unshar(1)

NAME

       unshar - unpack a shar file

SYNOPSIS

       unshar [ options ] [ file ... ]

DESCRIPTION

       Unshar  scans  mail  messages looking for the start of a shell archive.
       It then passes the archive through a copy of the shell  to  unpack  it.
       It  will  accept multiple files.  If no files are given, standard input
       is used.

OPTIONS

       Options have a one letter version starting with -  or  a  long  version
       starting  with  --.   The exception is --help and --version, which does
       not have a short version.

       --version
              Print the version number of the program on standard output, then
              immediately exits.

       --help Print a help summary on standard output, then immediately exits.

       -d DIRECTORY  --directory=DIRECTORY
              Change directory to DIRECTORY before unpacking any files.

       -c  --overwrite
              Passed as an option  to  the  shar  file.   Many  shell  archive
              scripts  (including  those  produced  by  `shar' 3.40 and newer)
              accepts a -c argument to indicate that existing files should  be
              overwritten.

       -e  --exit-0
              This  option exists mainly for people who collect many shell ar-
              chives into a single mail folder.  With  this  option,  `unshar'
              isolates each different shell archive from the others which have
              been put in the same file, unpacking  each  in  turn,  from  the
              beginning  of  the  file  towards its end.  Its proper operation
              relies on the fact that many shar  files  are  terminated  by  a
              `exit 0' at the beginning of a line.

              Option -e is internally equivalent to -E "exit 0".

       -E STRING  --split-at=STRING
              This  option  works  like  -e,  but it allows you to specify the
              string that separates archives if `exit 0' isn't appropriate.

              For example, noticing that most `.signatures' have a `--'  on  a
              line  right  before  them, one can sometimes use `--split-at=--'
              for splitting shell archives which lack the  `exit  0'  line  at
              end.   The  signature  will  then be skipped altogether with the
              headers of the following message.

       -f  --force
              The same as -c.

SEE ALSO

       shar(1)

DIAGNOSTICS

       Any message from the shell may be displayed.

AUTHORS

       The shar and unshar programs is the collective work  of  many  authors.
       Many  people  contributed  by  reporting  problems,  suggesting various
       improvements or submitting actual code.  A list of these people  is  in
       the THANKS file in the sharutils distribution.

REPORTING BUGS

       Report  bugs  to  <bug-gnu-utils@gnu.org>.  Please put sharutils in the
       subject line.  It helps to spot the message.

                              September 10, 1995                     UNSHAR(1)