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Invoking the UUCP Programs

This chapter describes how to run the UUCP programs.

Standard Options

All of the UUCP programs support a few standard options.

`-x type'
`--debug type'
Turn on particular debugging types. The following types are recognized: `abnormal', `chat', `handshake', `uucp-proto', `proto', `port', `config', `spooldir', `execute', `incoming', `outgoing'. Not all types of debugging are effective for all programs. See the debug configuration command for details (see section Debugging Levels). Multiple types may be given, separated by commas, and the `--debug' option may appear multiple times. A number may also be given, which will turn on that many types from the foregoing list; for example, `--debug 2' is equivalent to `--debug abnormal,chat'. To turn on all types of debugging, use `-x all'. The uulog program uses `-X' rather than `-x' to select the debugging type; for uulog, `-x' has a different meaning, for reasons of historical compatibility.
`-I file'
`--config file'
Set the main configuration file to use. See section The Main Configuration File. When this option is used, the programs will revoke any setuid privileges.
`-v'
`--version'
Report version information and exit.
`--help'
Print a help message and exit.

Invoking uucp

uucp Description

uucp [options] `source-file' `destination-file'
uucp [options] `source-file'... `destination-directory'

The uucp command copies files between systems. Each `file' argument is either a file name on the local machine or is of the form `system!file'. The latter is interpreted as being on a remote system.

When uucp is used with two non-option arguments, the contents of the first file are copied to the second. With more than two non-option arguments, each source file is copied into the destination directory.

A file may be transferred to or from `system2' via `system1' by using `system1!system2!file'.

Any file name that does not begin with `/' or `~' will be prepended with the current directory (unless the `-W' or `--noexpand' options are used). For example, if you are in the directory `/home/ian', then `uucp foo remote!bar' is equivalent to `uucp /home/ian/foo remote!/home/ian/bar'. Note that the resulting file name may not be valid on a remote system.

A file name beginning with a simple `~' starts at the UUCP public directory; a file name beginning with `~name' starts at the home directory of the named user. The `~' is interpreted on the appropriate system. Note that some shells will interpret an initial `~' before uucp sees it; to avoid this the `~' must be quoted.

The shell metacharacters `?' `*' `[' and `]' are interpreted on the appropriate system, assuming they are quoted to prevent the shell from interpreting them first.

The file copy does not take place immediately, but is queued up for the uucico daemon; the daemon is started immediately unless the `-r' or `--nouucico' option is given. The next time the remote system is called, the file(s) will be copied. See section Invoking uucico.

The file mode is not preserved, except for the execute bit. The resulting file is owned by the uucp user.

uucp Options

The following options may be given to uucp.

`-c'
`--nocopy'
Do not copy local source files to the spool directory. If they are removed before being processed by the uucico daemon, the copy will fail. The files must be readable by the uucico daemon, and by the invoking user.
`-C'
`--copy'
Copy local source files to the spool directory. This is the default.
`-d'
`--directories'
Create all necessary directories when doing the copy. This is the default.
`-f'
`--nodirectories'
If any necessary directories do not exist for the destination file name, abort the copy.
`-R'
`--recursive'
If any of the source file names are directories, copy their contents recursively to the destination (which must itself be a directory).
`-g grade'
`--grade grade'
Set the grade of the file transfer command. Jobs of a higher grade are executed first. Grades run 0 to 9, A to Z, a to z, from high to low. See section When to Call.
`-m'
`--mail'
Report completion or failure of the file transfer by sending mail.
`-n user'
`--notify user'
Report completion or failure of the file transfer by sending mail to the named user on the destination system.
`-r'
`--nouucico'
Do not start the uucico daemon immediately; merely queue up the file transfer for later execution.
`-j'
`--jobid'
Print the jobid on standard output. The job may be later cancelled by passing this jobid to the `-kill' switch of uustat. See section Invoking uustat. It is possible for some complex operations to produce more than one jobid, in which case each will be printed on a separate line. For example
uucp sys1!~user1/file1 sys2!~user2/file2 ~user3
will generate two separate jobs, one for the system `sys1' and one for the system `sys2'.
`-W'
`--noexpand'
Do not prepend remote relative file names with the current directory.
`-t'
`--uuto'
This option is used by the uuto shell script; see section Invoking uuto. It causes uucp to interpret the final argument as `system!user'. The file(s) are sent to `~/receive/user/local' on the remote system, where user is from the final argument and local is the local UUCP system name. Also, uucp will act as though `--notify user' were specified.
`-x type'
`--debug type'
`-I file'
`--config file'
`-v'
`--version'
`--help'
See section Standard Options.

