What is Uuencoding Tool?
Uuencoding (Unix-to-Unix encoding) is a form of binary-to-text encoding that originated in the Unix UUCP program. It was designed to allow the transmission of binary data over transmission systems that only support 7-bit ASCII data, such as early email systems and Usenet newsgroups. While largely superseded by MIME and Base64, it is still found in legacy systems and archives.
Input Formats
- Binary data
- Text strings
- Uuencoded blocks (begin/end)
Output Results
- Uuencoded string
- Decoded text
- Copy-ready result
Key Features
Legacy Support: Decode historical data from Usenet and old email archives
Unix Standard: Compatible with the classic 'uuencode' and 'uudecode' utilities
Simple Format: Easy to parse and generate
Privacy: 100% Client-side processing
File Recovery: Essential for digital archaeology and data forensics
Bidirectional: Encode and Decode text or binary files
Header Handling: Automatically manages 'begin' and 'end' blocks
Free & Simple: The simplest free tool to decode legacy Uuencoded files
Shareable LinksShare Uuencoded strings. (Limit: 5KB)
Who is this for?
Data Archaeology
Recovering files from old Usenet posts or email archives.
UsenetArchive recoveryLegacy data
Unix Systems
Transferring files between legacy Unix mainframes.
UUCPMainframeUnix transfer
How to Use
1
Paste your text.
2
Select 'Encode' to convert to Uuencoding.
3
Select 'Decode' to convert back.
4
Copy the result.
Examples
Input
Hello WorldOutput
begin 644 file.txt
#2&5L;&\@5V]R;&0`
`
endCommon Errors
- Missing 'begin' and 'end' headers (required for some decoders)
- File permission mode mismatch
- Corruption due to whitespace stripping
Code Examples
Bash
uuencode file.txt file.txt > encoded.txt
uudecode encoded.txtFrequently Asked Questions
Is this still used?
Rarely. Base64 has mostly replaced it. But if you find an old file from the 90s internet, you might need this to open it.
What is the 'begin 644' line?
That's the header! '644' tells Unix systems the file permissions, and the name follows. I need this line to decode it correctly.