I compressed timestamps before zstd and got up to 26.5% smaller log archives
The author developed a metacompression tool called Metarc that preprocesses structured data like timestamps before applying standard compression algorithms such as zstd. By converting dates into compact numeric representations and preserving format metadata, Metarc achieved up to 26.5% better compression on log files compared to tar+zstd alone. This approach exploits data structure rather than relying solely on pattern repetition, enabling efficient compression even for unique timestamps.
- ▪Metarc is a metacompression tool that transforms structured data like dates before applying standard compression.
- ▪The tool converts timestamps into 8-byte numeric values, reducing their size from longer text formats.
- ▪Compression gains of up to 26.5% were achieved on log datasets compared to traditional tar+zstd methods.
- ▪Preserving the original date format requires storing format metadata, which introduces a size and complexity trade-off.
- ▪The technique is particularly effective for logs, which contain many structured timestamps in repetitive formats.
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| Original publisher | DEV.to (Top) |
| Canonical URL | https://dev.to/arhuman/i-compressed-timestamps-before-zstd-and-got-up-to-265-smaller-log-archives-2i7b |
| Publication time | Sun, 17 May 2026 07:05:52 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-17T07:33:59.097Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-17T07:33:59.097Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
| Excerpt source | publisher body |
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| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
| Citation coverage | Summary is a WeSearch-generated derivative; primary citation is the original publisher URL. |
| Cluster | _T2Wr9N_Xunv |
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| Retrieval / RAG | May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation? | Not asserted |
| Model training | May the content be used to train AI models? | Not asserted |
| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
Basis: Derived from the published RSS/Atom feed. Contact: [email protected]. Reviewed: 2026-07-24.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
try { if(localStorage) { let currentUser = localStorage.getItem('current_user'); if (currentUser) { currentUser = JSON.parse(currentUser); if (currentUser.id === 176648) { document.getElementById('article-show-container').classList.add('current-user-is-article-author'); } } } } catch (e) { console.error(e); } arhuman Posted on May 17 • Originally published at blog.assad.fr I compressed timestamps before zstd and got up to 26.5% smaller log archives #compression #logs #go #opensource This morning, I had fun compressing time. But before you picture me as a theoretical physics genius or a crackpot in need of a straitjacket, let me explain. I am currently working on Metarc, a metacompression tool.
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