diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yaml b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
index b4b9602b9..063927349 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ jobs:
           name: bundles-darwin
           path: |
             dist/*.tgz
+            dist/*.tar.zst
             dist/*.zip
             dist/*.dmg
 
@@ -392,13 +393,13 @@ jobs:
           done
       - run: |
           for ARCHIVE in dist/${{ matrix.os }}-${{ matrix.arch }}/*.tar.in; do
-            tar c -C dist/${{ matrix.os }}-${{ matrix.arch }} -T $ARCHIVE --owner 0 --group 0 | pigz -9vc >$(basename ${ARCHIVE//.*/}.tgz);
+            tar c -C dist/${{ matrix.os }}-${{ matrix.arch }} -T $ARCHIVE --owner 0 --group 0 | zstd --ultra -22 -T0 >$(basename ${ARCHIVE//.*/}.tar.zst);
           done
       - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
         with:
           name: bundles-${{ matrix.os }}-${{ matrix.arch }}-${{ matrix.target }}
           path: |
-            *.tgz
+            *.tar.zst
 
   # Build each Docker variant (OS, arch, and flavor) separately. Using QEMU is unreliable and slower.
   docker-build-push:
@@ -531,7 +532,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Upload release artifacts
         run: |
           pids=()
-          for payload in dist/*.txt dist/*.zip dist/*.tgz dist/*.exe dist/*.dmg ; do
+          for payload in dist/*.txt dist/*.zip dist/*.tgz dist/*.tar.zst dist/*.exe dist/*.dmg ; do
             echo "Uploading $payload"
             gh release upload ${GITHUB_REF_NAME} $payload --clobber &
             pids[$!]=$!
diff --git a/docs/linux.mdx b/docs/linux.mdx
index c40ab0545..49b58a45c 100644
--- a/docs/linux.mdx
+++ b/docs/linux.mdx
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh
 Download and extract the package:
 
 ```shell
-curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/download/ollama-linux-amd64.tgz \
-    | sudo tar zx -C /usr
+curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/download/ollama-linux-amd64.tar.zst \
+    | sudo tar x -C /usr
 ```
 
 Start Ollama:
@@ -41,8 +41,8 @@ ollama -v
 If you have an AMD GPU, also download and extract the additional ROCm package:
 
 ```shell
-curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/download/ollama-linux-amd64-rocm.tgz \
-    | sudo tar zx -C /usr
+curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/download/ollama-linux-amd64-rocm.tar.zst \
+    | sudo tar x -C /usr
 ```
 
 ### ARM64 install
@@ -50,8 +50,8 @@ curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/download/ollama-linux-amd64-rocm.tgz \
 Download and extract the ARM64-specific package:
 
 ```shell
-curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/download/ollama-linux-arm64.tgz \
-    | sudo tar zx -C /usr
+curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/download/ollama-linux-arm64.tar.zst \
+    | sudo tar x -C /usr
 ```
 
 ### Adding Ollama as a startup service (recommended)
@@ -146,8 +146,8 @@ curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh
 Or by re-downloading Ollama:
 
 ```shell
-curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/download/ollama-linux-amd64.tgz \
-    | sudo tar zx -C /usr
+curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/download/ollama-linux-amd64.tar.zst \
+    | sudo tar x -C /usr
 ```
 
 ## Installing specific versions
diff --git a/scripts/build_linux.sh b/scripts/build_linux.sh
index 618722d11..7a5bfc9b8 100755
--- a/scripts/build_linux.sh
+++ b/scripts/build_linux.sh
@@ -12,6 +12,17 @@ set -eu
 
