title: Is there a way to automate the - Perplexica
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created: 2025-02-17
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Is there a way to automate the - Perplexica

Automating File Splitting, Compression, Email Sending, and Merging on MX23 Linux

Automating the process of splitting, compressing large files, sending them via email, and merging them back into a single file can be achieved through shell scripting on MX23 Linux. Here's how you can accomplish this:

1. Splitting the Large File

To split a large file into smaller chunks, use the split command with the -b option to specify the desired size for each chunk.

# Example: Split 'largefile.txt' into files of 100MB each
split -b 100m largefile.txt largefile_

This will create files named largefile_aa, largefile_ab, etc., each with a size of approximately 100 megabytes. 1

2. Compressing the Split Files

After splitting, you can compress each file using the gzip command.

# Example: Compress all split files
for i in largefile_*; do gzip "$i"; done

This will create compressed files named largefile_aa.gz, largefile_ab.gz, etc. 2

3. Sending Compressed Files via Email

To send the compressed files as email attachments, you can use the mail command or a mail transfer agent (MTA) like Sendmail.

# Example using 'mail'
echo "Subject: Large file attachment" | \
mail -a largefile_aa.gz -a largefile_ab.gz -s "Large file attachment" recipient@example.com

Replace recipient@example.com with the actual email address you want to send the files to. 3

4. Uncompressing and Merging Files

When receiving the compressed files, use gunzip to uncompress them:

# Example: Uncompress 'largefile_aa.gz'
gunzip < largefile_aa.gz > largefile_aa

Then, use cat to concatenate the uncompressed files back into a single file:

# Example: Merge 'largefile_aa' and 'largefile_ab' into 'merged_largefile.txt'
cat largefile_aa largefile_ab > merged_largefile.txt

Automating with Shell Scripting

To automate this entire process, create a shell script that includes all the commands mentioned above. Here's an example:

#!/bin/bash

# Split the large file
split -b 100m largefile.txt largefile_

# Compress the split files
for i in largefile_*; do gzip "$i"; done

# Send the compressed files via email
echo "Subject: Large file attachment" | \
mail -a largefile_aa.gz -a largefile_ab.gz -s "Large file attachment" recipient@example.com

# Uncompress and merge the received files
gunzip < largefile_aa.gz > largefile_aa
cat largefile_aa largefile_ab > merged_largefile.txt

Make sure to replace largefile.txt, set the appropriate email subject and recipient, and ensure you have the necessary permissions to execute the script. 4

This automated process simplifies handling large files by breaking them into manageable parts for easier transmission and storage, while also providing a convenient way to merge them back together when needed.

References:

split command documentation
gzip command documentation
mail command documentation
Shell scripting best practices

How can I set up a cron job to automate the splitting, compressing, and sending of large files on MX23 Linux?

What are some alternative methods for compressing split files other than gzip?

Is there a way to schedule the merging process using a cron job as well?

Can you provide more details on setting up Sendmail or another MTA for sending email attachments in MX23 Linux?