Ouch is a command-line tool for compressing and decompressing files in multiple formats.
The tool solves the problem of managing various compression formats through a unified interface. Rather than learning different command syntax for each format, users invoke ouch with subcommands for compress, decompress, and list operations. The tool automatically detects compression formats from file extensions and can infer formats from file signatures when extensions are absent. It supports chaining multiple formats together, such as tar.gz.xz.zst, and can decompress directly from standard input when the format is explicitly specified.
Ouch suits developers and system administrators who work frequently with compressed archives and want a simpler, more consistent interface than traditional tools. The tool is particularly valuable for those who need to handle diverse formats without installing format-specific utilities, since it bundles support for tar, zip, 7z, gzip, zstandard, xz, lzma, bzip2, bzip3, lz4, rar, and brotli in a single binary with no runtime dependencies. The project includes accessibility features, shell completions, and man pages. Those concerned about licensing can build without RAR support to exclude non-free code.
The project maintains active engagement with contributors through structured participation channels. Development includes regular attention to user-reported issues and pull requests. The codebase demonstrates responsiveness to feature requests and bug reports, with maintainers providing detailed feedback on submissions. The project welcomes community contributions and maintains documentation for contributors seeking to add support for additional formats or improve existing functionality.