Invoking uux

uux Description

uux [options] command

The uux command is used to execute a command on a remote system, or to execute a command on the local system using files from remote systems. The command is not executed immediately; the request is queued until the uucico daemon calls the system and transfers the necessary files. The daemon is started automatically unless one of the `-r' or `--nouucico' options is given.

The actual command execution is done by the uuxqt daemon on the appropriate system.

File arguments can be gathered from remote systems to the execution system, as can standard input. Standard output may be directed to a file on a remote system.

The command name may be preceded by a system name followed by an exclamation point if it is to be executed on a remote system. An empty system name is taken as the local system.

Each argument that contains an exclamation point is treated as naming a file. The system which the file is on is before the exclamation point, and the file name on that system follows it. An empty system name is taken as the local system; this form must be used to transfer a file to a command being executed on a remote system. If the file name is not absolute, the current working directory will be prepended to it; the result may not be meaningful on the remote system. A file name may begin with `~/', in which case it is relative to the UUCP public directory on the appropriate system. A file name may begin with `~name/', in which case it is relative to the home directory of the named user on the appropriate system.

Standard input and output may be redirected as usual; the file names used may contain exclamation points to indicate that they are on remote systems. Note that the redirection characters must be quoted so that they are passed to uux rather than interpreted by the shell. Append redirection (`>>') does not work.

All specified files are gathered together into a single directory before execution of the command begins. This means that each file must have a distinct name. For example,

uux 'sys1!diff sys2!~user1/foo sys3!~user2/foo >!foo.diff'
will fail because both files will be copied to `sys1' and stored under the name `foo'.

Arguments may be quoted by parentheses to avoid interpretation of exclamation points. This is useful when executing the uucp command on a remote system.

Most systems restrict the commands which may be executed using `uux'. Many permit only the execution of `rmail' and `rnews'.

A request to execute an empty command (e.g., `uux sys!') will create a poll file for the specified system; see section Calling Other Systems for an example of why this might be useful.

uux Options

The following options may be given to uux.

`-'
`-p'
`--stdin'
Read standard input up to end of file, and use it as the standard input for the command to be executed.
`-c'
`--nocopy'
Do not copy local files to the spool directory. This is the default. If they are removed before being processed by the uucico daemon, the copy will fail. The files must be readable by the uucico daemon, as well as the by the invoker of uux.
`-C'
`--copy'
Copy local files to the spool directory.
`-l'
`--link'
Link local files into the spool directory. If a file can not be linked because it is on a different device, it will be copied unless one of the `-c' or `--nocopy' options also appears (in other words, use of `--link' switches the default from `--nocopy' to `--copy'). If the files are changed before being processed by the uucico daemon, the changed versions will be used. The files must be readable by the uucico daemon, as well as by the invoker of uux.
`-g grade'
`--grade grade'
Set the grade of the file transfer command. Jobs of a higher grade are executed first. Grades run 0 to 9, A to Z, a to z, from high to low. See section When to Call.
`-n'
`--notification=no'
Do not send mail about the status of the job, even if it fails.
`-z'
`--notification=error'
Send mail about the status of the job if an error occurs. For many uuxqt daemons, including the Taylor UUCP uuxqt, this is the default action; for those, `--notification=error' will have no effect. However, some uuxqt daemons will send mail if the job succeeds, unless the `--notification=error' option is used. Some other uuxqt daemons will not send mail even if the job fails, unless the `--notification=error' option is used.
`-a address'
`--requestor address'
Report job status, as controlled by the `--notification' option, to the specified mail address.
`-r'
`--nouucico'
Do not start the uucico daemon immediately; merely queue up the execution request for later processing.
`-j'
`--jobid'
Print the jobid on standard output. A jobid will be generated for each file copy operation required to execute the command. These file copies may be later cancelled by passing the jobid to the `-kill' switch of uustat. See section Invoking uustat. Cancelling any file copies will make it impossible to complete execution of the job.
`-x type'
`--debug type'
`-v'
`--version'
`--help'
See section Standard Options.

