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

ffsend

Easily and securely share files from the command line. A 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 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
No demo visible here? View it on 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.

The public Send service that is used as default host is provided by @timvisee (info).
This application is not affiliated with Firefox or 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 😎
  • 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 (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:

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 (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

snap install ffsend
ffsend --help

Linux: Arch AUR packages

» ffsend-bin (precompiled binary, latest release, recommended)
» ffsend (compiles from source, latest release)
» 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-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

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

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

ffsend --help

Linux: Prebuilt binaries

Check out the 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 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 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 assets for a macOS binary. If it isn't available yet, you may use an artifact from a previous version 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, 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 installed, and run:

scoop install ffsend
ffsend --help

Windows: Prebuilt binaries

Check out the 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 instead, until it is available.

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

.\ffsend.exe --help

To make it globally invokable 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

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

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

# 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 invokable 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
  • rust v1.40 or higher (install using rustup)
  • OpenSSL or 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:

    # Clone the project
git clone https://github.com/timvisee/ffsend.git
cd ffsend

# Compile and install
cargo install --path . -f

# Start using ffsend
ffsend --help

# or run it directly from cargo
cargo run --release -- --help

  • Or clone the repository and invoke the binary directly (Linux/macOS):

    # Clone the project
git clone https://github.com/timvisee/ffsend.git
cd ffsend

# Build the project (release version)
cargo build --release

# Start using ffsend
./target/release/ffsend --help

Compile features / use flags

Different use flags are available for ffsend to toggle whether to include various features. The following features are available, some of which are enabled by default:

Feature Enabled Description
send2 Default Support for Send v2 servers
send3 Default Support for Send v3 servers
crypto-ring Default Use ring as cryptography backend
crypto-openssl Use OpenSSL as cryptography backend
clipboard Default Support for copying links to the clipboard
history Default Support for tracking files in history
archive Default Support for archiving and extracting uploads and downloads
qrcode Default Support for rendering a QR code for a share URL
urlshorten Default Support for shortening share URLs
infer-command Default Support for inferring subcommand based on binary name
no-color Compile without color support in error and help messages

To enable features during building or installation, specify them with --features <features...> when using cargo. You may want to disable default features first using --no-default-features. Here are some examples:

# Defaults set of features with no-color, one of
cargo install --features no-color
cargo build --release --features no-color

# No default features, except required
cargo install --no-default-features --features send3,crypto-ring

# With history and clipboard support
cargo install --no-default--features --features send3,crypto-ring,history,clipboard

For Windows systems it is recommended to provide the no-color flag, as color support in Windows terminals is flaky.

Configuration and environment

The following environment variables may be used to configure the following defaults. The CLI flag is shown along with it, to better describe the relation to command line arguments:

Variable CLI flag Description
FFSEND_HISTORY --history <FILE> History file path
FFSEND_HOST --host <URL> Upload host
FFSEND_TIMEOUT --timeout <SECONDS> Request timeout (0 to disable)
FFSEND_TRANSFER_TIMEOUT --transfer-timeout <SECONDS> Transfer timeout (0 to disable)
FFSEND_EXPIRY_TIME --expiry-time <SECONDS> Default upload expiry time
FFSEND_DOWNLOAD_LIMIT --download-limit <DOWNLOADS> Default download limit
FFSEND_API --api <VERSION> Server API version, - to lookup
FFSEND_BASIC_AUTH --basic-auth <USER:PASSWORD> Basic HTTP authentication credentials to use.

These environment variables may be used to toggle a flag, simply by making them available. The actual value of these variables is ignored, and variables may be empty.

Variable CLI flag Description
FFSEND_FORCE --force Force operations
FFSEND_NO_INTERACT --no-interact No interaction for prompts
FFSEND_YES --yes Assume yes for prompts
FFSEND_INCOGNITO --incognito Incognito mode, don't use history
FFSEND_OPEN --open Open share link of uploaded file
FFSEND_ARCHIVE --archive Archive files uploaded
FFSEND_EXTRACT --extract Extract files downloaded
FFSEND_COPY --copy Copy share link to clipboard
FFSEND_COPY_CMD --copy-cmd Copy download command to clipboard
FFSEND_QUIET --quiet Log quiet information
FFSEND_VERBOSE --verbose Log verbose information

Some environment variables may be set at compile time to tweak some defaults.

Variable Description
XCLIP_PATH Set fixed xclip binary path when using clipboard-bin (Linux, *BSD)
XSEL_PATH Set fixed xsel binary path when using clipboard-bin (Linux, *BSD)

At this time, no configuration or dotfile file support is available. This will be something added in a later release.

Binary for each subcommand: ffput, ffget

ffsend supports having a separate binaries for single subcommands, such as having ffput and ffget just for to upload and download using ffsend. This allows simple and direct commands like:

ffput my-file.txt
ffget https://send.vis.ee/#sample-share-url

This works for a predefined list of binary names:

  • ffput → ffsend upload ...
  • ffget → ffsend download ...
  • ffdel → ffsend delete ...
  • This list is defined in src/config.rs as INFER_COMMANDS

You can use the following methods to set up these single-command binaries:

  • Create a properly named symbolic link (recommended)
  • Create a properly named hard link
  • Clone the ffsend binary, and rename it

On Linux and macOS you can use the following command to set up symbolic links in the current directory:

ln -s $(which ffsend) ./ffput
ln -s $(which ffsend) ./ffget

Support for this feature is only available when ffsend is compiled with the infer-command feature flag. This is usually enabled by default. To verify support is available with an existing installation, make sure the feature is listed when invoking ffsend debug.

Note that the snap package does currently not support this due to how this package format works.

Scriptability

ffsend is optimized for use in automated scripts. It provides some specialized arguments to control ffsend without user interaction.

