diff --git a/btrbk b/btrbk
index b409ee9..6a55549 100755
--- a/btrbk
+++ b/btrbk
@@ -66,10 +66,15 @@ my $timestamp_postfix_match = qr/\.(?<YYYY>[0-9]{4})(?<MM>[0-9]{2})(?<DD>[0-9]{2
 my $raw_postfix_match = qr/--(?<received_uuid>$uuid_match)(\@(?<parent_uuid>$uuid_match))?\.btrfs?(\.(?<compress>(gz|bz2|xz)))?(\.(?<encrypt>gpg))?(\.(?<incomplete>part))?/;  # matches ".btrfs_<received_uuid>[@<parent_uuid>][.gz|bz2|xz][.gpg][.part]"
 my $group_match = qr/[a-zA-Z0-9_:-]+/;
 my $ssh_cipher_match = qr/[a-z0-9][a-z0-9@.-]+/;
-my $safe_cmd_match = qr/[0-9a-zA-Z_@=\+\-\.\/]+/;  # $file_match plus '=': good enough for our purpose
+my $safe_cmd_match = $file_match;  # good enough
 
 my %day_of_week_map = ( sunday => 0, monday => 1, tuesday => 2, wednesday => 3, thursday => 4, friday => 5, saturday => 6 );
 my @syslog_facilities = qw( user mail daemon auth lpr news cron authpriv local0 local1 local2 local3 local4 local5 local6 local7 );
+my %compression = (
+  gzip  => { name => 'gzip' , format => 'gz',  compress_cmd => [ 'gzip',  '-c' ], decompress_cmd => [ 'gzip',  '-d', '-c' ], level_min => 1, level_max => 9 },
+  bzip2 => { name => 'bzip2', format => 'bz2', compress_cmd => [ 'bzip2', '-c' ], decompress_cmd => [ 'bzip2', '-d', '-c' ], level_min => 1, level_max => 9 },
+  xz    => { name => 'xz'   , format => 'xz',  compress_cmd => [ 'xz',    '-c' ], decompress_cmd => [ 'xz',    '-d', '-c' ], level_min => 0, level_max => 9, threads => '-T ' },
+ );
 
 my %config_options = (
   # NOTE: the parser always maps "no" to undef
@@ -98,6 +103,10 @@ my %config_options = (
   transaction_syslog          => { default => undef,     accept => \@syslog_facilities },
   lockfile                    => { default => undef,     accept_file => { absolute => 1 }, context => [ "root" ] },
 
+  stream_compress             => { default => undef,     accept => [ "no", (keys %compression) ] },
+  stream_compress_level       => { default => "default", accept => [ "default" ], accept_numeric => 1 },
+  stream_compress_threads     => { default => "default", accept => [ "default" ], accept_numeric => 1 },
+
   raw_target_compress         => { default => undef,     accept => [ "no", "gzip", "bzip2", "xz" ] },
   raw_target_compress_level   => { default => "default", accept => [ "default" ], accept_numeric => 1 },
   raw_target_compress_threads => { default => "default", accept => [ "default" ], accept_numeric => 1 },
@@ -448,54 +457,162 @@ sub safe_cmd($)
       return undef;
     }
   }
-  return 1;
+  return join(' ', @$aref);
 }
 