 . $(dirname $0)/env.sh
 
+# Check for required tools
+if ! command -v zstd >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo "ERROR: zstd is required but not installed." >&2
+    echo "Please install zstd:" >&2
+    echo "  - macOS: brew install zstd" >&2
+    echo "  - Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install zstd" >&2
+    echo "  - RHEL/CentOS/Fedora: sudo dnf install zstd" >&2
+    echo "  - Arch: sudo pacman -S zstd" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
 mkdir -p dist
 
 docker buildx build \
@@ -40,16 +51,16 @@ fi
 # buildx behavior changes for single vs. multiplatform
 echo "Compressing linux tar bundles..."
 if echo $PLATFORM | grep "," > /dev/null ; then
-        tar c -C ./dist/linux_arm64 --exclude cuda_jetpack5 --exclude cuda_jetpack6 . | pigz -9vc >./dist/ollama-linux-arm64.tgz
-        tar c -C ./dist/linux_arm64 ./lib/ollama/cuda_jetpack5  | pigz -9vc >./dist/ollama-linux-arm64-jetpack5.tgz
-        tar c -C ./dist/linux_arm64 ./lib/ollama/cuda_jetpack6  | pigz -9vc >./dist/ollama-linux-arm64-jetpack6.tgz
-        tar c -C ./dist/linux_amd64 --exclude rocm . | pigz -9vc >./dist/ollama-linux-amd64.tgz
-        tar c -C ./dist/linux_amd64 ./lib/ollama/rocm  | pigz -9vc >./dist/ollama-linux-amd64-rocm.tgz
+        tar c -C ./dist/linux_arm64 --exclude cuda_jetpack5 --exclude cuda_jetpack6 . | zstd --ultra -22 -T0 >./dist/ollama-linux-arm64.tar.zst
+        tar c -C ./dist/linux_arm64 ./lib/ollama/cuda_jetpack5  | zstd --ultra -22 -T0 >./dist/ollama-linux-arm64-jetpack5.tar.zst
+        tar c -C ./dist/linux_arm64 ./lib/ollama/cuda_jetpack6  | zstd --ultra -22 -T0 >./dist/ollama-linux-arm64-jetpack6.tar.zst
+        tar c -C ./dist/linux_amd64 --exclude rocm . | zstd --ultra -22 -T0 >./dist/ollama-linux-amd64.tar.zst
+        tar c -C ./dist/linux_amd64 ./lib/ollama/rocm  | zstd --ultra -22 -T0 >./dist/ollama-linux-amd64-rocm.tar.zst
 elif echo $PLATFORM | grep "arm64" > /dev/null ; then
-        tar c -C ./dist/ --exclude cuda_jetpack5 --exclude cuda_jetpack6 bin lib | pigz -9vc >./dist/ollama-linux-arm64.tgz
-        tar c -C ./dist/ ./lib/ollama/cuda_jetpack5  | pigz -9vc >./dist/ollama-linux-arm64-jetpack5.tgz
-        tar c -C ./dist/ ./lib/ollama/cuda_jetpack6  | pigz -9vc >./dist/ollama-linux-arm64-jetpack6.tgz
+        tar c -C ./dist/ --exclude cuda_jetpack5 --exclude cuda_jetpack6 bin lib | zstd --ultra -22 -T0 >./dist/ollama-linux-arm64.tar.zst
+        tar c -C ./dist/ ./lib/ollama/cuda_jetpack5  | zstd --ultra -22 -T0 >./dist/ollama-linux-arm64-jetpack5.tar.zst
+        tar c -C ./dist/ ./lib/ollama/cuda_jetpack6  | zstd --ultra -22 -T0 >./dist/ollama-linux-arm64-jetpack6.tar.zst
 elif echo $PLATFORM | grep "amd64" > /dev/null ; then
-        tar c -C ./dist/ --exclude rocm bin lib | pigz -9vc >./dist/ollama-linux-amd64.tgz
-        tar c -C ./dist/ ./lib/ollama/rocm  | pigz -9vc >./dist/ollama-linux-amd64-rocm.tgz
+        tar c -C ./dist/ --exclude rocm bin lib | zstd --ultra -22 -T0 >./dist/ollama-linux-amd64.tar.zst
+        tar c -C ./dist/ ./lib/ollama/rocm  | zstd --ultra -22 -T0 >./dist/ollama-linux-amd64-rocm.tar.zst
 fi
diff --git a/scripts/install.sh b/scripts/install.sh
index 9c232400f..8e0b8ed8f 100644
--- a/scripts/install.sh
+++ b/scripts/install.sh
@@ -66,6 +66,36 @@ if [ -n "$NEEDS" ]; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
+# Function to download and extract with fallback from zst to tgz
+download_and_extract() {
+    local url_base="$1"
+    local dest_dir="$2"
+    local filename="$3"
+
+    # Check if .tar.zst is available
+    if curl --fail --silent --head --location "${url_base}/${filename}.tar.zst${VER_PARAM}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        # zst file exists - check if we have zstd tool
+        if ! available zstd; then
+            error "This version requires zstd for extraction. Please install zstd and try again:
+  - Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install zstd
+  - RHEL/CentOS/Fedora: sudo dnf install zstd
+  - Arch: sudo pacman -S zstd"
+        fi
+
+        status "Downloading ${filename}.tar.zst"
+        curl --fail --show-error --location --progress-bar \
+            "${url_base}/${filename}.tar.zst${VER_PARAM}" | \
+            zstd -d | $SUDO tar -xf - -C "${dest_dir}"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    # Fall back to .tgz for older versions
+    status "Downloading ${filename}.tgz"
+    curl --fail --show-error --location --progress-bar \
+        "${url_base}/${filename}.tgz${VER_PARAM}" | \
+        $SUDO tar -xzf - -C "${dest_dir}"
+}
+
 for BINDIR in /usr/local/bin /usr/bin /bin; do
     echo $PATH | grep -q $BINDIR && break || continue
 done
@@ -78,10 +108,7 @@ fi
 status "Installing ollama to $OLLAMA_INSTALL_DIR"
 $SUDO install -o0 -g0 -m755 -d $BINDIR
 $SUDO install -o0 -g0 -m755 -d "$OLLAMA_INSTALL_DIR/lib/ollama"
-status "Downloading Linux ${ARCH} bundle"
-curl --fail --show-error --location --progress-bar \
-    "https://ollama.com/download/ollama-linux-${ARCH}.tgz${VER_PARAM}" | \
-    $SUDO tar -xzf - -C "$OLLAMA_INSTALL_DIR"
+download_and_extract "https://ollama.com/download" "$OLLAMA_INSTALL_DIR" "ollama-linux-${ARCH}"
 
