How To Install OpenZL on Fedora 42

OpenZL represents a breakthrough in data compression technology. Released by Meta in October 2025, this open-source format-aware compression framework delivers superior compression ratios for structured data compared to traditional algorithms. For Fedora 42 users seeking to optimize storage efficiency and leverage cutting-edge compression capabilities, installing OpenZL provides access to a powerful tool that understands data structure rather than treating everything as generic byte streams.

This comprehensive guide walks through every step needed to successfully install OpenZL on Fedora 42 systems. Whether using the streamlined Make approach or the more flexible CMake method, the installation process remains straightforward when following proper procedures. System administrators, developers, and data engineers will find detailed instructions covering prerequisites, multiple installation methods, verification procedures, and troubleshooting solutions. By the end, OpenZL will be fully operational and ready to compress structured datasets with remarkable efficiency.

What is OpenZL?

OpenZL stands as Meta’s answer to the limitations of generic compression algorithms. Unlike tools such as gzip, zstd, or xz that treat all data identically, OpenZL employs format-aware compression that recognizes data structure. This revolutionary approach utilizes directed acyclic graph (DAG) based compression graphs to model data transformations explicitly.

The framework excels at compressing structured data types. Database dumps, log files, numeric arrays, and CSV files all achieve higher compression ratios under OpenZL compared to traditional compressors. Performance benchmarks demonstrate compression improvements while maintaining competitive throughput speeds. Meta open-sourced the project to enable widespread adoption of intelligent compression techniques that adapt to data characteristics rather than applying one-size-fits-all algorithms.

Format-aware compression examines data patterns and structure before applying compression strategies. This intelligence allows OpenZL to select optimal compression techniques for specific data types, resulting in smaller compressed files without sacrificing decompression speed or accuracy.

Prerequisites and System Requirements

Before beginning the installation process, verify that the Fedora 42 system meets minimum requirements. The installation demands adequate system resources to compile OpenZL from source code successfully.

Hardware requirements include:

• x86_64 architecture processor (AMD64 compatible)
• Minimum 4GB RAM, with 8GB recommended for smooth compilation
• At least 3GB free disk space for source code, dependencies, and build artifacts
• Stable internet connection for downloading repositories and dependencies

Check the current Fedora version by running cat /etc/fedora-release in the terminal. The output should confirm Fedora 42. Verify processor architecture with uname -m, which should return “x86_64” for supported systems.

Root or sudo privileges are essential for installing system-wide packages and dependencies. Standard user accounts with sudo access work perfectly for this installation. Optional Python 3.8 or newer enables Python extension support for developers integrating OpenZL into Python applications.

Compilation typically completes within 5 to 15 minutes depending on processor speed, available RAM, and the number of CPU cores allocated to the build process. Slower systems require additional time but successfully compile OpenZL with patience.

Updating Fedora 42 System

System updates establish a stable foundation for compilation. Fedora 42 ships with DNF 5, offering improved performance and enhanced dependency resolution compared to previous versions. Running system updates before installing build tools prevents compatibility issues and ensures access to the latest security patches.

Update the entire system with this command:

sudo dnf update -y

For a more thorough refresh of repository metadata, use:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

These commands download and install updated packages for all installed software. Major kernel updates may require a system reboot to load the new kernel version. After rebooting, verify no pending updates remain by checking:

dnf check-update

An empty output indicates the system is fully updated and ready for OpenZL installation. DNF 5 in Fedora 42 provides faster mirror selection and parallel downloads, significantly reducing update time compared to earlier Fedora releases.

Installing Build Dependencies

Compiling OpenZL from source requires essential development tools and libraries. Fedora organizes these tools into convenient package groups, simplifying the installation process. The Development Tools group includes compilers, build automation utilities, and essential libraries for software compilation.

Install all required dependencies with these commands:

sudo dnf groupinstall "Development Tools" -y
sudo dnf install gcc gcc-c++ make cmake git python3-devel -y

This installs the complete toolchain needed for OpenZL compilation. GCC and G++ provide C and C++ compiler support. Make handles build automation. CMake enables cross-platform build configuration. Git downloads the OpenZL source code from GitHub. Python development headers support optional Python extension compilation.

