UNSHAR(1)                                             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  stan-
              dard 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  overwrit-
              ten.

       -e  --exit-0
              This  option exists mainly for people who collect
              many shell archives into a  single  mail  folder.
              With  this option, `unshar' isolates each differ-
              ent 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.



                       September 10, 1995             UNSHAR(1)