uux Examples

Here are some examples of using uux.

uux -z - sys1!rmail user1
This will execute the command `rmail user1' on the system `sys1', giving it as standard input whatever is given to uux as standard input. If a failure occurs, mail will be sent to the user who ran the command.

uux 'diff -c sys1!~user1/file1 sys2!~user2/file2 >!file.diff'
This will fetch the two named files from system `sys1' and system `sys2' and execute `diff', putting the result in `file.diff' in the current directory on the local system. The current directory must be writable by the uuxqt daemon for this to work.

uux 'sys1!uucp ~user1/file1 (sys2!~user2/file2)'
Execute uucp on the system `sys1' copying `file1' (on system `sys1') to `sys2'. This illustrates the use of parentheses for quoting.

Invoking uustat

uustat Description

uustat -a
uustat --all
uustat [-eKRiMNQ] [-sS system] [-uU user] [-cC command] [-oy hours]
       [-B lines] [--executions] [--kill-all] [--rejuvenate-all]
       [--prompt] [--mail] [--notify] [--no-list] [--system system]
       [--not-system system] [--user user] [--not-user user]
       [--command command] [--not-command command] [--older-than hours]
       [--younger-than hours] [--mail-lines lines]
uustat [-kr jobid] [--kill jobid] [--rejuvenate jobid]
uustat -q [-sS system] [-oy hours] [--system system]
       [--not-system system ] [--older-than hours] [--younger-than hours]
uustat --list [-sS system] [-oy hours] [--system system ]
       [--not-system system] [--older-than hours] [--younger-than hours]
uustat -m
uustat --status
uustat -p
uustat --ps

The uustat command can display various types of status information about the UUCP system. It can also be used to cancel or rejuvenate requests made by uucp or uux.

With no options, uustat displays all jobs queued up for the invoking user, as if given the `--user' option with the appropriate argument.

If any of the `-a', `--all', `-e', `--executions', `-s', `--system', `-S', `--not-system', `-u', `--user', `-U', `--not-user', `-c', `--command', `-C', `--not-command', `-o', `--older-than', `-y', or `--younger-than' options are given, then all jobs which match the combined specifications are displayed.

The `-K' or `--kill-all' option may be used to kill off a selected group of jobs, such as all jobs more than 7 days old.

uustat Options

The following options may be given to uustat.

