The zlib module provides compression and decompression using gzip, deflate, and brotli algorithms. Here's how to use it effectively.
Basic Compression#
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Stream Compression#
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Compression Options#
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Deflate/Inflate#
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Brotli Compression#
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HTTP Compression#
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Streaming with Transform#
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Memory-Efficient Processing#
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Flush Control#
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Compare Algorithms#
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Best Practices#
Algorithm Selection:
✓ gzip - widely supported, good balance
✓ brotli - better compression, modern browsers
✓ deflate - fast, less overhead
✓ Match client Accept-Encoding
Performance:
✓ Use streams for large files
✓ Choose appropriate compression level
✓ Consider brotli for static assets
✓ Cache compressed versions
Options:
✓ Level 6 for general use
✓ Level 9 for max compression
✓ Level 1-3 for speed priority
✓ Use flush for streaming
Avoid:
✗ Compressing already compressed data
✗ Sync operations on large data
✗ Ignoring errors
✗ Over-compressing small payloads
Conclusion#
The zlib module provides comprehensive compression support through gzip, deflate, and brotli algorithms. Use streams for large files, choose appropriate compression levels based on your speed/size tradeoffs, and implement HTTP compression for web servers. Brotli offers better compression ratios but is slower; gzip provides a good balance and universal support. Always use the promisified versions or streams for async operations to avoid blocking the event loop.