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Cyber Official edited this page May 31, 2026 · 1 revision

Compression Guide

Available Algorithms

Algorithm Levels Default Best For
zstd 1-4 3 Default choice — best speed/size balance
gzip 1-3 3 Compatibility with systems lacking zstd
none N/A N/A Testing/debugging only

Choosing a Level

zstd

  • Level 1: Fastest, largest. Use for rapid iteration or fast networks.
  • Level 2: Default speed. Slightly faster than level 3 with slightly larger output.
  • Level 3 (default in CLI): Balanced. Recommended for production.
  • Level 4: Smallest, slowest. Use when bandwidth is the primary constraint.

gzip

  • Level 1: Fastest (BestSpeed). Level 2: Default (DefaultCompression). Level 3: Maximum (BestCompression).

Usage

patch-gen --compression zstd --level 3     # default, recommended
patch-gen --compression zstd --level 4     # smallest patches
patch-gen --compression gzip --level 2     # maximum compatibility
patch-gen --compression none               # testing only

What Compresses Well

  • Good (4-10x): Text, source code, JSON, XML, uncompressed images (BMP, TIFF)
  • Moderate (2-4x): Executables, DLLs, databases
  • Poor (1-1.2x): Already-compressed files — JPG, PNG, MP4, ZIP, PDF

Including already-compressed assets in patches? Consider excluding them via .cyberignore since compression won't help.

API

// In-memory (small data)
utils.CompressData(data []byte, algorithm string, level int) ([]byte, error)
utils.DecompressData(data []byte, algorithm string) ([]byte, error)

// Streaming (large data — used internally for patch files)
utils.CompressDataStreaming(src io.Reader, dst io.Writer, algorithm string, level int) error
utils.DecompressDataStreaming(src io.Reader, dst io.Writer, algorithm string) error

Streaming functions operate on io.Reader/io.Writer and use constant memory regardless of input size.

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