uucp(1)uucp(1)NAMEuucp - Copies files from one system to another (UNIX-to-UNIX system
copy)
SYNOPSISuucp [-d | -f] [-g grade] [-cCjmr] [-n user] [-s file] [-x
debug_level] source... destination
The uucp command copies one or more source files from one system to one
or more destination files on another system.
STANDARDS
Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to industry stan‐
dards as follows:
uucp(): XCU5.0
Refer to the standards(5) reference page for more information about
industry standards and associated tags.
OPTIONS
Transfers the source files to the destination on the specified com‐
puter. The source files are not copied into the spool directory for
transfer. This saves the system from copying possibly large files to
the spooling directory for transfer. (See the discussion of the -C
option.) Copies local files to the spool directory for transfer.
Depending on the configuration of the Poll and Systems files, and on
how often the uusched command is run, the files could be transferred
immediately (on demand polling), or in the future. This option is on
by default.
Occasionally, there are problems in transferring a source file;
for example, the remote computer might not be working or the
login attempt might fail. In such a case, the file remains in
the spool directory until it is transferred successfully or
removed by the uucleanup command. Creates any intermediate
directories needed to copy the source files to the destination.
Instead of first creating a directory and then copying files to
it, the uucp command can be entered with the destination path‐
name, and the required directory will be created. This option
is on by default. Suppresses creation of intermediate directo‐
ries during the file transfer. [Tru64 UNIX] Specifies when
the files are to be transmitted during a particular connection.
The grade is a single number (0-9) or ASCII letter (A-Z, a-z);
lowercase ASCII-sequence characters cause the files to be trans‐
mitted earlier than do higher sequence characters. The number 0
is the highest (earliest) grade; z is the lowest (latest) grade.
The default is N. Displays the job identification number of the
transfer operation on standard output. This job ID can be used
by the uustat command to obtain the status of information about
the status of a particular job, or with uustat -k to terminate
the transfer before it is completed. Sends mail to the
requester when the transfer to the remote system is completed.
The message is sent to the requester's mailbox, using the mailx
command. No mail is sent for a local transfer.
The -m option works only when sending files or receiving a sin‐
gle file. It does not work when forwarding files. Receiving
multiple files specified by the shell pattern-matching charac‐
ters ?, *, and [...] does not activate the -m option. Notifies
the user specified by user on the designated system that files
were sent. The mail system does not send a message for a local
transfer. Usernames can contain only ASCII characters. Pre‐
vents the starting of the file transfer program, uucico, even if
the command was issued at a time when calls to the remote system
are permitted. By default, a call to the remote system is
attempted if the command is issued during a time period speci‐
fied in the Poll and Systems files. [Tru64 UNIX] Reports the
status of the transfer to the specified file. In this case, the
file designation must be a full pathname. [Tru64 UNIX] Dis‐
plays debugging information on the screen of the user's termi‐
nal. The debug_level is a number between 0 and 9. The higher
number gives a more detailed report.
DESCRIPTION
The uucp command can copy files within a local system, between a local
and a remote system, and between two remote systems.
The uucp command accomplishes the file transfer in two steps: first,
by creating a command (C.*) file in the spooling directory on the local
computer, and then by sending the request to the specified computer
using the uucico command.
Command files include information such as the full pathname of the
source and destination files, and the sender's login name. The full
pathname of a command file is a form of the following:
/var/spool/uucp/system/C.systemNnnnn
where N is the grade of the request and nnnn is the hexadecimal
sequence number used.
If the uucp command is used with the -C option to copy the files to the
spool directory for transfer, uucp creates not only a command file, but
also a data (D.*) file that contains the actual source file. The full
pathname of a data file is a form of the following:
/var/spool/uucp/system/D.systemnnnnppp
where nnnn is a hexadecimal sequence number and ppp is a subjob ID.
Once the command files (and data files, if necessary) are created, uucp
calls the uucico daemon, which in turn attempts to contact the remote
computer to deliver the files.
It is useful to issue the uuname command to determine the exact name of
the remote system before issuing uucp. The uulog command provides
information about uucp activities on a system.