`-a'
`--all'
List all queued file transfer requests.
`-e'
`--executions'
List queued execution requests rather than queued file transfer requests. Queued execution requests are processed by uuxqt rather than uucico. Queued execution requests may be waiting for some file to be transferred from a remote system. They are created by an invocation of uux.
`-s system'
`--system system'
List all jobs queued up for the named system. These options may be specified multiple times, in which case all jobs for all the named systems will be listed. If used with `--list', only the systems named will be listed.
`-S system'
`--not-system system'
List all jobs queued for systems other than the one named. These options may be specified multiple times, in which case no jobs from any of the specified systems will be listed. If used with `--list', only the systems not named will be listed. These options may not be used with `-s' or `--system'.
`-u user'
`--user user'
List all jobs queued up for the named user. These options may be specified multiple times, in which case all jobs for all the named users will be listed.
`-U user'
`--not-user user'
List all jobs queued up for users other than the one named. These options may be specified multiple times, in which case no jobs from any of the specified users will be listed. These options may not be used with `-u' or `--user'.
`-c command'
`--command command'
List all jobs requesting the execution of the named command. If `command' is `ALL' this will list all jobs requesting the execution of some command (as opposed to simply requesting a file transfer). These options may be specified multiple times, in which case all jobs requesting any of the commands will be listed.
`-C command'
`--not-command command'
List all jobs requesting execution of some command other than the named command, or, if `command' is `ALL', list all jobs that simply request a file transfer (as opposed to requesting the execution of some command). These options may be specified multiple times, in which case no job requesting one of the specified commands will be listed. These options may not be used with `-c' or `--command'.
`-o hours'
`--older-than hours'
List all queued jobs older than the given number of hours. If used with `--list', only systems whose oldest job is older than the given number of hours will be listed.
`-y hours'
`--younger-than hours'
List all queued jobs younger than the given number of hours. If used with `--list', only systems whose oldest job is younger than the given number of hours will be listed.
`-k jobid'
`--kill jobid'
Kill the named job. The job id is shown by the default output format, as well as by the `-j' or `--jobid' options to uucp or uux. A job may only be killed by the user who created the job, or by the UUCP administrator, or the superuser. The `-k' or `--kill' options may be used multiple times on the command line to kill several jobs.
`-r jobid'
`--rejuvenate jobid'
Rejuvenate the named job. This will mark it as having been invoked at the current time, affecting the output of the `-o', `--older-than', `-y', or `--younger-than' options, possibly preserving it from any automated cleanup daemon. The job id is shown by the default output format, as well as by the `-j' or `--jobid' options to uucp or uux. A job may only be rejuvenated by the user who created the job, or by the UUCP administrator, or the superuser. The `-r' or `--rejuvenate' options may be used multiple times on the command line to rejuvenate several jobs.
`-q'
`--list'
Display the status of commands, executions and conversations for all remote systems for which commands or executions are queued. The `-s', `--system', `-S', `--not-system', `-o', `--older-than', `-y', and `--younger-than' options may be used to restrict the systems which are listed. Systems for which no commands or executions are queued will never be listed.
`-m'
`--status'
Display the status of conversations for all remote systems.
`-p'
`--ps'
Display the status of all processes holding UUCP locks on systems or ports.
`-i'
`--prompt'
For each listed job, prompt whether to kill the job or not. If the first character of the input line is y or Y, the job will be killed.
`-K'
`--kill-all'
Automatically kill each listed job. This can be useful for automatic cleanup scripts, in conjunction with the `--mail' and `--notify' options.
`-R'
`--rejuvenate-all'
Automatically rejuvenate each listed job. This may not be used with `--kill-all'.
`-M'
`--mail'
For each listed job, send mail to the UUCP administrator. If the job is killed (due to `--kill-all', or `--prompt' with an affirmative response) the mail will indicate that. A comment specified by the `--comment' option may be included. If the job is an execution, the initial portion of its standard input will be included in the mail message; the number of lines to include may be set with the `--mail-lines' option (the default is 100). If the standard input contains null characters, it is assumed to be a binary file and is not included.
`-N'
`--notify'
For each listed job, send mail to the user who requested the job. The mail is identical to that sent by the `-M' or `--mail' options.
`-W comment'
`--comment comment'
Specify a comment to be included in mail sent with the `-M', `--mail', `-N', or `--notify' options.
`-B lines'
`--mail-lines lines'
When the `-M', `--mail', `-N', or `--notify' options are used to send mail about an execution with standard input, this option controls the number of lines of standard input to include in the message. The default is 100.
`-Q'
`--no-list'
Do not actually list the job, but only take any actions indicated by the `-i', `--prompt', `-K', `--kill-all', `-M', `--mail', `-N' or `--notify' options.
`-x type'
`--debug type'
`-I file'
`--config file'
`-v'
`--version'
`--help'
See section Standard Options.

uustat Examples

uustat --all
Display status of all jobs. A sample output line is as follows:
bugsA027h bugs ian 04-01 13:50 Executing rmail ian@airs.com (sending 12 bytes)
The format is
jobid system user queue-date command (size)
The jobid may be passed to the `--kill' or `--rejuvenate' options. The size indicates how much data is to be transferred to the remote system, and is absent for a file receive request. The `--system', `--not-system', `--user', `--not-user', `--command', `--not-command', `--older-than', and `--younger-than' options may be used to control which jobs are listed.

uustat --executions
Display status of queued up execution requests. A sample output line is as follows:
bugs bugs!ian 05-20 12:51 rmail ian
The format is
system requestor queue-date command
The `--system', `--not-system', `--user', `--not-user', `--command', `--not-command', `--older-than', and `--younger-than' options may be used to control which requests are listed.

uustat --list
Display status for all systems with queued up commands. A sample output line is as follows:
bugs            4C (1 hour)   0X (0 secs) 04-01 14:45 Dial failed
This indicates the system, the number of queued commands, the age of the oldest queued command, the number of queued local executions, the age of the oldest queued execution, the date of the last conversation, and the status of that conversation.

