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'.\" Modified from
'.\"     @(#)uuencode.1	6.9 (Berkeley) 4/23/91
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.TH uuencode 1
.SH NAME
uuencode, uudecode \- encode a binary file, or decode its representation
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B uuencode
[\-m] [ file ] name
.PP
.B uudecode
[-o outfile] [ file ]...
.SH DESCRIPTION
.I Uuencode
and
.I uudecode
are used to transmit binary files over channels that support only
simple ASCII data.
.PP
.I Uuencode
reads
.I 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
.IR uudecode ,
which records the mode of the input file and suggests
.I name
for the decoded file that will be created.  (If
.I name
is
.I /dev/stdout
then
.I uudecode
will decode to standard output.)  The encoding has the format
documented at uuencode(5), unless the option
.I \-m
is given, when
.B base64
encoding is used instead.
.PP
.B Note:
.I 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.
.PP
.I Uudecode
transforms uuencoded
.I files
(or standard input) into the original form.
The resulting file is named
.I name
(or
.I 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
.I outfile
or
.I name
is /dev/stdout the result will be written to standard output.
.I Uudecode
ignores any leading and trailing lines.  The program determines from the
header which of the two supported encoding schemes was used.
.SH EXAMPLES
The following example packages up a source tree, compresses it,
uuencodes it and mails it to a user on another system.
When
.I 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.
.PP
.IP
.NF
tar cf \- src_tree \&| compress \&|
uuencode src_tree.tar.Z \&| mail sys1!sys2!user
.FI
.LP
.SH SEE ALSO
compress(1), mail(1), uucp(1), uuencode(5)
.SH STANDARDS
This implementation is compliant with P1003.2b/D11.
.SH BUGS
If more than one file is given to
.I uudecode
and the \-o option is given or more than one
.I name
in the encoded files are the same the result is probably not what is expected.
.PP
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).
.SH REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs to <bug-gnu-utils@gnu.org>.  Please put
.I sharutils
or
.I uuencode
in the subject line.  It helps to spot the message.
.SH HISTORY
The
.I uuencode
command appeared in BSD 4.0.