diff --git a/cmd/stbak/cmd/archive.go b/cmd/stbak/cmd/archive.go
index 413edd5..6d37711 100644
--- a/cmd/stbak/cmd/archive.go
+++ b/cmd/stbak/cmd/archive.go
@@ -2,15 +2,19 @@ package cmd
 
 import (
 	"archive/tar"
+	"compress/gzip"
 	"context"
 	"io"
 	"io/fs"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"strconv"
 
 	"github.com/pojntfx/stfs/pkg/adapters"
 	"github.com/pojntfx/stfs/pkg/controllers"
+	"github.com/pojntfx/stfs/pkg/counters"
 	"github.com/pojntfx/stfs/pkg/formatting"
+	"github.com/pojntfx/stfs/pkg/pax"
 	"github.com/pojntfx/stfs/pkg/persisters"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"github.com/spf13/viper"
@@ -58,6 +62,7 @@ var archiveCmd = &cobra.Command{
 			viper.GetInt(recordSizeFlag),
 			viper.GetString(srcFlag),
 			viper.GetBool(overwriteFlag),
+			viper.GetString(compressionFlag),
 		); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -69,6 +74,7 @@ var archiveCmd = &cobra.Command{
 			int(lastIndexedRecord),
 			int(lastIndexedBlock),
 			viper.GetBool(overwriteFlag),
+			viper.GetString(compressionFlag),
 		)
 	},
 }
@@ -78,6 +84,7 @@ func archive(
 	recordSize int,
 	src string,
 	overwrite bool,
+	compressionFormat string,
 ) error {
 	dirty := false
 	tw, isRegular, cleanup, err := openTapeWriter(tape)
@@ -162,6 +169,47 @@ func archive(
 		hdr.Name = path
 		hdr.Format = tar.FormatPAX
 
+		if info.Mode().IsRegular() {
+			switch compressionFormat {
+			case compressionFormatGZipKey:
+				// Get the compressed size for the header
+				file, err := os.Open(path)
+				if err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+
+				fileSizeCounter := counters.CounterWriter{
+					Writer: io.Discard,
+				}
+
+				gz := gzip.NewWriter(&fileSizeCounter)
+				if _, err := io.Copy(gz, file); err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+
+				if err := gz.Flush(); err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+				if err := gz.Close(); err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+				if err := file.Close(); err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+
+				if hdr.PAXRecords == nil {
+					hdr.PAXRecords = map[string]string{}
+				}
+				hdr.PAXRecords[pax.STFSRecordUncompressedSize] = strconv.Itoa(int(hdr.Size))
+				hdr.Size = int64(fileSizeCounter.BytesRead)
+
+				hdr.Name += compressionFormatGZipSuffix
+			case compressionFormatNoneKey:
+			default:
+				return errUnsupportedCompressionFormat
+			}
+		}
+
 		if first {
 			if err := formatting.PrintCSV(formatting.TARHeaderCSV); err != nil {
 				return err
@@ -182,21 +230,59 @@ func archive(
 			return nil
 		}
 
-		file, err := os.Open(path)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		defer file.Close()
+		switch compressionFormat {
+		case compressionFormatGZipKey:
+			// Compress and write the file
+			file, err := os.Open(path)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
 
-		if isRegular {
-			if _, err := io.Copy(tw, file); err != nil {
+			gz := gzip.NewWriter(tw)
+
+			if isRegular {
+				if _, err := io.Copy(gz, file); err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+			} else {
+				buf := make([]byte, controllers.BlockSize*recordSize)
+				if _, err := io.CopyBuffer(gz, file, buf); err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+			}
+
+			if err := gz.Flush(); err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
-		} else {
-			buf := make([]byte, controllers.BlockSize*recordSize)
-			if _, err := io.CopyBuffer(tw, file, buf); err != nil {
+			if err := gz.Close(); err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
+			if err := file.Close(); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		case compressionFormatNoneKey:
+			// Write the file
+			file, err := os.Open(path)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+
+			if isRegular {
+				if _, err := io.Copy(tw, file); err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+			} else {
+				buf := make([]byte, controllers.BlockSize*recordSize)
+				if _, err := io.CopyBuffer(tw, file, buf); err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+			}
+
+			if err := file.Close(); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		default:
+			return errUnsupportedCompressionFormat
 		}
 
