Notice: the default Send host is provided by [@timvisee][timvisee] (info). Please consider to [donate] and help keep it running.

ffsend

Easily and securely share files from the command line. A [Send][send] client.

Easily and securely share files and directories from the command line through a safe, private and encrypted link using a single simple command. Files are shared using the [Send][send] service and may be up to 1GB. Others are able to download these files with this tool, or through their web browser.

[![ffsend usage demo][usage-demo-svg]][usage-demo-asciinema]
No demo visible here? View it on [asciinema][usage-demo-asciinema].

All files are always encrypted on the client, and secrets are never shared with the remote host. An optional password may be specified, and a default file lifetime of 1 (up to 20) download or 24 hours is enforced to ensure your stuff does not remain online forever. This provides a secure platform to share your files. Find out more about security here.

• Features
• Usage
• Requirements
• Install (Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD, Android, Other OS/arch)
• Build
• Configuration and environment
• Security
• Help
• Special thanks
• License

The public [Send][send] service that is used as default host is provided by [@timvisee][timvisee] (info).
This application is not affiliated with [Firefox][firefox] or [Mozilla][mozilla] in any way.

Note: this tool is currently in beta, as some extra desired features are yet to be implemented

Features

• Fully featured and friendly command line tool
• Upload and download files and directories securely, always encrypted on the client
• Additional password protection, generation and configurable download limits
• File and directory archiving and extraction
• Built-in share URL shortener and QR code generator
• Supports Send v3 (current) and v2
• History tracking your files for easy management
• Ability to use your own Send hosts
• Inspect or delete shared files
• Accurate error reporting
• Streaming encryption and uploading/downloading, very low memory footprint
• Intended for use in scripts without interaction

For a list of upcoming features and ideas, take a look at the current open issues over on GitLab.

Usage

Easily upload and download:

# Simple upload
$ ffsend upload my-file.txt
https://send.vis.ee/#sample-share-url

# Advanced upload
# - Specify a download limit of 1
# - Specify upload expiry time of 5 minutes
# - Enter a password to encrypt the file
# - Archive the file before uploading
# - Copy the shareable link to your clipboard
# - Open the shareable link in your browser
$ ffsend upload --downloads 1 --expiry-time 5m --password --archive --copy --open my-file.txt
Password: ******
https://send.vis.ee/#sample-share-url

# Upload to your own host
$ ffsend u -h https://example.com/ my-file.txt
https://example.com/#sample-share-url

# Simple download
$ ffsend download https://send.vis.ee/#sample-share-url

Inspect remote files:

# Check if a file exists
$ ffsend exists https://send.vis.ee/#sample-share-url
Exists: yes

# Fetch remote file info
$ ffsend info https://send.vis.ee/#sample-share-url
ID:         b087066715
Name:       my-file.txt
Size:       12 KiB
MIME:       text/plain
Downloads:  0 of 10
Expiry:     18h2m (64928s)

Other commands include:

# View your file history
$ ffsend history
#  LINK                                        EXPIRE
1  https://send.vis.ee/#sample-share-url  23h57m
2  https://send.vis.ee/#other-sample-url  17h38m
3  https://example.com/#sample-share-url       37m30s

# Change the password after uploading
$ ffsend password https://send.vis.ee/#sample-share-url
Password: ******

# Delete a file
$ ffsend delete https://send.vis.ee/#sample-share-url

Use the --help flag, help subcommand, or see the help section for all available subcommands.

Requirements

• Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD, Android (other BSDs might work)
• A terminal :sunglasses:
• Internet connection
• Linux:
  • OpenSSL & CA certificates:
    • Ubuntu, Debian and derivatives: apt install openssl ca-certificates
  • Optional: xclip or xsel for clipboard support
    • Ubuntu, Debian and derivatives: apt install xclip
    • CentOS/Red Hat/openSUSE/Fedora: yum install xclip
    • Arch: pacman -S xclip
• Windows specific:
  • Optional OpenSSL with crypto-openssl feature: [» Installer][openssl-windows-installer] (v1.1.0j or above)
• macOS specific:
  • Optional OpenSSL with crypto-openssl feature: brew install openssl@1.1
• FreeBSD specific:
  • OpenSSL: pkg install openssl
  • CA certificates: pkg install ca_root_nss
  • Optional xclip & xsel for clipboard support: pkg install xclip xsel-conrad
• Android specific:
  • Termux: [» Termux][termux]

Install

Because ffsend is still in early stages, only limited installation options are available right now. Feel free to contribute additional packages.

