How do I add a gzip command to Windows CMD?

Question

In a Mac, if I want to gzip a file, I just type gzip and then the file name. If I do this in windows, it tells me that "gzip is not recognized...".

How do I add this functionality to Windows?

Answer 1

How to add gzip to CMD

Step 1: Download and install Cygwin

Step 2: Click 'Start' and type System Environment Variables

Step 3: In the 'Advanced' tab, click 'Environment Variables...'

Step 4: In the 'User variables for (user)' section, select the Path variable and click 'Edit...'

Step 5: In the 'Edit environment variable' window, click 'New'

Step 6:

• For x86 type: C:\cygwin\bin
• For x64 type: C:\cygwin64\bin

Step 7: Restart CMD, type gzip, and shout, "Wooooo!"

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This question has been asked here, but the question and accepted answer are not very straightforward. They assume you know what System Environment Variables are, how to edit them, and what Cygwin is. I wanted to write out clear instructions for anyone that could not figure it out with the current information.