory and its contents: `lz4 -dc {{dir.tar.lz4}} | tar -xv` - Compress a file using the best compression: `lz4 -9 {{path/to/file}}`