The thermodynamic driving force from the release of a gaseous molecule drives a broad range of synthetic transformations. This review focuses on gas expulsion in key reactions within natural products total syntheses, selected from the past two decades. The highlighted examples survey transformations that generate sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, carbonyl sulfide, or nitrogen through polar, radical, pericyclic, photochemical, or organometallic mechanisms. Of particular interest are applications wherein the gas extrusion enables formation of a synthetically challenging motif, such as an unusually hindered or strained bond.