1UUENCODE(5)                   File Formats Manual                  UUENCODE(5)
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NAME

6       uuencode - format of an encoded uuencode file
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DESCRIPTION

9       Files  output  by  uuencode(1)  consist of a header line, followed by a
10       number of body lines, and a trailer line.  The uudecode(1) command will
11       ignore  any lines preceding the header or following the trailer.  Lines
12       preceding a header must not, of course, look like a header.
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14       The header line is distinguished by having the first  5  characters  be
15       begin  followed  by  a  space,  or  else  a hyphen and either base64 or
16       encoded or both (also separated with a hyphen).  The base64 option says
17       the  file  has  been encoded using base64.  The encoded option says the
18       output file name has been base64 encoded.  It  is  never  encoded  with
19       traditional  uuencoding.   This is a GNU extension.  These are followed
20       by a mode (in octal), and a string which names the  remote  file.   The
21       mode  is  separated from the begin clause and the file name by a single
22       space character.
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24   Traditional uuencoding
25       The traditional uuencoded file body consists of a number of lines, each
26       at most 62 characters long (including the trailing newline). These con‐
27       sist of a character count letter, followed by the  encoded  characters,
28       followed  by a newline.  The character count is a single printing char‐
29       acter, and represents an integer, the number of bytes the rest  of  the
30       line  represents.   Such  integers are always in the range from 0 to 63
31       and can be determined by subtracting the  character  space  (octal  40)
32       from the character.
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34       Groups  of  3  bytes  are stored in 4 characters, 6 bits per character.
35       All are offset by a space to make the characters  printing.   The  last
36       line  may  be  shorter  than the normal 45 bytes.  If the size is not a
37       multiple of 3, this fact can be determined by the value of the count on
38       the  last  line.   Extra garbage will be included to make the character
39       count a multiple of 4.  The body is terminated by a line with  a  count
40       of zero.  This line consists of one ASCII space.
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42       The trailer line consists of end on a line by itself.
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44   base64 encoding
45       base64 encoded files follow the specified format for the body, but also
46       include a begin-base64 header and a trailer line of four = characters.
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EXAMPLES

49            begin-base64-encoded 644 VE9ETw==
50       This introduces a base64  encoded  file  named,  TODO  with  that  name
51       encoded using base64 encoding.
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53            begin-encoded 644 5$]$3P``
54       This  introduces  an  encoded  file  named, TODO with that name encoded
55       using uuencoding.  The encoding is a lot less friendly.  Please  prefer
56       base64 encoding.
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CONFORMING TO

59       IEEE Std 1003.1, plus extensions
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61       The  -encoded  suffix  to  the  begin  header  line is a GNU extension.
62       Recipients must have the GNU uudecode program to decode them.
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SEE ALSO

65       uuencode(1), uudecode(1), base64(1GNU)
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HISTORY

68       The uuencode file format appeared in BSD 4.0 .
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