+sub compress_cmd($;$)
+{
+  my $def = shift;
+  my $decompress = shift;
+  return undef unless(defined($def));
+  my $cc = $compression{$def->{key}};
+  my @cmd = $decompress ? @{$cc->{decompress_cmd}} : @{$cc->{compress_cmd}};
+
+  if((not $decompress) && defined($def->{level}) && ($def->{level} ne "default")) {
+    my $level = $def->{level};
+    if($level < $cc->{level_min}) {
+      WARN_ONCE "Compression level capped to minimum for '$cc->{name}': $cc->{level_min}";
+      $level = $cc->{level_min};
+    }
+    if($level > $cc->{level_max}) {
+      WARN_ONCE "Compression level capped to maximum for '$cc->{name}': $cc->{level_max}";
+      $level = $cc->{level_max};
+    }
+    push @cmd, '-' . $level;
+  }
+  if(defined($def->{threads}) && ($def->{threads} ne "default")) {
+    my $thread_opt = $cc->{threads};
+    if($thread_opt) {
+      push @cmd, $thread_opt . $def->{threads};
+    }
+    else {
+      WARN_ONCE "Threading is not supported for '$cc->{name}', ignoring";
+    }
+  }
+  return join(' ', @cmd);
+}
+
+sub decompress_cmd($)
+{
+  return compress_cmd($_[0], 1);
+}
+
+
 sub run_cmd(@)
 {
   # shell-based implementation.
   # this needs some redirection magic for filter_stderr to work.
   # NOTE: multiple filters are not supported!
 
-  my @commands = (ref($_[0]) eq "HASH") ? @_ : { @_ };
-  die unless(scalar(@commands));
+  my @cmd_pipe = (ref($_[0]) eq "HASH") ? @_ : { @_ };
+  die unless(scalar(@cmd_pipe));
   $err = "";
 
   my $destructive = 0;
   my $catch_stderr = 0;
   my $filter_stderr = undef;
-  foreach (@commands) {
-    $_->{rsh} //= [];
-    $_->{cmd} = [ @{$_->{rsh}}, @{$_->{cmd}} ];
-    return undef unless(safe_cmd($_->{cmd}));
-    $_->{cmd_text} = join(' ', map { "'$_'" } @{$_->{cmd}});
-    $catch_stderr = 1 if($_->{catch_stderr});
-    $filter_stderr = $_->{filter_stderr} if($_->{filter_stderr});  # NOTE: last filter wins!
-    $destructive = 1 unless($_->{non_destructive});
-  }
-  my $cmd_print = join(' | ', map { $_->{cmd_text} } @commands);
+  my @cmd_text;
+  my $compressed = undef;
+  foreach my $href (@cmd_pipe)
+  {
+    $catch_stderr = 1 if($href->{catch_stderr});
+    $filter_stderr = $href->{filter_stderr} if($href->{filter_stderr});  # NOTE: last filter wins!
+    $destructive = 1 unless($href->{non_destructive});
 
-  my $cmd = $cmd_print;
-  if($catch_stderr) {
-    if(scalar(@commands) == 1) {
-      # no pipes, simply redirect stderr to stdout
-      $cmd .= ' 2>&1';
-    }
-    else
-    {
-      # pipe chain is more complicated, result is something like this:
-      #    { btrfs send <src> 2>&3 | pv | btrfs receive <dst> 2>&3 ; } 3>&1
-      $cmd = "{ ";
-      my $pipe = "";
-      foreach (@commands) {
-        $cmd .= $pipe . $_->{cmd_text};
-        $cmd .= ' 2>&3' if($_->{catch_stderr});
-        $pipe = ' | ';
+    if($href->{compress}) {
+      if($compressed && ($compression{$compressed->{key}}->{format} ne $compression{$href->{compress}->{key}}->{format})) {
+        push @cmd_text, { text => decompress_cmd($compressed) };
+        $compressed = undef;
       }
-      $cmd .= ' ; } 3>&1';
+      unless($compressed) {
+        push @cmd_text, { text => compress_cmd($href->{compress}) };
+        $compressed = $href->{compress};
+      }
+    }
+    elsif($href->{redirect}) {
+      my $file = safe_cmd([ $href->{redirect} ]);
+      return undef unless(defined($file));
+      if($href->{rsh}) {
+        my $rsh_text = safe_cmd($href->{rsh});
+        return undef unless(defined($rsh_text));
+        push @cmd_text, { text => $rsh_text . " 'cat > " . $file . "'" };
+      }
+      else {
+        push @cmd_text, { redirect => $file };
+      }
+    }
+    elsif($href->{cmd}) {
+      my $sc = safe_cmd($href->{cmd});
+      return undef unless(defined($sc));
+
+      if($href->{rsh}) {
+        my $rsh_text = safe_cmd($href->{rsh});
+        return undef unless(defined($rsh_text));
+
+        if($href->{rsh_compress_in}) {
+          if($compressed && ((not $href->{compressed_ok}) ||
+                             ($compression{$compressed->{key}}->{format} ne $compression{$href->{rsh_compress_in}->{key}}->{format})))
+          {
+            push @cmd_text, { text => decompress_cmd($compressed) };
+            $compressed = undef;
+          }
+          unless($compressed) {
+            push @cmd_text, { text => compress_cmd($href->{rsh_compress_in}) };
+            $compressed = $href->{rsh_compress_in};
+          }
+          unless($href->{compressed_ok}) {
+            $sc = decompress_cmd($href->{rsh_compress_in}) . ' | ' . $sc;
+            $compressed = undef;
+          }
+        }
+        if($href->{rsh_compress_out}) {
+          $sc .= ' | ' . compress_cmd($href->{rsh_compress_out});
+          $compressed = $href->{rsh_compress_out};
+        }
+        $sc = $rsh_text . " '" . $sc . "'";
+      }
+      else {
+        if($compressed && (not ($href->{compressed_ok}))) {
+          push @cmd_text, { text => decompress_cmd($compressed) };
+          $compressed = undef;
+        }
+      }
+      push @cmd_text, { text => $sc,
+                        catch_stderr => $href->{catch_stderr} };
     }
   }
 