Verify each tool installed correctly:

gcc --version
g++ --version
make --version
cmake --version
git --version

Each command should display version information confirming successful installation. Modern compiler versions (GCC 11 or newer) provide optimal compatibility with OpenZL source code. CMake version 3.16 or newer is required for proper build configuration.

Optimize DNF performance by enabling fastest mirror selection and parallel downloads. Edit /etc/dnf/dnf.conf and add:

fastestmirror=True
max_parallel_downloads=10

These settings accelerate future package installations by selecting geographically closer mirrors and downloading multiple packages simultaneously.

Method 1: Installing OpenZL Using Make

The Make-based installation provides the quickest path to a working OpenZL command-line tool. This method suits users who need the zli compression utility without system-wide library installation. The process downloads, compiles, and produces a ready-to-use binary in minutes.

Create a dedicated directory for OpenZL:

mkdir -p ~/openzl-build
cd ~/openzl-build

Clone the OpenZL repository from GitHub using a shallow clone for faster downloads:

git clone --depth 1 -b release https://github.com/facebook/openzl.git
cd openzl

The --depth 1 flag creates a shallow clone containing only the latest commit, reducing download size significantly. The -b release flag specifically checks out the stable release branch, ensuring access to tested, production-ready code rather than experimental development versions.

Compile the zli command-line tool:

make zli

This single command triggers the complete build process. Make automatically downloads required dependencies including googletest for unit testing and zstd for additional compression support. The compilation process displays progress information as it builds various components.

Speed up compilation on multi-core systems by enabling parallel builds:

make -j$(nproc)

The $(nproc) expression automatically detects available CPU cores and runs parallel compilation jobs, dramatically reducing build time on modern multi-core processors.

After compilation completes successfully, the zli binary resides in the current directory. Test the installation:

./zli --help

This displays comprehensive help information about available commands and options. List all built-in compression profiles:

./zli list-profiles

OpenZL includes several preconfigured profiles optimized for different data types including little-endian unsigned 64-bit integers (le-u64), CSV files, and other structured formats.

Method 2: Installing OpenZL Using CMake

CMake installation offers greater flexibility and customization options. This method enables system-wide installation, custom installation prefixes, and fine-grained control over build options. Developers integrating OpenZL libraries into applications benefit from CMake’s comprehensive configuration capabilities.

Create a dedicated build directory to keep source files separate from build artifacts:

mkdir -p build-cmake
cd build-cmake

Configure the build with CMake, specifying important options:

cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DOPENZL_BUILD_TESTS=ON -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local

Understanding these CMake flags is crucial:

• CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release generates optimized production binaries with compiler optimizations enabled, resulting in faster compression and decompression performance
• DOPENZL_BUILD_TESTS=ON includes the test suite, allowing verification that OpenZL functions correctly on the system
• CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local specifies the installation location; change this to install elsewhere

Compile OpenZL using all available CPU cores:

make -j$(nproc)

Once compilation finishes, run the test suite to verify everything works correctly:

ctest . -j 10

This executes OpenZL’s comprehensive test suite using 10 parallel test jobs. All tests should pass. Occasional test failures may indicate compilation issues or system-specific incompatibilities requiring investigation.

Install OpenZL system-wide:

sudo make install

This command copies executables to /usr/local/bin, libraries to /usr/local/lib, and header files to /usr/local/include. System-wide installation makes OpenZL accessible from any directory without specifying full paths.

An alternative CMake workflow suitable for local installation without system-wide deployment:

mkdir cmakebuild
cmake -S . -B cmakebuild
cmake --build cmakebuild --target zli
ln -sf cmakebuild/cli/zli .

This approach builds OpenZL in the cmakebuild subdirectory and creates a symbolic link to the zli binary for convenient access. The installation remains contained within the user’s home directory, requiring no root privileges.

Installing Python Extension (Optional)

Python developers can integrate OpenZL compression capabilities directly into Python applications through the official Python extension. This optional component provides a Pythonic API for compression and decompression operations, eliminating the need to invoke command-line tools from Python scripts.

First, verify Python 3.8 or newer is installed:

python3 --version

Create a virtual environment to isolate OpenZL Python dependencies:

python3 -m venv openzl-virtualenv
source ./openzl-virtualenv/bin/activate

Virtual environments prevent conflicts with system Python packages and enable clean uninstallation. Navigate to the Python extension directory:

cd py
pip install .