Make sure you meet and install the requirements.

See the operating system specific instructions below:

• Linux
• macOS
• Windows
• FreeBSD
• Android
• Other OS or architecture

Linux (all distributions)

Using the snap package is recommended if supported.
Alternatively you may install it manually using the prebuilt binaries.

Only 64-bit (x86_64) packages and binaries are provided. For other architectures and configurations you may compile from source.

More packages options will be coming soon.

Linux: snap package

Note: The ffsend snap package is isolated, and can only access files in your home directory. Choose a different installation option if you don't want this limitation.

Note: due to how snap is configured by default, you won't be able to use the package from some contexts such as through SSH without manual modifications. If you're experiencing problems, please refer to a different installation method such as the prebuilt binaries, or open an issue.

[» ffsend][snapcraft-ffsend]

snap install ffsend
ffsend --help

Linux: Arch AUR packages

[» ffsend-bin][aur-ffsend-bin] (precompiled binary, latest release, recommended)
[» ffsend][aur-ffsend] (compiles from source, latest release)
[» ffsend-git][aur-ffsend-git] (compiles from source, latest master commit)

yay -S ffsend
# or
aurto add ffsend-bin
sudo pacman -S ffsend-bin
# or using any other AUR helper

ffsend --help

Linux: Nix package

Note: The Nix package is currently not automatically updated, and might be slightly outdated.

[» ffsend][nix-ffsend]

nix-channel --update
nix-env --install ffsend

ffsend --help

Linux: Fedora package

Note: The Fedora package is maintained by contributors, and might be slightly outdated.

[» ffsend][fedora-ffsend]

sudo dnf install ffsend

ffsend --help

Linux: Alpine package

Note: The Alpine package is maintained by contributors, it might be outdated. Choose a different installation method if an important update is missing.

[» ffsend][alpine-ffsend]

apk add ffsend --repository=http://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing

ffsend --help

Linux: Prebuilt binaries

Check out the [latest release][github-latest-release] assets for Linux binaries.
Use the ffsend-v*-linux-x64-static binary, to minimize the chance for issues. If it isn't available yet, you may use an artifact from a [previous version][github-releases] instead, until it is available.

Make sure you meet and install the requirements before you continue.

You must make the binary executable, and may want to move it into /usr/bin to make it easily executable:

# Rename binary to ffsend
mv ./ffsend-* ./ffsend

# Mark binary as executable
chmod a+x ./ffsend

# Move binary into path, to make it easily usable
sudo mv ./ffsend /usr/local/bin/

ffsend --help

macOS

Using the homebrew package is recommended.
Alternatively you may install it via MacPorts, or manually using the prebuilt binaries.

macOS: homebrew package

Make sure you've [homebrew][homebrew] installed, and run:

brew install ffsend
ffsend --help

macOS: MacPorts

Note: ffsend in MacPorts is currently not automatically updated, and might be slightly outdated.

Once you have MacPorts installed, you can run:

sudo port selfupdate
sudo port install ffsend

macOS: Nix package

Note: The Nix package is currently not automatically updated, and might be slightly outdated.

nix-channel --update
nix-env --install ffsend

ffsend --help

macOS: Prebuilt binaries

Check out the [latest release][github-latest-release] assets for a macOS binary. If it isn't available yet, you may use an artifact from a [previous version][github-releases] instead, until it is available.

Then, mark the downloaded binary as an executable. You then may want to move it into /usr/local/bin/ to make the ffsend command globally available:

# Rename file to ffsend
mv ./ffsend-* ./ffsend

# Mark binary as executable
chmod a+x ./ffsend

# Move binary into path, to make it easily usable
sudo mv ./ffsend /usr/local/bin/

ffsend

Windows

Using the scoop package is recommended.
Alternatively you may install it manually using the prebuilt binaries.

