man munpack

NAME

  munpack - unpack messages in MIME or split-uuencode format

SYNOPSIS

  munpack [ -f ] [ -q ]	[ -t ] [ -C directory ]	[ filename ... ]

DESCRIPTION

  The munpack program reads each RFC-822 message filename and writes all
  non-text MIME	parts or split-uuencoded files as files.  If no	filename
  argument is given, munpack reads from	standard input.

  If the message suggests a file name to use for the imbedded part, that name
  is cleaned of	potential problem characters and used for the output file.
  If the suggested filename includes subdirectories, they will be created as
  necessary.  If the message does not suggest a	file name, the names "part1",
  "part2", etc are used	in sequence.

  If the imbedded part was preceded with textual information, that informa-
  tion is also written to a file.  The file is named the same as the imbedded
  part,	with any filename extension replaced with ".desc".

OPTIONS

  -f   Force overwriting of existing files.  If	a message suggests a file
       name of an existing file, the file will be overwritten.	Without	this
       flag, munpack appends ".1", ".2", etc to	find a nonexistent file.

  -q   Be quiet.  Supresses messages about saving partial messages and about
       messages	with no	interesting information.

  -t   Also write the text MIME	parts of multipart messages as files.  By
       default,	text parts that	do not have a filename parameter do not	get
       unpacked.  This option effectively disables the ".desc" file feature
       for MIME	messages.

  -C directory
       Change the current directory to directory before	reading	any files.
       This is useful when invoking munpack from a mail	or news	reader.

DECODING MIME

  To decode a MIME message, first save it to a text file.  If possible,	save
  it with all headers included.	Munpack	can decode some	MIME files when	the
  headers are missing or incomplete, other files it cannot decode without
  having the information in the	headers.  In general, messages which have a
  statement at the beginning that they are in MIME format can be decoded
  without the headers.	Messages which have been split into multiple parts
  generally require all	headers	in order to be reassembled and decoded.

  Some LAN-based mail systems and some mail providers (including America
  Online, as of	the writing of this document) place the	mail headers at	the
  bottom of the	message, instead of at the top of the message.	If you are
  filename may be specified, munpack will try to decode	the message in each
  file.	 For more information on ways to run munpack, see the section
  "OPTIONS" above.

ENVIRONMENT

  TMPDIR
       Directory to store temporary files.  Default is /usr/tmp.

FILES

  $TMPDIR/m-prts-$USER/
       Directory used to store partial messages	awaiting reassembly.