uustat --status
Display conversation status for all remote systems. A sample output line is as follows:
bugs           04-01 15:51 Conversation complete
This indicates the system, the date of the last conversation, and the status of that conversation. If the last conversation failed, uustat will indicate how many attempts have been made to call the system. If the retry period is currently preventing calls to that system, uustat also displays the time when the next call will be permitted.

uustat --ps
Display the status of all processes holding UUCP locks. The output format is system dependent, as uustat simply invokes ps on each process holding a lock.

uustat -c rmail -o 168 -K -Q -M -N -W "Queued for over 1 week"
This will kill all `rmail' commands that have been queued up waiting for delivery for over 1 week (168 hours). For each such command, mail will be sent both to the UUCP administrator and to the user who requested the rmail execution. The mail message sent will include the string given by the `-W' option. The `-Q' option prevents any of the jobs from being listed on the terminal, so any output from the program will be error messages.

Invoking uuname

uuname [-a] [--aliases]
uuname -l
uuname --local

By default, the uuname program simply lists the names of all the remote systems mentioned in the UUCP configuration files.

The uuname program may also be used to print the UUCP name of the local system.

The uuname program is mainly for use by shell scripts.

The following options may be given to uuname.

`-a'
`--aliases'
List all aliases for remote systems, as well as their canonical names. Aliases may be specified in the `sys' file (see section Naming the System).
`-l'
`--local'
Print the UUCP name of the local system, rather than listing the names of all the remote systems.
`-x type'
`--debug type'
`-I file'
`--config file'
`-v'
`--version'
`--help'
See section Standard Options.

Invoking uulog

uulog [-#] [-n lines] [-sf system] [-u user] [-DSF] [--lines lines]
      [--system system] [--user user] [--debuglog] [--statslog]
      [--follow] [--follow=system]

The uulog program may be used to display the UUCP log file. Different options may be used to select which parts of the file to display.

`-#'
`-n lines'
`--lines lines'
Here `#' is a number; e.g., `-10'. The specified number of lines is displayed from the end of the log file. The default is to display the entire log file, unless the `-f', `-F', or `--follow' options are used, in which case the default is to display 10 lines.
`-s system'
`--system system'
Display only log entries pertaining to the specified system.
`-u user'
`--user user'
Display only log entries pertaining to the specified user.
`-D'
`--debuglog'
Display the debugging log file.
`-S'
`--statslog'
Display the statistics log file.
`-F'
`--follow'
Keep displaying the log file forever, printing new lines as they are appended to the log file.
`-f system'
`--follow=system'
Keep displaying the log file forever, displaying only log entries pertaining to the specified system.
`-X type'
`--debug type'
`-I file'
`--config file'
`-v'
`--version'
`--help'
See section Standard Options. Note that uulog specifies the debugging type using `-X' rather than the usual `-x'.

The operation of uulog depends to some degree upon the type of log files generated by the UUCP programs. This is a compile time option. If the UUCP programs have been compiled to use HDB style log files, uulog changes in the following ways:

Invoking uuto

uuto files... system!user

The uuto program may be used to conveniently send files to a particular user on a remote system. It will arrange for mail to be sent to the remote user when the files arrive on the remote system, and he or she may easily retrieve the files using the uupick program (see section Invoking uupick). Note that uuto does not provide any security--any user on the remote system can examine the files.

The last argument specifies the system and user name to which to send the files. The other arguments are the files or directories to be sent.

The uuto program is actually just a trivial shell script which invokes the uucp program with the appropriate arguments. Any option which may be given to uucp may also be given to uuto. See section Invoking uucp.

Invoking uupick

uupick [-s system] [--system system]

The uupick program is used to conveniently retrieve files transferred by the uuto program.

For each file transferred by uuto, uupick will display the source system, the file name, and whether the name refers to a regular file or a directory. It will then wait for the user to specify an action to take. One of the following commands must be entered:

`q'
Quit out of uupick.
`RETURN'
Skip the file.
`m [directory]'
Move the file or directory to the specified directory. If no directory is specified, the file is moved to the current directory.
`a [directory]'
Move all files from this system to the specified directory. If no directory is specified, the files are moved to the current directory.
`p'
List the file on standard output.
`d'
Delete the file.
`! [command]'
Execute `command' as a shell escape.

The `-s' or `--system' option may be used to restrict uupick to only present files transferred from a particular system. The uupick program also supports the standard UUCP program options; see section Standard Options.

