It is also possible to decompress it using standard shell-script + gzip, if you don't have, or want to use openssl or other tools.
The trick is to prepend the gzip magic number and compress method to the actual data from zlib.compress:

printf "\x1f\x8b\x08\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00" |cat - /tmp/data |gzip -dc >/tmp/out

Edits:
@d0sboots commented: For RAW Deflate data, you need to add 2 more null bytes:
"\x1f\x8b\x08\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00"

This Q on SO gives more information about this approach. An answer there suggests that there is also an 8 byte footer.

Users @Vitali-Kushner and @mark-bessey reported success even with truncated files, so a gzip footer does not seem strictly required.

@tobias-kienzler suggested this function for the bashrc:
zlibd() (printf "\x1f\x8b\x08\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00" | cat - "$@" | gzip -dc)

Answer from wkpark on Stack Exchange
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SysTutorials
systutorials.com › docs › linux › man › n-zlib
zlib: compression and decompression operations - Linux Manuals (n)
The zlib command provides access to the compression and check-summing facilities of the Zlib library by Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler. It has the following subcommands.
Discussions

Building openssl with zlib support (Kali Linux)
Building OpenSSL from source just to decompress some data seems like overkill. Is your file a gzip file, or raw zlib data, or something else? More on reddit.com
🌐 r/linuxquestions
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November 12, 2019
Zlib uncompression for an noob

Looks like zlib compressed data, here's more info how to deflate it: https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/22834/how-to-uncompress-zlib-data-in-unix

More on reddit.com
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March 27, 2020
linux - How to run zlib from terminal on Ubuntu? - Unix & Linux Stack Exchange
I've installed zlib1g but still zlib isn't available from the terminal. How can I find the executable to run it? Or is there an easier way I'm overlooking? The reason for this is that I want to com... More on unix.stackexchange.com
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September 28, 2022
git - Uncompressing zlib file in command line - Stack Overflow
When Git stores a snapshot of a file, it stores an object called a blob. This is compressed using zlib..see http://nfarina.com/post/9868516270/git-is-simpler; either I am blind or he doesn't expl... More on stackoverflow.com
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Kali Linux
pkg.kali.org › pkg › zlib
zlib - Kali Linux Package Tracker
Register | Log in · Subscribe · × · Cancel · general · source: zlib (main) version: 1:1. 3. dfsg+ really1. 3. 1- 1 · maintainer: Mark Brown · arch: any · std-ver: 4.6.1 · VCS: unknown · versions · [pool directory] kali-roll: 1:1. 3. dfsg+ really1. 3. 1- 1 · kali-dev: 1:1. 3. dfsg+ really1. 3. 1- 1 · deb-test: 1:1. 3. dfsg+ really1. 3. 1- 1 · versioned links · 1:1. 3. dfsg+ really1. 3. 1- 1: [.dsc, use dget on this link to retrieve source package] [changelog] [copyright] [rules] [control] binaries ·
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/linuxquestions › building openssl with zlib support (kali linux)
r/linuxquestions on Reddit: Building openssl with zlib support (Kali Linux)
November 12, 2019 -

Hey everyone,

I have a file that's made up from zlib compressed data. I want to use openssl zlib -d to decompress the file but my openssl doesn't "support" zlib.

I found a website which explains how you can (re)build openssl with zlib enabled.

  1. ./config zlib in the openssl folder -> this will add ZLIB to the DEFINES

  2. make (-DZLIB flag will be shown during the process)

  3. make install

After walking through those steps zlib will, however, not be working. At first it didn't recognize zlib at all. Right now I get the following error when I try to run "openssl zlib".

openssl: relocation error: openssl: symbol BIO_f_zlib version OPENSSL_1_1_0 not defined in file libcrypto.so.1.1 with link time reference

Now, I'm kind of new to Linux so I'm not exactly sure where to go from here. If anyone could help me out, that'd be greatly appreciated!

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Filext
filext.com › file-extension › ZLIB
ZLIB File Extension - What is it? How to open a ZLIB file?
You need a suitable software like zlib to open a ZLIB file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert.
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GitHub
github.com › kevin-cantwell › zlib
GitHub - kevin-cantwell/zlib: A command-line utility for quickly compressing or decompressing zlib data. · GitHub
USAGE: zlib [global options] command [command options] [arguments...] VERSION: 0.0.0 COMMANDS: help, h Shows a list of commands or help for one command GLOBAL OPTIONS: -d, --decompress Decompresses the input instead of compressing the output.
Starred by 48 users
Forked by 4 users
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File Extension Info
file-extension.info › format › zlib
How To Open File With ZLIB Extension? - File Extension .ZLIB
To finalize the process, select Look for another app on this PC entry and using the file explorer select the Zlib installation folder. Confirm by checking Always use this app to open ZLIB files box and clicking OK button.
Rating: 3.8 ​ - ​ 10 votes
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Whatext
whatext.com › file › zlib
ZLIB File Extension
You can extract the contents of ZLIB archives using the Zlib program.
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Ubuntu Manpages
manpages.ubuntu.com › manpages › bionic › man3 › zlib.3tcl.html
Ubuntu Manpage: zlib - compression and decompression operations
The zlib command provides access to the compression and check-summing facilities of the Zlib library by Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler. It has the following subcommands.
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YouTube
youtube.com › watch
Unix & Linux: How to uncompress zlib data in UNIX? (10 Solutions!!) - YouTube
👉 https://amzn.to/4aLHbLD 👈 You’re literally one click away from a better setup — grab it now! 🚀👑As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases....
Published   August 8, 2020
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Acm2wav
submitfile.com › file-extension › zlib
How to open ZLIB files on your device
A situation can arise where user ... given application with ZLIB files user should open a file submenu by right-clicking the file icon and selecting "Open with" option....
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Linux Man Pages
linux.die.net › man › 3 › zlib
zlib(3): compression/decompression library - Linux man page
A Python interface to zlib, written by A.M. Kuchling (amk@magnet.com), is available in Python 1.5 and later versions: ... An experimental package to read and write files in .zip format, written on top of zlib by Gilles Vollant (info@winimage.com), is available at:
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Certsimple
certsimple.com › how-to-use-zlib-in-linux
And Zlib-decompress Commands To Compress ...
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Code Beautify
codebeautify.org › zlib-decompress-online
Zlib Decompress Online to Zlib Decode Text
This tool supports loading the Zlib data File to decompress to Text. Click on the Upload button and select File. Zlib to Decompress Online works well on Windows, MAC, Linux, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari.
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MajorGeeks
forums.majorgeeks.com › threads › zlib-uncompression-for-an-idiot.223640
Zlib uncompression for an idiot? | MajorGeeks.Com Support Forums
September 25, 2010 - I want to uncompress a ZLIB-compressed file, without any programming skill. Could some of you give me exact help?