The installation process compiles Python bindings and installs the openzl Python module. Verify successful installation:

python -c "import openzl; print(openzl.__version__)"

This imports the OpenZL module and displays its version number, confirming proper installation. Basic Python API usage enables compression and decompression with simple function calls, bringing OpenZL’s power directly into Python workflows.

Deactivate the virtual environment when finished:

deactivate

For system-wide Python installation, omit virtual environment creation and use sudo pip install . instead. However, virtual environments represent best practice for Python package management.

Post-Installation Configuration

Making OpenZL globally accessible requires adding it to the system PATH. For local installations where the zli binary resides in the user’s home directory, edit the shell configuration file.

Open .bashrc for Bash users:

nano ~/.bashrc

Add this line at the end:

export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/openzl-build/openzl

Replace the path with the actual location of the OpenZL directory. Save and apply changes:

source ~/.bashrc

Now zli runs from any directory without specifying the full path. Create convenient shell aliases for frequently used commands by adding to .bashrc:

alias ozcompress='zli compress'
alias ozdecompress='zli decompress'

For library development, configure dynamic linker paths so applications find OpenZL libraries. Create a configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/ld.so.conf.d/openzl.conf

Add the library directory path:

/usr/local/lib

Update the dynamic linker cache:

sudo ldconfig

This ensures programs linking against OpenZL libraries locate them correctly at runtime.

Verifying OpenZL Installation

Thorough verification confirms OpenZL installed correctly and functions as expected. Basic verification starts with checking the version and help information.

Display OpenZL version:

./zli --version

Show help documentation:

./zli --help

List available compression profiles:

./zli list-profiles

These commands should execute without errors and display relevant information. For comprehensive testing, perform actual compression and decompression operations.

Create a test data file:

dd if=/dev/urandom of=testdata.bin bs=1M count=10

This generates a 10MB file of random data. Compress it using OpenZL:

./zli compress --profile le-u64 testdata.bin --output testdata.zl

OpenZL compresses the data and displays statistics including compression ratio and processing speed. Decompress the file:

./zli decompress testdata.zl --output testdata.decompressed

Verify the decompressed file matches the original exactly:

cmp testdata.bin testdata.decompressed && echo "Files match perfectly"

Alternatively, compare checksums:

md5sum testdata.bin testdata.decompressed

Identical checksums confirm lossless compression and decompression. OpenZL’s format-aware compression typically achieves better ratios on structured data compared to random data, so real-world datasets show more impressive results.

Basic OpenZL Usage Examples

Understanding OpenZL profiles is fundamental to achieving optimal compression. Each profile targets specific data types and applies appropriate compression strategies.

Compress a file containing 64-bit unsigned integers in little-endian format:

./zli compress --profile le-u64 numeric_data.bin --output numeric_data.zl

For CSV files with mixed data types:

./zli compress --profile csv logfile.csv --output logfile.zl

Training custom compressors adapts OpenZL to specific datasets, improving compression ratios significantly. Train a custom compressor:

./zli train --profile le-u64 sample_data.bin --output custom_compressor.zlc

Training analyzes data patterns and creates optimized compression graphs. Use the trained compressor:

./zli compress --compressor custom_compressor.zlc new_data.bin --output new_data.zl

Trained compressors work best when training and target data share similar characteristics. The --max-time-secs flag limits training duration:

./zli train --profile le-u64 sample_data.bin --output custom.zlc --max-time-secs 300

This restricts training to 5 minutes, useful for balancing compression quality against training time.

Performance Optimization Tips

Maximizing OpenZL performance requires attention to compilation and runtime configuration. Release builds significantly outperform debug builds due to compiler optimizations.

Always use release builds for production workloads. When compiling, ensure CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release is set. Debug builds include extra checking and symbols useful for development but impose substantial performance penalties.

Parallel compilation reduces build time on multi-core systems. Use make -j$(nproc) to leverage all available CPU cores. Systems with limited RAM may experience issues with too many parallel jobs; reduce parallelism with make -j4 if compilation fails with memory errors.

Selecting appropriate compression profiles impacts both compression ratio and speed. The le-u64 profile works well for numeric data, while generic profiles handle mixed content. Experiment with different profiles to find the optimal balance for specific datasets.

Training compressors on representative data samples improves compression ratios for similar data. Longer training periods generally yield better results, though returns diminish beyond a certain point. Start with 5-10 minute training sessions and increase if results justify additional time investment.