Invoking cu

cu Description

cu [options] [system | phone | "dir"]

The cu program is used to call up another system and act as a dial in terminal. It can also do simple file transfers with no error checking.

The cu program takes a single non-option argument.

If the argument is the string `dir' cu will make a direct connection to the port. This may only be used by users with write access to the port, as it permits reprogramming the modem.

Otherwise, if the argument begins with a digit, it is taken to be a phone number to call.

Otherwise, it is taken to be the name of a system to call.

The `-z' or `--system' options may be used to name a system beginning with a digit, and the `-c' or `--phone' options may be used to name a phone number that does not begin with a digit.

The cu program locates a port to use in the UUCP configuration files. If a simple system name is given, it will select a port appropriate for that system. The `-p', `--port', `-l', `--line', `-s', and `--speed' options may be used to control the port selection.

When a connection is made to the remote system, cu forks into two processes. One reads from the port and writes to the terminal, while the other reads from the terminal and writes to the port.

cu Commands

The cu program provides several commands that may be used during the conversation. The commands all begin with an escape character, which by default is ~ (tilde). The escape character is only recognized at the beginning of a line. To send an escape character to the remote system at the start of a line, it must be entered twice. All commands are either a single character or a word beginning with % (percent sign).

The cu program recognizes the following commands.

`~.'
Terminate the conversation.
`~! command'
Run command in a shell. If command is empty, starts up a shell.
`~$ command'
Run command, sending the standard output to the remote system.
`~| command'
Run command, taking the standard input from the remote system.
`~+ command'
Run command, taking the standard input from the remote system and sending the standard output to the remote system.
`~#, ~%break'
Send a break signal, if possible.
`~c directory, ~%cd directory'
Change the local directory.
`~> file'
Send a file to the remote system. This just dumps the file over the communication line. It is assumed that the remote system is expecting it.
`~<'
Receive a file from the remote system. This prompts for the local file name and for the remote command to execute to begin the file transfer. It continues accepting data until the contents of the `eofread' variable are seen.
`~p from to'
`~%put from to'
Send a file to a remote Unix system. This runs the appropriate commands on the remote system.
`~t from to'
`~%take from to'
Retrieve a file from a remote Unix system. This runs the appropriate commands on the remote system.
`~s variable value'
Set a cu variable to the given value. If value is not given, the variable is set to `true'.
`~! variable'
Set a cu variable to `false'.
`~z'
Suspend the cu session. This is only supported on some systems. On systems for which ^Z may be used to suspend a job, `~^Z' will also suspend the session.
`~%nostop'
Turn off XON/XOFF handling.
`~%stop'
Turn on XON/XOFF handling.
`~v'
List all the variables and their values.
`~?'
List all commands.

cu Variables

The cu program also supports several variables. They may be listed with the `~v' command, and set with the `~s' or `~!' commands.

`escape'
The escape character. The default is ~ (tilde).
`delay'
If this variable is true, cu will delay for a second, after recognizing the escape character, before printing the name of the local system. The default is true.
`eol'
The list of characters which are considered to finish a line. The escape character is only recognized after one of these is seen. The default is carriage return, ^U, ^C, ^O, ^D, ^S, ^Q, ^R.
`binary'
Whether to transfer binary data when sending a file. If this is false, then newlines in the file being sent are converted to carriage returns. The default is false.
`binary-prefix'
A string used before sending a binary character in a file transfer, if the `binary' variable is true. The default is `^V'.
`echo-check'
Whether to check file transfers by examining what the remote system echoes back. This probably doesn't work very well. The default is false.
`echonl'
The character to look for after sending each line in a file. The default is carriage return.
`timeout'
The timeout to use, in seconds, when looking for a character, either when doing echo checking or when looking for the `echonl' character. The default is 30.
`kill'
The character to use delete a line if the echo check fails. The default is ^U.
`resend'
The number of times to resend a line if the echo check continues to fail. The default is 10.
`eofwrite'
The string to write after sending a file with the `~>' command. The default is `^D'.
`eofread'
The string to look for when receiving a file with the ` ~<' command. The default is `$', which is intended to be a typical shell prompt.
`verbose'
Whether to print accumulated information during a file transfer. The default is true.

cu Options

The following options may be given to cu.

`-e'
`--parity=even'
Use even parity.
`-o'
`--parity=odd'
Use odd parity.
`--parity=none'
Use no parity. No parity is also used if both `-e' and `-o' are given.
`-h'
`--halfduplex'
Echo characters locally (half-duplex mode).
`--nostop'
Turn off XON/XOFF handling (it is on by default).
`-E char'
`--escape char'
Set the escape character. Initially ~ (tilde). To eliminate the escape character, use `-E "'.
`-z system'
`--system system'
The system to call.
`-c phone-number'
`--phone phone-number'
The phone number to call.
`-p port'
`-a port'
`--port port'
Name the port to use.
`-l line'
`--line line'
Name the line to use by giving a device name. This may be used to dial out on ports that are not listed in the UUCP configuration files. Write access to the device is required.
`-s speed'
`-#'
`--speed speed'
The speed (baud rate) to use. Here, `-#' means an actual number; e.g., `-9600'.
`-n'
`--prompt'
Prompt for the phone number to use.
`-d'
Enter debugging mode. Equivalent to `--debug all'.
`-x type'
`--debug type'
`-I file'
`--config file'
`-v'
`--version'
`--help'
See section Standard Options.

Invoking uucico

uucico Description

uucico [options]

The uucico daemon processes file transfer requests queued by uucp and uux. It is started when uucp or uux is run (unless they are given the `-r' or `--nouucico' options). It is also typically started periodically using entries in the `crontab' table(s).

When uucico is invoked with `-r1', `--master', `-s', `--system', or `-S', the daemon will place a call to a remote system, running in master mode. Otherwise the daemon will start in slave mode, accepting a call from a remote system. Typically a special login name will be set up for UUCP which automatically invokes uucico when a remote system calls in and logs in under that name.

When uucico terminates, it invokes the uuxqt daemon, unless the `-q' or `--nouuxqt' options were given; uuxqt executes any work orders created by uux on a remote system, and any work orders created locally which have received remote files for which they were waiting.

If a call fails, uucico will normally refuse to retry the call until a certain (configurable) amount of time has passed. This may be overriden by the `-f', `--force', or `-S' options.

The `-l', `--prompt', `-e', or `--loop' options may be used to force uucico to produce its own prompts of `login: ' and `Password:'. When another uucico daemon calls in, it will see these prompts and log in as usual. The login name and password will normally be checked against a separate list kept specially for uucico, rather than the `/etc/passwd' file (see section Configuration File Names). It is possible, on some systems, to configure uucico to use `/etc/passwd'. The `-l' or `--prompt' options will prompt once and then exit; in this mode the UUCP administrator, or the superuser, may use the `-u' or `--login' option to force a login name, in which case uucico will not prompt for one. The `-e' or `--loop' options will prompt again after the first session is over; in this mode uucico will permanently control a port.

If uucico receives a SIGQUIT, SIGTERM or SIGPIPE signal, it will cleanly abort any current conversation with a remote system and exit. If it receives a SIGHUP signal it will abort any current conversation, but will continue to place calls to (if invoked with `-r1' or `--master') and accept calls from (if invoked with `-e' or `--loop') other systems. If it receives a SIGINT signal it will finish the current conversation, but will not place or accept any more calls.

uucico Options

The following options may be given to uucico.