 		dirty = true
diff --git a/cmd/stbak/cmd/recovery_fetch.go b/cmd/stbak/cmd/recovery_fetch.go
index 806af6d..ff5eb97 100644
--- a/cmd/stbak/cmd/recovery_fetch.go
+++ b/cmd/stbak/cmd/recovery_fetch.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package cmd
 import (
 	"archive/tar"
 	"bufio"
+	"compress/gzip"
 	"io"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -41,6 +42,7 @@ var recoveryFetchCmd = &cobra.Command{
 			viper.GetString(dstFlag),
 			viper.GetBool(previewFlag),
 			true,
+			viper.GetString(compressionFlag),
 		)
 	},
 }
@@ -53,6 +55,7 @@ func restoreFromRecordAndBlock(
 	dst string,
 	preview bool,
 	showHeader bool,
+	compressionFormat string,
 ) error {
 	f, isRegular, err := openTapeReadOnly(tape)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -116,8 +119,32 @@ func restoreFromRecordAndBlock(
 			return err
 		}
 
-		if _, err := io.Copy(dstFile, tr); err != nil {
-			return err
+		// Don't decompress non-regular files
+		if !hdr.FileInfo().Mode().IsRegular() {
+			if _, err := io.Copy(dstFile, tr); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+
+			return nil
+		}
+
+		switch compressionFormat {
+		case compressionFormatGZipKey:
+			gz, err := gzip.NewReader(tr)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			defer gz.Close()
+
+			if _, err := io.Copy(dstFile, gz); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		case compressionFormatNoneKey:
+			if _, err := io.Copy(dstFile, tr); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		default:
+			return errUnsupportedCompressionFormat
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/cmd/stbak/cmd/recovery_index.go b/cmd/stbak/cmd/recovery_index.go
index c0103ee..23b2096 100644
--- a/cmd/stbak/cmd/recovery_index.go
+++ b/cmd/stbak/cmd/recovery_index.go
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ import (
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"math"
 	"os"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/pojntfx/stfs/pkg/controllers"
 	"github.com/pojntfx/stfs/pkg/converters"
@@ -40,6 +42,7 @@ var recoveryIndexCmd = &cobra.Command{
 			viper.GetInt(recordFlag),
 			viper.GetInt(blockFlag),
 			viper.GetBool(overwriteFlag),
+			viper.GetString(compressionFlag),
 		)
 	},
 }
@@ -51,6 +54,7 @@ func index(
 	record int,
 	block int,
 	overwrite bool,
+	compressionFormat string,
 ) error {
 	if overwrite {
 		f, err := os.OpenFile(metadata, os.O_WRONLY|os.O_CREATE, 0600)
@@ -131,7 +135,7 @@ func index(
 				}
 			}
 
-			if err := indexHeader(record, block, hdr, metadataPersister); err != nil {
+			if err := indexHeader(record, block, hdr, metadataPersister, compressionFormat); err != nil {
 				return nil
 			}
 
@@ -204,7 +208,7 @@ func index(
 				}
 			}
 
-			if err := indexHeader(record, block, hdr, metadataPersister); err != nil {
+			if err := indexHeader(record, block, hdr, metadataPersister, compressionFormat); err != nil {
 				return nil
 			}
 
@@ -241,13 +245,38 @@ func init() {
 	recoveryCmd.AddCommand(recoveryIndexCmd)
 }
 
-func indexHeader(record, block int64, hdr *tar.Header, metadataPersister *persisters.MetadataPersister) error {
+func indexHeader(
+	record, block int64,
+	hdr *tar.Header,
+	metadataPersister *persisters.MetadataPersister,
+	compressionFormat string,
+) error {
 	if record == 0 && block == 0 {
 		if err := formatting.PrintCSV(formatting.TARHeaderCSV); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 	}
 
+	uncompressedSize, ok := hdr.PAXRecords[pax.STFSRecordUncompressedSize]
+	if ok {
+		size, err := strconv.Atoi(uncompressedSize)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		hdr.Size = int64(size)
+	}
+
+	switch compressionFormat {
+	case compressionFormatGZipKey:
+		if hdr.FileInfo().Mode().IsRegular() {
+			hdr.Name = strings.TrimSuffix(hdr.Name, compressionFormatGZipSuffix)
+		}
+	case compressionFormatNoneKey:
+	default:
+		return errUnsupportedCompressionFormat
+	}
+
 	if err := formatting.PrintCSV(formatting.GetTARHeaderAsCSV(record, block, hdr)); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/stbak/cmd/restore.go b/cmd/stbak/cmd/restore.go
index 5a30638..fde1d53 100644
--- a/cmd/stbak/cmd/restore.go
+++ b/cmd/stbak/cmd/restore.go
@@ -103,6 +103,7 @@ var restoreCmd = &cobra.Command{
 				dst,
 				false,
 				false,
+				viper.GetString(compressionFlag),
 			); err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
diff --git a/cmd/stbak/cmd/root.go b/cmd/stbak/cmd/root.go
index 1f0acb1..cdaabc7 100644
--- a/cmd/stbak/cmd/root.go
+++ b/cmd/stbak/cmd/root.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package cmd
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
@@ -10,9 +11,21 @@ import (
 )
 