+  # cmd result is something like this:
+  #    { btrfs send <src> 2>&3 | pv | btrfs receive <dst> 2>&3 ; } 3>&1
+  my $cmd_print = "";
+  my $cmd = "{ ";
+  my $pipe = "";
+  foreach (@cmd_text) {
+    if($_->{redirect}) {
+      die unless($pipe);
+      $cmd_print .= ' > ' . $_->{redirect};
+      $cmd       .= ' > ' . $_->{redirect};
+      $pipe = undef; # this dies if it is not last command
+    } else {
+      $cmd_print .= $pipe . $_->{text};
+      $cmd       .= $pipe . $_->{text};
+      $cmd       .= ' 2>&3' if($_->{catch_stderr});
+      $pipe = ' | ';
+    }
+  }
+  $cmd .= ' ; } 3>&1';
+
+  if($catch_stderr) {
+    if(scalar(@cmd_text) == 1) {
+      # no pipes, simply redirect stderr to stdout
+      $cmd = $cmd_print . ' 2>&1';
+    }
+  }
+  else {
+    $cmd = $cmd_print;
+  }
+
+
   # hide redirection magic from debug output
   if($dryrun && $destructive) {
     DEBUG "### (dryrun) $cmd_print";
@@ -536,13 +653,13 @@ sub add_pv_command($@)
 
   if($opts{show_progress}) {
     if($rate_limit) {
-      push @$cmd_pipe, { cmd => [ 'pv', '-trab', '-L', $rate_limit ] };
+      push @$cmd_pipe, { cmd => [ 'pv', '-trab', '-L', $rate_limit ], compressed_ok => 1 };
     } else {
-      push @$cmd_pipe, { cmd => [ 'pv', '-trab' ] };
+      push @$cmd_pipe, { cmd => [ 'pv', '-trab' ], compressed_ok => 1 };
     }
   }
   elsif($rate_limit) {
-    push @$cmd_pipe, { cmd => [ 'pv', '-q', '-L', $rate_limit ] };
+    push @$cmd_pipe, { cmd => [ 'pv', '-q', '-L', $rate_limit ], compressed_ok => 1 };
   }
 }
 
