Editing GNU Sharutils (section)

'''GNU Sharutils''' is a set of utilities to handle [[Shar (file format)|shell archive]]s. The GNU shar utility produces a single [[Computer file|file]] out of many files and prepares them{{Clarification needed|prepares it, or them?|date=March 2018}} for transmission by [[electronic mail]] services, for example by converting [[binary file]]s into plain [[ASCII]] text.

A shell archive is a collection of files that can be unpacked by the [[Bourne shell]]. A wide range of features provide extensive flexibility in manufacturing shar archives and in specifying shar smartness. For example, shar may [[data compression|compress]] files, [[uuencode]] binary files, split long files and construct multi-part mailings, ensure correct unsharing order, and provide [[md5sum]] or byte count verification.

GNU unshar scans a set of mail messages looking for the start of shell archives. It will automatically strip off the mail headers and other introductory text. The archive bodies are then unpacked by a copy of the shell. unshar may also process files containing concatenated shell archives.