share.sh

share.sh allows you to send a file via rsync to a server you control. You get to choose where uploaded files will live, and use whatever vanity URL you have to share them.

./share.sh [-d DIR] [-e] [-h] [-o OPTIONS] [-t TARGET] [-u URL]

 -d directory on server
 -e echo output, rather than call open
 -h help
 -o options to pass to rsync
 -t rsync target
 -u base URL for files

You may set defaults in a configuration file at $HOME/.config/share.sh.conf. Each option is a KEY=VALUE pair that matches an argument for the script. For example:

DIR='share'
ECHO=1
OPTIONS='-e ssh'
TARGET='[email protected]:/var/www/html/'
URL='https://example.com/'

Command line values will override config file values.

Note that it is perfectly acceptable for DIR to be empty. You may define the destination directory right in the rsync target, if you like.

Tips and Tricks

Variable Directory Names

You don't have to use a static value for the target directory. The config file and the command line both support normal shell tricks, like $(date +%Y%m%d) for date-based directory names, or $(base64 /dev/urandom | tr -d '/+oO0' | dd bs=10 count=1 2>/dev/null) for a random 10 character directory name.

Automatic Cleanup

Often times you're sharing something for quick review, and not making a permanent addition to the world wide web. On your server, you might want to run a cron job to automatically delete files older than a day or two. This will ensure that you don't have unnecessary files hanging around in perpetuity.

5 8 * * * /usr/bin/find /PATH/TO/YOUR/SHARE -maxdepth 1 -mtime +1 -type f -delete

This would need to be adjusted if you're using variable destination directories.

Using the -d or -t flags would allow you to upload files to a different directory if you wanted them to live longer than your scheduled cleanup job.

OSX Automator

OSX users might like to create an Automator service to allow invoking share.sh from the Finder, to make it super easy easy to share files.

• Create a Service that receives "files or folders".
• From the "Utilities" library, select "Run Shell Script".
• Ensure the input is passed as arguments.
• Call your instance of this script: /usr/local/bin/share.sh "$1".
  • be sure to quote the parameter! I explicitly accept only the first parameter in this example, to ensure I don't accidentally share a selection of many files.
  • optionally add -e to the script invocation, and than add a "Copy to Clipboard" step to the Service, if you'd rather not have the link open in your browser.