`-r1'
`--master'
Start in master mode: call out to a remote system. Implied by `-s', `--system', or `-S'. If no system is specified, sequentially call every system for which work is waiting to be done.
`-r0'
`--slave'
Start in slave mode. This is the default.
`-s system'
`--system system'
Call the specified system.
`-S system'
Call the specified system, ignoring any required wait. This is equivalent to `-s system -f'.
`-f'
`--force'
Ignore any required wait for any systems to be called.
`-l'
`--prompt'
Prompt for login name and password using `login: ' and `Password:'. This allows uucico to be easily run from inetd. The login name and password are checked against the UUCP password file, which need not be `/etc/passwd'. The `--login' option may be used to force a login name, in which cause uucico will only prompt for a password.
`-p port'
`--port port'
Specify a port to call out on or to listen to.
`-e'
`--loop'
Enter an endless loop of login/password prompts and slave mode daemon execution. The program will not stop by itself; you must use kill to shut it down.
`-w'
`--wait'
After calling out (to a particular system when `-s', `--system', or `-S' is specifed, or to all systems which have work when just `-r1' or `--master' is specifed), begin an endless loop as with `--loop'.
`-q'
`--nouuxqt'
Do not start the uuxqt daemon when finished.
`-c'
`--quiet'
If no calls are permitted at this time, then don't make the call, but also do not put an error message in the log file and do not update the system status (as reported by uustat). This can be convenient for automated polling scripts, which may want to simply attempt to call every system rather than worry about which particular systems may be called at the moment. This option also suppresses the log message indicating that there is no work to be done.
`-C'
`--ifwork'
Only call the system named by `-s', `--system', or `-S' if there is work for that system.
`-D'
`--nodetach'
Do not detach from the controlling terminal. Normally uucico detaches from the terminal before each call out to another system and before invoking uuxqt. This option prevents this.
`-u name'
`--login name'
Set the login name to use instead of that of the invoking user. This option may only be used by the UUCP administrator or the superuser. If used with `--prompt', this will cause uucico to prompt only for the password, not the login name.
`-z'
`--try-next'
If a call fails after the remote system is reached, try the next alternate rather than simply exiting.
`-i type'
`--stdin type'
Set the type of port to use when using standard input. The only supported port type is TLI, and this is only available on machines which support the TLI networking interface. Specifying `-i TLI' causes uucico to use TLI calls to perform I/O.
`-X type'
Same as the standard option `-x type'. Provided for historical compatibility.
`-x type'
`--debug type'
`-I file'
`--config file'
`-v'
`--version'
`--help'
See section Standard Options.

Invoking uuxqt

uuxqt [-c command] [-s system] [--command command] [--system system]

The uuxqt daemon executes commands requested by uux from either the local system or from remote systems. It is started automatically by the uucico daemon (unless uucico is given the `-q' or `--nouuxqt' options).

There is normally no need to run uuxqt, since it will be invoked by uucico. However, uuxqt can be invoked directly to provide greater control over the processing of the work queue.

Multiple invocations of uuxqt may be run at once, as controlled by the max-uuxqts configuration command; see section Miscellaneous config File Commands.

The following options may be given to uuxqt.

`-c command'
`--command command'
Only execute requests for the specified command. For example, `uuxqt --command rmail'.
`-s system'
`--system system'
Only execute requests originating from the specified system.
`-x type'
`--debug type'
`-I file'
`--config'
`-v'
`--version'
`--help'
See section Standard Options.

Invoking uuchk

uuchk [-s system] [--system system]

The uuchk program displays information read from the UUCP configuration files. It should be used to ensure that UUCP has been configured correctly.

The `-s' or `--system' options may be used to display the configuration for just the specified system, rather than for all systems. The uuchk program also supports the standard UUCP program options; see section Standard Options.

Invoking uuconv

uuconv -i type -o type [-p program] [--program program]
uuconv --input type --output type [-p program] [--program program]

The uuconv program converts UUCP configuration files from one format to another. The type of configuration file to read is specified using the `-i' or `--input' options. The type of configuration file to write is specified using the `-o' or `--output' options.

The supported configuration file types are `taylor', `v2', and `hdb'. For a description of the `taylor' configuration files, see section Taylor UUCP Configuration Files. The other types of configuration files are used by traditional UUCP packages, and are not described in this manual.

An input configuration of type `v2' or `hdb' is read from a compiled in directory (specified by `oldconfigdir' in `Makefile'). An input configuration of type `taylor' is read from a compiled in directory by default, but may be overridden with the standard `-I' or `--config' options (see section Standard Options).

The output configuration is written to files in the directory in which uuconv is run.

Some information in the input files may not be representable in the desired output format, in which case uuconv will silently discard it. The output of uuconv should be carefully checked before it is used. The uuchk program may be used for this purpose; see section Invoking uuchk.

The `-p' or `--program' option may be used to convert specific cu configuration information, rather than the default of only converting the uucp configuration information; see section The Main Configuration File.

The uuchk program also supports the standard UUCP program options; see section Standard Options.

Invoking uusched

The uusched program is actually just a shell script which invokes the uucico daemon. It is provided for backward compatibility. It causes uucico to call all systems for which there is work. Any option which may be given to uucico may also be given to uusched. See section Invoking uucico.


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