 const (
-	tapeFlag     = "tape"
-	metadataFlag = "metadata"
-	verboseFlag  = "verbose"
+	tapeFlag        = "tape"
+	metadataFlag    = "metadata"
+	verboseFlag     = "verbose"
+	compressionFlag = "compression"
+
+	compressionFormatNoneKey    = ""
+	compressionFormatGZipKey    = "gzip"
+	compressionFormatGZipSuffix = ".gz"
+)
+
+var (
+	knownCompressionFormats = []string{compressionFormatNoneKey, compressionFormatGZipKey}
+
+	errUnknownCompressionFormat     = errors.New("unknown compression format")
+	errUnsupportedCompressionFormat = errors.New("unsupported compression format")
 )
 
 var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
@@ -22,9 +35,24 @@ var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
 
 Find more information at:
 https://github.com/pojntfx/stfs`,
-	PersistentPreRun: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+	PersistentPreRunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		viper.SetEnvPrefix("stbak")
 		viper.SetEnvKeyReplacer(strings.NewReplacer("-", "_", ".", "_"))
+
+		compressionIsKnown := false
+		chosenCompression := viper.GetString(compressionFlag)
+
+		for _, candidate := range knownCompressionFormats {
+			if chosenCompression == candidate {
+				compressionIsKnown = true
+			}
+		}
+
+		if !compressionIsKnown {
+			return errUnknownCompressionFormat
+		}
+
+		return nil
 	},
 }
 
@@ -39,6 +67,7 @@ func Execute() {
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringP(tapeFlag, "t", "/dev/nst0", "Tape or tar file to use")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringP(metadataFlag, "m", metadataPath, "Metadata database to use")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolP(verboseFlag, "v", false, "Enable verbose logging")
+	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringP(compressionFlag, "c", "", "Compression format to use (default none, available are none, gzip)")
 
 	if err := viper.BindPFlags(rootCmd.PersistentFlags()); err != nil {
 		panic(err)
diff --git a/cmd/stbak/cmd/update.go b/cmd/stbak/cmd/update.go
index 5164e19..0ad99ed 100644
--- a/cmd/stbak/cmd/update.go
+++ b/cmd/stbak/cmd/update.go
@@ -18,10 +18,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/volatiletech/sqlboiler/v4/boil"
 )
 
-const (
-	contentFlag = "content"
-)
-
 var updateCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:     "update",
 	Aliases: []string{"upd", "u"},
@@ -49,7 +45,7 @@ var updateCmd = &cobra.Command{
 			viper.GetString(tapeFlag),
 			viper.GetInt(recordSizeFlag),
 			viper.GetString(srcFlag),
-			viper.GetBool(contentFlag),
+			viper.GetBool(overwriteFlag),
 		); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -61,6 +57,7 @@ var updateCmd = &cobra.Command{
 			int(lastIndexedRecord),
 			int(lastIndexedBlock),
 			false,
+			viper.GetString(compressionFlag),
 		)
 	},
 }
@@ -168,7 +165,7 @@ func update(
 func init() {
 	updateCmd.PersistentFlags().IntP(recordSizeFlag, "e", 20, "Amount of 512-bit blocks per record")
 	updateCmd.PersistentFlags().StringP(srcFlag, "s", "", "Path of the file or directory to update")
-	updateCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolP(contentFlag, "c", false, "Replace the content on the tape or tar file")
+	updateCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolP(overwriteFlag, "o", false, "Replace the content on the tape or tar file")
 
 	viper.AutomaticEnv()
 
diff --git a/pkg/pax/stfs.go b/pkg/pax/stfs.go
index 130ba3a..4911483 100644
--- a/pkg/pax/stfs.go
+++ b/pkg/pax/stfs.go
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ const (
 	STFSRecordReplacesContentFalse = "false"
 
 	STFSRecordReplacesName = "STFS.ReplacesName"
+
+	STFSRecordUncompressedSize = "STFS.UncompressedSize"
 )
 
 var (