diff --git a/ci/before_deploy.sh b/ci/before_deploy.sh
index 052e17e..2c3b88e 100644
--- a/ci/before_deploy.sh
+++ b/ci/before_deploy.sh
@@ -11,5 +11,5 @@ cp target/$TARGET/release/watchexec "$build_dir/$name/"
 cp {doc/watchexec.1,LICENSE} "$build_dir/$name/"
 
 pushd $build_dir
-tar czf "$out_dir/$name.tar.gz" *
+GZIP=-9 tar czf "$out_dir/$name.tar.gz" *
 popd