uuto

Additional Notes

uuto is part of the UUCP suite and sends files to another user on a remote system. It copies the specified files to a public spool directory on the destination system, from which the recipient can retrieve them using uupick. It is a user-friendly wrapper around uucp that handles the directory structure and permissions.

The files are placed in /var/spool/uucppublic/receive/recipient/system/ on the remote machine. The recipient is notified and can use uupick to retrieve the files interactively. This tool was once common for file sharing between Unix systems over dial-up connections.

Syntax

uuto source_file... system!user

Parameters

• source_file: One or more files or directories to send.
• system!user: Remote system and username to receive the files.

Common Options

• -p: Copy the file to the spool directory before transfer (preserves the file if it is modified locally).
• -m: Notify the sender by mail when the transfer completes.

Examples

uuto report.txt remotehost!jane

Send report.txt to user jane on remotehost.

uuto -m *.jpg remotehost!bob

Send all JPEG files to bob and get mail notification on completion.

uuto -p project/ remoteserver!alice

Send a directory to alice, copying to spool first.

Practical Notes

• The recipient retrieves files using uupick.
• UUCP is largely obsolete. Use scp, rsync, or email attachments for modern file transfer.
• The UUCP suite must be configured (systems, ports, logins) for uuto to work.
• For direct file copy without the public spool mechanism, use uucp.