If you're using the [Windows Subsystem for Linux][wsl], it's highly recommended to install the prebuilt Linux binary instead.

Only 64-bit (x86_64) binaries are provided. For other architectures and configurations you may compile from source.

A chocolatey package along with an .msi installer will be coming soon.

Windows: scoop package

Make sure you've [scoop][scoop-install] installed, and run:

scoop install ffsend
ffsend --help

Windows: Prebuilt binaries

Check out the [latest release][github-latest-release] assets for Windows binaries. Use the ffsend-v*-windows-x64-static binary, to minimize the chance for issues. If it isn't available yet, you may use an artifact from a [previous version][github-releases] instead, until it is available.

You can use ffsend from the command line in the same directory:

.\ffsend.exe --help

To make it globally invocable as ffsend, you must make the binary available in your systems PATH. The easiest solution is to move it into System32:

move .\ffsend.exe C:\Windows\System32\ffsend.exe

FreeBSD

[» ffsend][freshports-ffsend]

Note: The FreeBSD package is currently maintained by FreeBSD contributors, and might be slightly outdated.

# Precompiled binary.
pkg install ffsend

# Compiles and installs from source.
cd /usr/ports/www/ffsend && make install

Android

ffsend can be used on Android through Termux, install it first: [» Termux][termux]

Note: The Android package is currently maintained by Termux contributors, and might be slightly outdated.

# Install package.
pkg install ffsend

ffsend help

Other OS or architecture

If your system runs Docker, you can use the docker image. There are currently no other binaries or packages available.

You can build the project from source instead.

Docker image

A Docker image is available for using ffsend running in a container. Mount a directory to /data, so it's accessible for ffsend in the container, and use the command as you normally would.

[» timvisee/ffsend][docker-hub-ffsend]

# Invoke without arguments
docker run --rm -it -v $(pwd):/data timvisee/ffsend

# Upload my-file.txt
docker run --rm -it -v $(pwd):/data timvisee/ffsend upload my-file.txt

# Download from specified link
docker run --rm -it -v $(pwd):/data timvisee/ffsend download https://send.vis.ee/#sample-share-url

# Show help
docker run --rm -it -v $(pwd):/data timvisee/ffsend help

# To update the used image
docker pull timvisee/ffsend

On Linux or macOS you might define a alias in your shell configuration, to make it invocable as ffsend:

alias ffsend='docker run --rm -it -v "$(pwd):/data" timvisee/ffsend'

Note: This implementation is limited to accessing the paths you make available through the specified mount.

Build

To build and install ffsend yourself, you meet the following requirements before proceeding:

Build requirements

• Runtime requirements
• [git][git]
• [rust][rust] v1.63 (MSRV) or higher (install using [rustup][rustup])
• [OpenSSL][openssl] or [LibreSSL][libressl] libraries/headers:
  • Linux:
    • Ubuntu, Debian and derivatives: apt install build-essential cmake pkg-config libssl-dev
    • CentOS/Red Hat/openSUSE: yum install gcc gcc-c++ make cmake openssl-devel
    • Arch: pacman -S openssl base-devel
    • Gentoo: emerge -a dev-util/pkgconfig dev-util/cmake dev-libs/openssl
    • Fedora: dnf install gcc gcc-c++ make cmake openssl-devel
    • Or see instructions here
  • Windows:
    • Optional with crypto-openssl feature: See instructions here here
  • macOS:
    • Optional with crypto-openssl feature: brew install cmake pkg-config openssl or see instructions here
  • FreeBSD:
    • pkg install rust gmake pkgconf python36 libxcb xclip ca_root_nss xsel-conrad
    • It is a better idea to use & modify the existing ffsend port, which manages dependencies for you.

Compile and install

Then, walk through one of the following steps to compile and install ffsend:

• Compile and install it directly from cargo:

  # Compile and install from cargo
  cargo install ffsend -f
  
  # Start using ffsend
  ffsend --help

• Or clone the repository and install it with cargo: