GAMMU-SMSD-FILES(7)

💅 GAMMU-SMSD-FILES

okay bestie so you're looking at gammu-smsd-files, which is the manual page (section 7, we're fancy) for the FILES backend of gammu-smsd(1) — the one that uses your plain old filesystem as the message storage. iconic, honestly. no database, just vibes and folders. 🎀

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

The FILES backend keeps all its data on the filesystem, inside folders that you define in the configuration (peep the SMSD Configuration File <#gammu-smsdrc> section for what all those configuration options actually mean). it's giving "everything is a file" and honestly she ate. 🦋

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📥 RECEIVING OF MESSAGES 📥

So when a message comes in, it gets dropped into a folder defined by your configuration. the filename is gonna look like this:

IN<date>_<time>_<serial>_<sender>_<sequence>.<ext>

like, for example:

IN20021130_021531_00_+45409000931640979_00.txt

okay now let's break down every single field because i refuse to let you be confused 🫶

• <date> — the date, in format YYYYMMDD
• <time> — the time, in format HHMMSS
• <sender> — the sender number
• <serial> — the order of the message (in case more messages were received at the same time), in format NN
• <sequence> — the part of the message for multipart messages, in format NN
• <ext> — txt for a text message; 8-bit messages are stored with the bin extension; smsbackup for the SMS Backup Format <#gammu-smsbackup>

and the content of the file? it's just the content of the message, and the format is defined by the configuration directive InboxFormat <#option-InboxFormat> (again, go look at the SMSD Configuration File <#gammu-smsdrc>). ✨

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📤 TRANSMITTING OF MESSAGES 📤

Outgoing messages get read from a folder defined by your configuration. the filename should be one of these three formats, and yes you have options bestie:

• OUT<recipient>.<ext>
• OUT<priority>_<recipient>_<serial>.<ext>
• OUT<priority><date>_<time>_<serial>_<recipient>_<note>.<ext>

field breakdown time, part two 💅

• <recipient> — the recipient number, i.e. where to send the message
• <priority> — an alphabetic character (A-Z), where A = highest priority
• <ext> — txt for normal text SMS, smsbackup for the SMS Backup Format <#gammu-smsbackup>
• <note> — any arbitrary text, which is ignored

🏷️ extra flags, yes more of them

for text messages, you can additionally append flags to the extension:

• d — delivery report requested
• f — flash SMS
• b — WAP bookmark as name,URL

other fields are the same as for received messages, no cap.

so like, check this out:

OUTG20040620_193810_123_+4512345678_xpq.txtdf

that's a flash text SMS requesting delivery reports. see how the d and f are just chillin' on the end? obsessed. 🔥

📨 order + contents

SMSes will be transmitted sequentially, based on the file name. and the contents of the file is the SMS to be transmitted (in Unicode or standard character set).

and like, to say it again because it's important: the contents of the file is the SMS to be transmitted (in Unicode or standard character set). for WAP bookmarks it is split on , as Name,URL, and for text messages the whole file content is used. 🌸

⚠️ okay real talk for a sec — please note that if the file is not in Unicode, the encoding is detected based on locales, which do not have to be configured if SMSD is running from an init script. if that's your situation, please add a locales definition to your init script. don't skip this, i'm begging 🙈

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👑 Author

Michal Čihař <michal@cihar.com>

©️ Copyright

2009-2015, Michal Čihař <michal@cihar.com>

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that's the whole page bestie, go forth and yeet your SMSes into folders 🧚💜

version 1.45.0 — dated Sep 16, 2026 — the FILES backend, serving looks since forever 💅✨