Pathnames
Pathnames for the source and destination of the uucp transfer can con‐
tain only ASCII characters and can be one of the following: A full
pathname A relative pathname A pathname preceded by ~user, where user
is a login name on the specified system. The specified user's login
directory is then considered the destination of the transfer. If the
user specifies an invalid login name, the files are transferred to the
public directory /var/spool/uucppublic, which is the default. A path‐
name preceded by ~/destination, where destination is appended to
/var/spool/uucppublic.
This destination is treated as a filename unless more than one
file is being transferred by this request, or the destination is
a directory. To ensure that it is a directory, follow the des‐
tination name with a / (slash). For example, ~/amy/ as the des‐
tination creates the directory /var/spool/uucppublic/amy, if it
does not already exist, and puts the requested files in that
directory.
Source and Destination Filenames
A filename can be a pathname on the local system, or can have the fol‐
lowing form: system!pathname
where system is taken from a list of system names that uucp knows
about.
The destination system name (destination) can also be a list of names,
such as the following:
system!system! ...!system!pathname
In this case, an attempt is made to send the file along the specified
route to the destination. Make sure that intermediate nodes in this
route are willing to forward information and that they actually talk to
the next system.
The shell pattern-matching characters ?, *, and [...] can be used in
the pathname of the source file; the appropriate system expands them.
However, shell pattern-matching characters cannot be used in the path‐
name of the destination file.
If the destination is a directory rather than a file, uucp uses the
last part of the source name.
When the environment variable STDS_FLAG is set to ALL, if the command
tries to create a regular file and a directory with the same name
already exists, the attempt fails and the file attributes are not
changed.
Permissions
The system administrator should restrict the access to local files by
users on other systems.
When transmitting files, uucp preserves execute permissions and grants
read and write permissions to the owner, the group, and all others.
(The uucp command owns the file.)
Sending files to arbitrary destination pathnames on other systems, or
getting files from arbitrary source pathnames on other systems, often
fails because of security restrictions. The files specified in the
pathname must give read or write permission not only for the same group
of users, but also for any group.
Protected files and files in protected directories owned by the
requester can be sent by uucp.
EXAMPLES
To copy file f1 from the local system to a remote system named hera,
enter: uucp /u/geo/f1 hera!/u/geo/f1 To copy file f2 from the remote
system hera and place it in the public directory, enter: uucp
hera!geo/f2 /var/spool/uucppublic/f2 To place the f2 file in a direc‐
tory other than the public directory, enter: uucp hera!geo/f2 /u/geo/f2
In this case, make sure that the geo login directory allows
write permission to other users and other groups; for example,
with mode 777.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
The following environment variables affect the execution of uucp:
Resolves the behavior of the command in some scenarios that cause non‐
compliance with POSIX standards. Setting this variable to ALL enables
the command to overcome all instances of noncompliance. [Tru64
UNIX] Specifies the flow control used on the connection. Permitted
values are: HW (hardware), SW (software), HSW (hardware and software),
and NONE. The uugetty on the remote system must also use the same flow
control. Provides a default value for the internationalization vari‐
ables that are unset or null. If LANG is unset or null, the correspond‐
ing value from the default locale is used. If any of the international‐
ization variables contains an invalid setting, the utility behaves as
if none of the variables had been defined. If set to a non-empty
string value, overrides the values of all the other internationaliza‐
tion variables. Determines the locale for the behavior of ranges,
equivalence classes, and multicharacter colating elements within brack‐
eted file name patterns. Determines the locale for the interpretation
of sequences of bytes of text data as characters (for example, single-
byte as opposed to multibyte characters in arguments and input files)
and the behavior of character classes within bracketed file name pat‐
terns (for example, '[[:lower]]*'). Determines the locale that should
be used to affect the format and contents of diagnostic messages writ‐
ten to standard error. Determines the format of date and time strings
output by uucp. Determines the location of message catalogues for the
processing of LC_MESSAGES. Determines the time zone used with date and
time strings. [Tru64 UNIX] Specifies the amount of time (in seconds)
for uucico to try to establish a connection before it times out. A
value of 0 (zero) indicates an unlimited amount of time.
FILES
Contains the uucico daemon. Spooling directory. Public directory.
SEE ALSO
Commands: ct(1), cu(1), mailx(1), rmail(1), tip(1), uucico(8), uucle‐
anup(8), uuencode(1), uulog(1), uuname(1), uupick(1), uusched(8),
uusend(1), uustat(1), uuto(1), uux(1), uuxqt(1)
Standards: standards(5)uucp(1)
