LZ4 Tools

1.3.1.2 verified Fri May 01 auth: no python maintenance

Python bindings and tools for LZ4 compression, providing LZ4Frame compression/decompression utilities. Current version 1.3.1.2, released 2019-10-30. Last uploaded 2020-10-20. Low release cadence, effectively in maintenance mode.

pip install lz4tools

Common errors

error ImportError: cannot import name 'LZ4Frame' from 'lz4' ↓

cause Installed the wrong package: 'lz4' instead of 'lz4tools'. Or tried to import from 'lz4' package.

fix

Install lz4tools: pip install lz4tools. Then import from lz4tools: from lz4tools import LZ4Frame.

error TypeError: a bytes-like object is required, not 'str' ↓

cause Passing a string to compress/decompress functions which expect bytes.

fix

Encode your string: compress(data.encode('utf-8')).

error ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'lz4tools' ↓

cause Package not installed or installed in different environment.

fix

Run: pip install lz4tools. Or if using a virtualenv, ensure it is activated.

Warnings

breaking The package lz4tools is NOT the same as lz4 (python-lz4). Importing from lz4.frame will use a different library with incompatible format. ↓

fix Use 'from lz4tools import LZ4Frame' instead of 'from lz4.frame import LZ4Frame'.

deprecated Library has not been updated since 2019. There is no active development. Consider using 'lz4' (python-lz4) for better performance and maintenance. ↓

fix For new projects, prefer 'pip install lz4' and use 'from lz4.frame import LZ4Frame'.

gotcha The 'compress' and 'decompress' functions work only with bytes, not strings. Passing a str will raise TypeError. ↓

fix Encode strings to bytes before compression: data.encode('utf-8').

Imports

LZ4Frame
wrong
```
from lz4.frame import LZ4Frame
```
correct
```
from lz4tools import LZ4Frame
```
lz4tools is a separate package from lz4. Do not confuse with the 'lz4' package.
LZ4File
```
from lz4tools import LZ4File
```
LZ4File is the main utility class.
compress
wrong
```
import lz4tools; lz4tools.compress()
```
correct
```
from lz4tools import compress
```
compress is a top-level function, not a module attribute.

Quickstart

Basic compression and decompression using package-level functions and the LZ4Frame class. Ensure you have the data as bytes.

from lz4tools import compress, decompress, LZ4Frame

# Compress bytes
data = b"Hello, LZ4!"
compressed = compress(data)
print(f"Compressed: {compressed}")

# Decompress
decompressed = decompress(compressed)
print(f"Decompressed: {decompressed}")

# Using LZ4Frame context
frame = LZ4Frame()
packed = frame.compress(data)
unpacked = frame.decompress(packed)
print(f"Frame roundtrip: {unpacked}")