Common Installation Issues and Troubleshooting

Installation problems occasionally arise despite following instructions carefully. Understanding common issues and solutions accelerates troubleshooting.

Missing compiler errors occur when development tools aren’t installed. Verify gcc and g++ installation with version checks. Reinstall Development Tools if necessary:

sudo dnf groupinstall "Development Tools" -y

CMake version too old errors require updating CMake. Fedora 42 repositories typically provide recent CMake versions, but verify with cmake --version. OpenZL requires CMake 3.16 or newer.

Out of memory during compilation happens on systems with limited RAM. Reduce parallel compilation jobs:

make -j2

This limits simultaneous compilation processes, reducing memory pressure at the cost of longer build times.

Git clone failures usually indicate network issues or GitHub connectivity problems. Try using HTTPS instead of SSH for cloning:

git clone https://github.com/facebook/openzl.git

Configure proxy settings if working behind a corporate firewall:

git config --global http.proxy http://proxy.example.com:8080

Test failures during ctest may indicate compilation issues or system-specific incompatibilities. Examine failed test output for clues. Occasional intermittent test failures happen on slower systems; rerun tests to verify persistent failures.

Library linking errors during runtime suggest improper library path configuration. Set LD_LIBRARY_PATH:

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

Make this permanent by adding to .bashrc. Alternatively, run sudo ldconfig after installation to update system library cache.

Permission denied errors when installing system-wide require sudo privileges. Ensure the user account has sudo access or switch to an administrator account.

Clean build directories for fresh installations if persistent problems occur:

make clean
rm -rf build-cmake cmakebuild

Then restart the installation process from the beginning.

Uninstalling OpenZL

Removing OpenZL from the system requires different steps depending on installation method. For Make-based installations without system-wide deployment, simply delete the source directory:

rm -rf ~/openzl-build

CMake installations with system-wide deployment need proper uninstallation. Navigate to the build directory:

cd build-cmake
sudo make uninstall

Some CMake projects lack uninstall targets. Manually remove installed files:

sudo rm /usr/local/bin/zli
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/lib/libopenzl*
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/include/openzl

Remove Python extensions:

pip uninstall openzl

Delete source code and build artifacts:

rm -rf ~/openzl-build

Remove PATH configurations from .bashrc by editing the file and deleting OpenZL-related export statements. Reload the configuration:

source ~/.bashrc

Verify complete removal by attempting to run zli:

zli --version

The command should fail with “command not found” if uninstallation succeeded.

Security Considerations

Security-conscious administrators must verify software authenticity before installation. Always download OpenZL from the official GitHub repository at https://github.com/facebook/openzl. Third-party mirrors may contain modified or malicious code.

Compiling from source provides transparency and security advantages over binary packages. Source code compilation enables inspection and verification before execution. Meta’s open-source release allows security audits by the community.

Run OpenZL with appropriate user permissions. Avoid executing compression tools as root unless absolutely necessary. Standard user accounts provide sufficient privileges for typical OpenZL operations.

Keep OpenZL updated by regularly checking for new releases. Security vulnerabilities discovered after initial release receive patches in updated versions. Subscribe to GitHub repository notifications for security announcements.

Production deployments should implement proper access controls and audit logging. Compressed data retains security properties of original data; encryption should precede compression for sensitive information.

Keeping OpenZL Updated

Maintaining current OpenZL versions ensures access to bug fixes, performance improvements, and security patches. Check for new releases on the GitHub repository at https://github.com/facebook/openzl.

Update existing installations by pulling latest changes:

cd ~/openzl-build/openzl
git pull origin release

Recompile after pulling updates:

make clean
make zli

For CMake installations:

cd build-cmake
make clean
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
make -j$(nproc)
sudo make install

Subscribe to GitHub release notifications to receive automatic alerts about new versions. Navigate to the repository and click “Watch” > “Custom” > “Releases”.

OpenZL follows semantic versioning principles. Major version changes may introduce breaking API changes, while minor versions add features with backward compatibility. Patch versions contain bug fixes only.

Review release notes before updating production systems. Test new versions in development environments before deploying to critical infrastructure.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed OpenZL. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing the OpenZL open-source compression framework on your Fedora 42 Linux system. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official OpenZL website.