@@ -967,15 +1084,17 @@ sub btrfs_send_receive($$$$;@)
   my @cmd_pipe;
   push @cmd_pipe, {
     cmd => [ qw(btrfs send), @send_options, $snapshot_path ],
-    rsh => vinfo_rsh($snapshot),
+    rsh => vinfo_rsh($snapshot, disable_compression => config_compress_hash($snapshot, "stream_compress")),
+    rsh_compress_out => config_compress_hash($snapshot, "stream_compress"),
     name => "btrfs send",
     catch_stderr => 1, # hack for shell-based run_cmd()
   };
   add_pv_command(\@cmd_pipe, show_progress => $show_progress, rate_limit => $opts{rate_limit});
   push @cmd_pipe, {
     cmd => [ qw(btrfs receive), @receive_options, $target_path . '/' ],
-    rsh => vinfo_rsh($target),
+    rsh => vinfo_rsh($target, disable_compression => config_compress_hash($target, "stream_compress")),
     name => "btrfs receive",
+    rsh_compress_in => config_compress_hash($target, "stream_compress"),
     catch_stderr => 1, # hack for shell-based run_cmd()
     filter_stderr => sub { $err = $_; $_ = undef }
   };
@@ -1051,11 +1170,6 @@ sub btrfs_send_to_file($$$$;@)
   $target_filename .= '@' . $parent_uuid if($parent_uuid);
   $target_filename .= ".btrfs";
 
-  my %compress = ( gzip  => { name => 'gzip' , cmd => [ 'gzip'  ], postfix => '.gz',  level_min => 1, level_max => 9 },
-                   bzip2 => { name => 'bzip2', cmd => [ 'bzip2' ], postfix => '.bz2', level_min => 1, level_max => 9 },
-                   xz    => { name => 'xz'   , cmd => [ 'xz'    ], postfix => '.xz',  level_min => 0, level_max => 9, threads => '--threads=' },
-                  );
-
   my @send_options;
   push(@send_options, '-v') if($loglevel >= 3);
   push(@send_options, '-p', $parent_path) if($parent_path);
@@ -1063,38 +1177,14 @@ sub btrfs_send_to_file($$$$;@)
   my @cmd_pipe;
   push @cmd_pipe, {
     cmd => [ qw(btrfs send), @send_options, $source_path ],
-    rsh => vinfo_rsh($source),
+    rsh => vinfo_rsh($source, disable_compression => config_compress_hash($source, "stream_compress")),
     name => "btrfs send",
+    rsh_compress_out => config_compress_hash($source, "stream_compress"),
   };
   add_pv_command(\@cmd_pipe, show_progress => $show_progress, rate_limit => $opts{rate_limit});
   if($opts{compress}) {
-    die unless($compress{$opts{compress}});
-    $target_filename .= $compress{$opts{compress}}->{postfix};
-    my $compress_cmd = $compress{$opts{compress}}->{cmd};
-    if(defined($opts{compress_level}) && ($opts{compress_level} ne "default")) {
-      my $compress_level = $opts{compress_level};
-      if($compress_level < $compress{$opts{compress}}->{level_min}) {
-        WARN "Compression level (raw_target_compress_level) capped to minimum for '$opts{compress}': $compress{$opts{compress}}->{level_min}";
-        $compress_level = $compress{$opts{compress}}->{level_min};
-      }
-      if($compress_level > $compress{$opts{compress}}->{level_max}) {
-        WARN "Compression level (raw_target_compress_level) capped to maximum for '$opts{compress}': $compress{$opts{compress}}->{level_max}";
-        $compress_level = $compress{$opts{compress}}->{level_max};
-      }
-      push @$compress_cmd, '-' . $compress_level;
-    }
-    if(defined($opts{compress_threads}) && ($opts{compress_threads} ne "default")) {
-      my $thread_opt = $compress{$opts{compress}}->{threads};
-      if($thread_opt) {
-        push @$compress_cmd, $thread_opt . $opts{compress_threads};
-      }
-      else {
-        WARN "Threading (raw_target_compress_threads) is not supported for '$opts{compress}', ignoring";
-      }
-    }
-    push @cmd_pipe, { cmd => $compress_cmd,
-                      name => $compress{$opts{compress}}->{name}
-                     };
+    $target_filename .= '.' . $compression{$opts{compress}->{key}}->{format};
+    push @cmd_pipe, { compress => $opts{compress} };
   }
   if($opts{encrypt}) {
     die unless($opts{encrypt}->{type} eq "gpg");
@@ -1105,12 +1195,13 @@ sub btrfs_send_to_file($$$$;@)
     push @cmd_pipe, {
       cmd => [ 'gpg', @gpg_options, '--encrypt' ],
       name => 'gpg',
+      compressed_ok => 1,
     };
   }
   push @cmd_pipe, {
-    cmd => [ 'dd', 'status=none', "of=${target_path}/${target_filename}.part" ],
+    redirect => "${target_path}/${target_filename}.part",
     rsh => vinfo_rsh($target),
-    name => 'dd',
+    compressed_ok => 1,
   };
 
