uuencode(1C) uuencode(1C)NAME uuencode, uudecode - encode/decode a binary file for transmission via mail SYNOPSIS uuencode [source] remotedest uudecode [file] DESCRIPTION uuencode and uudecode are used to send a binary file via uucp (or other) mail. This combination may be used over in- direct mail links even when uusend(1C) is not available. uuencode takes the named source file (default standard in- put) and produces an encoded version on the standard output. The encoding uses only printing ASCII characters, and in- cludes the mode of the file and the remotedest for recrea- tion on the remote system. uudecode reads an encoded file, strips off any leading and trailing lines added by mailers, and recreates the original file with the specified mode and name. The intent is that all mail to the user decode should be filtered through the uudecode program. This way the file is created automatically without human intervention. This is possible on the uucp network either by using sendmail or by making rmail a link to mailx instead of mail. In each case, an alias must be created in a master file to get the au- tomatic invocation of uudecode. If these facilities are not available, the file may be sent to a user on the remote machine who can uudecode it manual- ly. The encode file has an ordinary text form and may be edited by any text editor to change the mode or remote name. FILES /usr/ucb/uudecode /usr/ucb/uuencode SEE ALSO mail(1), uucp(1C), uusend(1C), uux(1C). ``Using UUCP'' in A/UX Communications User's Guide. BUGS The file is expanded by 35% (3 bytes become 4 plus control information) causing it to take longer to transmit. April, 1990 1
uuencode(1C) uuencode(1C)The user on the remote system who is invoking uudecode (often uucp) must have write permission on the specified file. 2 April, 1990