diff --git a/kiss b/kiss
index 18eabc9..68cdcee 100755
--- a/kiss
+++ b/kiss
@@ -172,6 +172,15 @@ pkg_list() {
     done
 }
 
+pkg_cache() {
+    read -r version release < "$(pkg_find "$1")/version"
+
+    set +f; set -f -- "$bin_dir/$1#$version-$release.tar."*
+    tar_file=$1
+
+    [ -f "$tar_file" ]
+}
+
 pkg_sources() {
     # Download any remote package sources. The existence of local
     # files is also checked.
@@ -339,8 +348,8 @@ pkg_order() {
 
     for pkg; do
         case $pkg in
-            *.tar.gz) deps="$deps $pkg " ;;
-            *)        pkg_depends "$pkg" raw
+            *.tar.*) deps="$deps $pkg "  ;;
+            *)       pkg_depends "$pkg" raw
         esac
     done
 
@@ -493,8 +502,12 @@ pkg_tar() {
     read -r version release < "$(pkg_find "$1")/version"
 
     # Create a tar-ball from the contents of the built package.
-    "$tar" zpcf "$bin_dir/$1#$version-$release.tar.gz" -C "$pkg_dir/$1" . ||
-        die "$1" "Failed to create tar-ball"
+    "$tar" cf - -C "$pkg_dir/$1" . | 
+        case ${KISS_COMPRESS:=xz} in
+            xz) xz -zT 0 ;;
+            gz) gzip -6  ;;
+        esac \
+    > "$bin_dir/$1#$version-$release.tar.${KISS_COMPRESS:=xz}"
 
     log "$1" "Successfully created tar-ball"
 }
@@ -543,23 +556,16 @@ pkg_build() {
     # directory and are up to date.
     for pkg; do
         # Don't check for a pre-built package if it was passed
-        # to KISS directly.
-        contains "$explicit_build" "$pkg" || {
-            # Figure out the version and release.
-            read -r version release < "$(pkg_find "$pkg")/version"
+        # to KISS directly and install any pre-built binaries if 
+        # they exist.
+        ! contains "$explicit_build" "$pkg" && pkg_cache "$pkg" && {
+            log "$pkg" "Found pre-built binary, installing"
+            (KISS_FORCE=1 args i "$tar_file")
 
-            # Install any pre-built binaries if they exist.
-            # This calls 'args' to inherit a root check
-            # to 'su' to elevate permissions.
-            [ -f "$bin_dir/$pkg#$version-$release.tar.gz" ] && {
-                log "$pkg" "Found pre-built binary, installing"
-                (KISS_FORCE=1 args i "$bin_dir/$pkg#$version-$release.tar.gz")
-
-                # Remove the now installed package from the build list.
-                # See [1] at top of script.
-                # shellcheck disable=2046,2086
-                set -- $(pop "$pkg" "$@")
-            }
+            # Remove the now installed package from the build list.
+            # See [1] at top of script.
+            # shellcheck disable=2046,2086
+            set -- $(pop "$pkg" "$@")
         }
     done
 
@@ -898,18 +904,11 @@ pkg_install() {
 
     # Install can also take the full path to a tar-ball.
     # We don't need to check the repository if this is the case.
-    if [ -f "$1" ] && [ -z "${1%%*.tar.gz}" ] ; then
+    if [ -f "$1" ] && [ -z "${1%%*.tar.*}" ] ; then
         tar_file=$1
 
     else
-        # Read the version information to name the package.
-        read -r version release < "$(pkg_find "$1")/version"
-
-        # Construct the name of the package tarball.
-        tar_file=$bin_dir/$1\#$version-$release.tar.gz
-
-        [ -f "$tar_file" ] ||
-            die "Package '$1' has not been built, run 'kiss build $1'"
+        pkg_cache "$1" || die "$1" "has not been built, run 'kiss b $1'"
     fi
 
     # Figure out which package the tar-ball installs by checking for
@@ -922,10 +921,13 @@ pkg_install() {
     pkg_name=${pkg_name##*/}
 
     mkdir -p "$tar_dir/$pkg_name"
+    log "$pkg_name" "Extracting $tar_file"
 
     # Extract the tar-ball to catch any errors before installation begins.
-    "$tar" pxf "$tar_file" -C "$tar_dir/$pkg_name" ||
-        die "$pkg_name" "Failed to extract tar-ball"
+    case $tar_file in
+        *.xz) xz -dcT 0 ;;
+        *.gz) gzip -d ;;
+    esac < "$tar_file" | "$tar" pxf - -C "$tar_dir/$pkg_name"
 
     log "$pkg_name" "Checking that all dependencies are installed"