  • --no-interact (-I): do not allow user interaction. For prompts not having a default value, the application will quit with an error, unless --yes or --force is provided. This should always be given when using automated scripting.
    Example: when uploading a directory, providing this flag will stop the archive question prompt form popping up, and will archive the directory as default option.
  • --yes (-y): assume the yes option for yes/no prompt by default.
    Example: when downloading a file that already exists, providing this flag will assume yes when asking to overwrite a file.
  • --force (-f): force to continue with the action, skips any warnings that would otherwise quit the application.
    Example: when uploading a file that is too big, providing this flag will ignore the file size warning and forcefully continues.
  • --quiet (-q): be quiet, print as little information as possible.
    Example: when uploading a file, providing this flag will only output the final share URL.

Generally speaking, use the following rules when automating:

  • Always provide --no-interact (-I).
  • Provide any combination of --yes (-y) and --force (-f) for actions you want to complete no matter what.
  • When passing share URLs along, provide the --quiet (-q) flag, when uploading for example.

These flags can also automatically be set by defining environment variables as specified here:
» Configuration and environment

Here are some examples commands in bash:

# Stop on error
set -e

# Upload a file
# -I: no interaction
# -y: assume yes
# -q: quiet output, just return the share link
URL=$(ffsend -Iy upload -q my-file.txt)

# Render file information
# -I: no interaction
# -f: force, just show the info
ffsend -If info $URL

# Set a password for the uploaded file
ffsend -I password $URL --password="secret"

# Use the following flags automatically from now on
# -I: no interaction
# -f: force
# -y: yes
export FFSEND_NO_INTERACT=1 FFSEND_FORCE=1 FFSEND_YES=1

# Download the uploaded file, overwriting the local variant due to variables
ffsend download $URL --password="secret"

For more information on these arguments, invoke ffsend help and check out: » Configuration and environment

For other questions regarding automation or feature requests, be sure to open an issue.

Security

In short; the ffsend tool and the Send service can be considered secure, and may be used to share sensitive files. Note though that the created share link for an upload will allow anyone to download the file. Make sure you don't share this link with unauthorized people.

For more detailed information on encryption, please read the rest of the paragraphs in this security section.

Note: even though the encryption method is considered secure, this ffsend tool does not provide any warranty in any way, shape or form for files that somehow got decrypted without proper authorization.

Client side encryption

ffsend uses client side encryption, to ensure your files are securely encrypted before they are uploaded to the remote host. This makes it impossible for third parties to decrypt your file without having the secret (encryption key). The file and its metadata are encrypted using 128-bit AES-GCM, and a HMAC SHA-256 signing key is used for request authentication. This is consistent with the encryption documentation provided by the Send service, ffsend is a tool for.

A detailed list on the encryption/decryption steps, and on what encryption is exactly used can be found here in the official service documentation.

Note on share link security

The encryption secret, that is used to decrypt the file when downloading, is included in the share URL behind the # (hash). This secret is never sent the remote server directly when using the share link in your browser. It would be possible however for a webpage to load some malicious JavaScript snippet that eventually steals the secret from the link once the page is loaded. Although this scenario is extremely unlikely, there are some options to prevent this from happening:

  • Only use this ffsend tool, do not use the share link in your browser.
  • Add additional protection by specifying a password using --password while uploading, or using the password subcommand afterwards.
  • Host a secure Send service instance yourself.

A complete overview on encryption can be found in the official service documentation here.

Help

$ ffsend help

ffsend 0.2.72
Tim Visee <3a4fb3964f@sinenomine.email>
Easily and securely share files from the command line.
A fully featured Send client.

The default public Send host is provided by Tim Visee, @timvisee.
Please consider to donate and help keep it running: https://vis.ee/donate

USAGE:
    ffsend [FLAGS] [OPTIONS] [SUBCOMMAND]

FLAGS:
    -f, --force          Force the action, ignore warnings
    -h, --help           Prints help information
    -i, --incognito      Don't update local history for actions
    -I, --no-interact    Not interactive, do not prompt
    -q, --quiet          Produce output suitable for logging and automation
    -V, --version        Prints version information
    -v, --verbose        Enable verbose information and logging
    -y, --yes            Assume yes for prompts

OPTIONS:
    -A, --api <VERSION>                 Server API version to use, '-' to lookup [env: FFSEND_API]
        --basic-auth <USER:PASSWORD>    Protected proxy HTTP basic authentication credentials (not FxA) [env: FFSEND_BASIC_AUTH]
    -H, --history <FILE>                Use the specified history file [env: FFSEND_HISTORY]
    -t, --timeout <SECONDS>             Request timeout (0 to disable) [env: FFSEND_TIMEOUT]
    -T, --transfer-timeout <SECONDS>    Transfer timeout (0 to disable) [env: FFSEND_TRANSFER_TIMEOUT]

SUBCOMMANDS:
    upload        Upload files [aliases: u, up]
    download      Download files [aliases: d, down]
    debug         View debug information [aliases: dbg]
    delete        Delete a shared file [aliases: del, rm]
    exists        Check whether a remote file exists [aliases: e]
    generate      Generate assets [aliases: gen]
    help          Prints this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)
    history       View file history [aliases: h]
    info          Fetch info about a shared file [aliases: i]
    parameters    Change parameters of a shared file [aliases: params]
    password      Change the password of a shared file [aliases: pass, p]
    version       Determine the Send server version [aliases: v]

This application is not affiliated with Firefox or Mozilla.

Special thanks

  • to all ffsend source/package contributors
  • to Mozilla for building the amazing Firefox Send service (fork)
  • to everyone involved with asciinema and svg-term for providing tools to make great visual demos
  • to everyone involved in all crate dependencies used

License

This project is released under the GNU GPL-3.0 license. Check out the LICENSE file for more information.