GNU shar utilities: 2.2 Invoking the unshar program

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## 2.2 Invoking the `unshar` program

The format of the `unshar` command is:

    unshar [ option ] … [ file … ]

Each file is processed in turn, as a shell archive or a collection of shell archives. If no files are given, then standard input is processed instead.

Options:

`--version`

  Print the version number of the program on standard output, then immediately exits.

`--help`

  Print an help summary on standard output, then immediately exits.

`-d directory`
`--directory=directory`

  Change directory to directory before unpacking any files.

`-c`
`--overwrite`
`-f`
`--force`

  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 overwritten.

  The option `-f` is provided for a more unique interface. Many programs (such as `cp` and `mv`) use this option to trigger the very same action.

`-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 different 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.

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