MPACK(1)

💖 MPACK(1) — the manual page, but make it bestie 💖

okay so you found mpack(1) and I'm literally so proud of you. this is the General Commands Manual entry for mpack, and by the end of this you're gonna be packing files into MIME format like it's nothing. no cap. 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

mpack — pack a file in MIME format 🦋

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

mpack [ -a ] [ -s subject ] [ -d descriptionfile ] [ -m maxsize ] [ -c content-type ] file address ...
mpack [ -a ] [ -s subject ] [ -d descriptionfile ] [ -m maxsize ] [ -c content-type ] -o outputfile file
mpack [ -a ] [ -s subject ] [ -d descriptionfile ] [ -m maxsize ] [ -c content-type ] -n newsgroups file

three whole modes, three whole vibes. pick your fighter. 💅

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👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

The mpack program encodes the named file into one or more MIME messages. that's it, that's the whole job, and it eats every single time.

Then the resulting messages get:

• mailed to one or more recipients 💌
• written to a named file or a whole set of files 📁
• or posted to a set of newsgroups 📰

you choose. main character energy either way. ✨

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🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

• -a — sets the Content-Disposition to attachment. if you don't use -a, the Content-Disposition is inline instead. so like, -a is the "here's a file for you" vibe and no--a is the "here it is, right here in your face" vibe. 🫶
• -s subject — sets the Subject header field to subject. if you skip it, mpack will literally prompt you for the contents of the subject header, so it's not like you get to escape the conversation. 💀
• -d descriptionfile — pulls the contents of the file descriptionfile into an introductory section at the beginning of the first generated message. a little intro paragraph, a little opening monologue, iconic. 🌈
• -m maxsize — splits the message (if necessary, so only when it has to) into partial messages, each one not exceeding maxsize characters. the default limit is whatever the SPLITSIZE environment variable says, or no limit at all if that environment variable doesn't exist. and specifying a maxsize of 0 means there is no limit to the size of the generated message. zero = chaos = no ceiling. 🔥
• -c content-type — labels the included file as being of MIME type content-type, and heads up: it must be a subtype of application, audio, image, or video. anything else? not happening bestie. if you don't pass this switch, mpack will examine the file itself to figure out its type. she's perceptive like that. 🔍
• -o outputfile — writes the generated message to the file outputfile. and if the message has to be split, the partial messages go to the files outputfile.01, outputfile.02, etc. instead. numbered, organized, gorgeous. ✨
• -n newsgroups — posts the generated message(s) to the comma-separated netnews newsgroups. 📰
• file — encode the named file. yes. that file. 👀
• address ... — mail the generated messages to the specified addresses. as many as you want, go off. 💌

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🧚 ENVIRONMENT 🧚

• TMPDIR — directory to store temporary files. default is /tmp. 🗂️
• SPLITSIZE — the default value of the -m switch. so if you don't wanna type -m every single time, tell the environment instead. iykyk. 💜

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😭 REPORTING BUGS 😭

send all bug reports to mpack-bugs@andrew.cmu.edu.

fr fr, if something's broken, tell them. don't just suffer in silence, that's not the vibe. 🙈

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and that's the whole page bestie — the MPACK(1) manual, from the <hotpink>General Commands Manual</hotpink> collection, straight from the <purple>mpack</purple> family of pages. go pack something pretty. 💖✨🎀