NAME¶
uuencode, uudecode - encode a binary file, or decode its representation
SYNOPSIS¶
uuencode [-m] [ file ] name
uudecode [-o outfile] [ file ]...
DESCRIPTION¶
Uuencode and
uudecode are used to transmit binary files over
channels that support only simple ASCII data.
Uuencode reads
file (or by default the standard input) and writes
an encoded version to the standard output, using only printable ASCII
characters. The encoded output begins with a header, for use by
uudecode, which records the mode of the input file and suggests
name for the decoded file that will be created. (If
name is
/dev/stdout then
uudecode will decode to standard output.) The
encoding has the format documented at
uuencode(5), unless the option
-m
is given, when
base64 encoding is used instead.
Note: uuencode uses buffered input and assumes that it is not hand
typed from a tty. The consequence is that at a tty, you may need to hit Ctl-D
several times to terminate input.
Uudecode transforms uuencoded
files (or standard input) into the
original form. The resulting file is named
name (or
outfile if
the -o option is given) and will have the mode of the original file except
that setuid and execute bits are not retained. If
outfile or
name is /dev/stdout the result will be written to standard output.
Uudecode ignores any leading and trailing lines. The program determines
from the header which of the two supported encoding schemes was used.
EXAMPLES¶
The following example packages up a source tree, compresses it, uuencodes it and
mails it to a user on another system. When
uudecode is run on the
target system, the file ``src_tree.tar.Z'' will be created which may then be
uncompressed and extracted into the original tree.
- tar cf - src_tree | compress | uuencode src_tree.tar.Z |
mail sys1!sys2!user
SEE ALSO¶
compress(1),
mail(1),
uucp(1),
uuencode(5)
STANDARDS¶
This implementation is compliant with P1003.2b/D11.
BUGS¶
If more than one file is given to
uudecode and the -o option is given or
more than one
name in the encoded files are the same the result is
probably not what is expected.
The encoded form of the file is expanded by 37% for UU encoding and by 35% for
base64 encoding (3 bytes become 4 plus control information).
REPORTING BUGS¶
Report bugs to <bug-gnu-utils@gnu.org>. Please put
sharutils or
uuencode in the subject line. It helps to spot the message.
HISTORY¶
The
uuencode command appeared in BSD 4.0.