UUENCODE(1)
NAME
uuencode,uudecode − encode/decode a binary file for transmission via mail
USAGE
uuencode [ source ] remotedest | mail sys1!sys2!..!decode
uudecode [ file ]
DESCRIPTION
Uuencode and uudecode are used to send a binary file via uucp (1) or other methods of sending mail. This combination can be used over indirect mail links even when uusend (1) is not available.
Uuencode takes the named source file (the default is standard input) and produces an encoded version on the standard output. The encoding uses only printing ASCII characters, and includes the mode of the file and the remotedest for re-creation 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 (1) network by either using sendmail or by making rmail (1) be a link to Mail instead of mail (1). In each case, an alias must be created in a master file to get the automatic invocation of uudecode.
If these facilities are not available, the file can be sent to a user on the remote machine who can uudecode it manually.
The encode file has an ordinary text form and can be edited by any text editor to change the mode or remote name.
EXAMPLE
The remotedest is the pathname of the file to create on the remote system, e.g.,
uuencode /usr/kate/bin/prog1 /tmp/kate.prog1.
CAUTIONS
Uuencode expands the binary file by 35 percent (three bytes become four plus control information), increasing the transmission time.
The user on the remote system who is invoking uudecode must have write permission on the specified file.