   my $vol_received = vinfo_child($target, $target_filename);
@@ -1130,7 +1221,8 @@ sub btrfs_send_to_file($$$$;@)
   my $ret = run_cmd(@cmd_pipe);
   if(defined($ret)) {
     # Test target file for "exists and size > 0" after writing,
-    # as we can not rely on the exit status of 'dd'
+    # as we can not rely on the exit status of the command pipe,
+    # and the shell command always creates the target file.
     DEBUG "Testing target file (non-zero size): $target->{PRINT}.part";
     $ret = run_cmd({
       cmd  => ['test', '-s', "${target_path}/${target_filename}.part"],
@@ -1541,9 +1633,10 @@ sub vinfo_child($$;$)
 }
 
 
-sub vinfo_rsh($)
+sub vinfo_rsh($;@)
 {
   my $vinfo = shift || die;
+  my %opts = @_;
   my $host = $vinfo->{HOST};
   return undef unless(defined($host));
 
@@ -1553,7 +1646,7 @@ sub vinfo_rsh($)
   my $ssh_port        = config_key($config, "ssh_port");
   my $ssh_user        = config_key($config, "ssh_user");
   my $ssh_identity    = config_key($config, "ssh_identity");
-  my $ssh_compression = config_key($config, "ssh_compression");
+  my $ssh_compression = $opts{disable_compression} ? undef : config_key($config, "ssh_compression");
   my $ssh_cipher_spec = config_key($config, "ssh_cipher_spec") // "default";
   my @ssh_options;
   push(@ssh_options, '-p', $ssh_port) if($ssh_port ne "default");
@@ -2228,6 +2321,20 @@ sub config_preserve_hash($$)
 }
 
 
+sub config_compress_hash($$)
+{
+  my $config = shift || die;
+  my $config_key = shift || die;
+  my $compress_key = config_key($config, $config_key);
+  return undef unless($compress_key);
+  return {
+    key     => $compress_key,
+    level   => config_key($config, $config_key . "_level"),
+    threads => config_key($config, $config_key . "_threads"),
+  };
+}
+
+
 sub config_dump_keys($;@)
 {
   my $config = shift || die;
@@ -2671,11 +2778,9 @@ sub macro_send_receive(@)
                  }
     }
     $ret = btrfs_send_to_file($source, $target, $parent, \$vol_received,
-                              compress         => config_key($config_target, "raw_target_compress"),
-                              compress_level   => config_key($config_target, "raw_target_compress_level"),
-                              compress_threads => config_key($config_target, "raw_target_compress_threads"),
-                              encrypt          => $encrypt,
-                              rate_limit       => config_key($config_target, "rate_limit"),
+                              compress   => config_compress_hash($config_target, "raw_target_compress"),
+                              encrypt    => $encrypt,
+                              rate_limit => config_key($config_target, "rate_limit"),
                              );
     ABORTED($config_target, "Failed to send subvolume to raw file") unless($ret);
   }