 if [ "$OLLAMA_INSTALL_DIR/bin/ollama" != "$BINDIR/ollama" ] ; then
     status "Making ollama accessible in the PATH in $BINDIR"
@@ -91,15 +118,9 @@ fi
 # Check for NVIDIA JetPack systems with additional downloads
 if [ -f /etc/nv_tegra_release ] ; then
     if grep R36 /etc/nv_tegra_release > /dev/null ; then
-        status "Downloading JetPack 6 components"
-        curl --fail --show-error --location --progress-bar \
-            "https://ollama.com/download/ollama-linux-${ARCH}-jetpack6.tgz${VER_PARAM}" | \
-            $SUDO tar -xzf - -C "$OLLAMA_INSTALL_DIR"
+        download_and_extract "https://ollama.com/download" "$OLLAMA_INSTALL_DIR" "ollama-linux-${ARCH}-jetpack6"
     elif grep R35 /etc/nv_tegra_release > /dev/null ; then
-        status "Downloading JetPack 5 components"
-        curl --fail --show-error --location --progress-bar \
-            "https://ollama.com/download/ollama-linux-${ARCH}-jetpack5.tgz${VER_PARAM}" | \
-            $SUDO tar -xzf - -C "$OLLAMA_INSTALL_DIR"
+        download_and_extract "https://ollama.com/download" "$OLLAMA_INSTALL_DIR" "ollama-linux-${ARCH}-jetpack5"
     else
         warning "Unsupported JetPack version detected.  GPU may not be supported"
     fi
@@ -222,10 +243,7 @@ if ! check_gpu lspci nvidia && ! check_gpu lshw nvidia && ! check_gpu lspci amdg
 fi
 
 if check_gpu lspci amdgpu || check_gpu lshw amdgpu; then
-    status "Downloading Linux ROCm ${ARCH} bundle"
-    curl --fail --show-error --location --progress-bar \
-        "https://ollama.com/download/ollama-linux-${ARCH}-rocm.tgz${VER_PARAM}" | \
-        $SUDO tar -xzf - -C "$OLLAMA_INSTALL_DIR"
+    download_and_extract "https://ollama.com/download" "$OLLAMA_INSTALL_DIR" "ollama-linux-${ARCH}-rocm"
 
     install_success
     status "AMD GPU ready."