Unix, Xenix and ODT General FAQ

How can I send attachments from the command line?

Using mail from the command line: if you want to send true attachments (that show up in graphical mail clients as attachments), you need something like "mutt" or CleanCode Email.

If it's just arbitrary text or a file you want to send, and don't care about it looking like a real attachment, you can use ordinary "mail" ("mailx" on some Unixes) at the command line. However, that's NOT a mime attachment - it's just your file mixed in to the mail message. However, some mail clients will see it and treat it as a real attachment, so this may be "good enough":

mailx -s "This is it" someone@someplace < somefile

or

echo "text
more text" | mailx somebody somebodyelse fred@fred.com

You can use uuencode to send a binary file the same way, and some mail clients may even display that as they would a "real" attachment.

However: that's NOT an attachment. Every time somebody asks this question on the newsgroup, someone is sure to insist that it is, but a simple visual examination of actual messages should show them their error. The confusion is, of course, that some mail clients will act as though the uuencoded text were a proper attachment. That's fine if the people you are sending to use one of those clients, but if there is any chance they do not, be safe: use Mutt.

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email -s "Attachment" -a coolpic.jpg user@domain.com

You can also redirect text:

email -s "Attachement" -a coolpic.jpg user@domain.com < somefile

You can send an empty email with just the attachment:

email -s "Attachment" -a coolpic.jpg -b user@domain.com

Email can also send to SMTP servers that expect authentication (SMTP AUTH) and has neat features such as an address book and dynamic signature files. Email ALSO works well with GPG/PGP for encryption.


--

Thanks: See http://aplawrence.com/Reviews/cleancodeemail.html

--TonyLawrence


---December 30, 2004

I use "mpack", which I just found in debian repository.

e.g.:
mpack -s "My Subject" /tmp/myfile user@domain.com

Edward van Kuik

---


---December 30, 2004







Mon Apr 16 19:36:06 2007: Subject: Mutt email attachment.   weiss1rogerscom


I have been using MUTT to send email with pdf or htm attachments from the command line. Works well as long as you have a proper .mime file setup.

Cheers



Mon May 19 20:46:07 2008: Subject:   anonymous


I just found nail which is a command line replacement for mail and supports attachments.



Mon Nov 17 23:13:51 2008: Subject:   fractil



I use the following to send files as attachments using the mail command:

uuencode <~/path/filename> <rename file> | mail -s "subject" <recipient>

For example:

uuencode /etc/apache2/apache2.config apache.config | mail -s "Apache Config" jon@doe.com



Mon Nov 17 23:55:15 2008: Subject:   TonyLawrence


No, that's NOT an attachment. It's just a uuencoded file embedded in your message.

Read the text.



Fri Nov 21 10:06:47 2008: Subject:   anonymous


thanks edwards.. mpack worked for me..



Fri Jul 17 11:45:02 2009: Subject:   anonymous


mutt -s "test mail" -a /tmp/a.txt abc@xyz.com

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