File sharing from the command line

4 mins to read comment post

This post provides an overview of 0x0.st and transfer.sh, which are two popular file sharing services that you can use for free from the command line. The post provides examples of how to use both services, as well as a script that allows for easier file sharing and encryption. Overall, this is a useful resource for anyone looking to share files from the command line without revealing any personal information.

I’ve run into a few scenarios, mostly when using Reddit, where I want to share a file with someone but don’t want it to share any identifying information. For example, one could easily add a file to their Google Drive or Dropbox account, but that could reveal your name or email address. 0x0.st and transfer.sh both offer solutions to this problem. Both of the aforementioned websites allow you to post files with curl from the command line, which is an added bonus for me, since I almost always have a terminal open on my laptop.

I’ll discuss the two websites a bit and then discuss a script I wrote that allows for simpler syntax and easy encryption of files.

0x0.st

  • 0x0.st allows you to post files stored locally or on remote servers. It also offers url shortening, which is pretty nifty.
  • File URLs are valid for at least 30 days and up to a year, depending on the file size.
  • There are some blocked file types (e.g. android apks) and some warning to not use the platform for things such as piracy or crypto currencies. Refer to the website if you are unsure if what you’re posting is acceptable
  • Tends to be a bit more reliable than transfer.sh, which has experienced occasional outages in the two months that I’ve been using it.

Examples

From the 0x0.st website:

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# upload files stored locally:
curl -F 'file=@yourfile.png' https://0x0.st
# upload files stored remotely:
curl -F 'url=http://example.com/image.jpg' https://0x0.st
# shorten url:
curl -F 'shorten=http://example.com/some/long/url' https://0x0.st

This is what a real usage looks like:

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echo "hello" > test.txt
curl -F 'file=@test.txt' https://0x0.st
https://0x0.st/qVM.txt

Depending on when you are reading this, you may still be able to access the file: https://0x0.st/qVM.txt

You can either download the file by navigating to the url, or you could use another curl command:

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curl https://0x0.st/qVM.txt -o downloaded_test.txt
cat downloaded_test.txt
hello

As a bonus, I discovered a way to post from stdin as well:

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echo "hello world" | curl -F 'file=@-' https://0x0.st
https://0x0.st/ATj.txt
curl -O https://0x0.st/ATj.txt
cat ATj.txt
hello world

transfer.sh

  • transfer.sh is an aesthetically pleasing alternative, great for sharing with people who won’t be using the command line
  • You can upload files of up to 10 GB
  • You can set a limit on the maximum number of downloads
  • You can set a limit on how long the file is stored, which is a maximum of 14 days

Examples

I copied some of the examples from the transfer.sh website:

Standard upload and download:

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# Uploading is easy using curl
curl --upload-file ./hello.txt https://transfer.sh/hello.txt
# output: https://transfer.sh/66nb8/hello.txt

curl -H "Max-Downloads: 1" -H "Max-Days: 5" --upload-file ./hello.txt https://transfer.sh/hello.txt
# output: https://transfer.sh/66nb8/hello.txt

# Download the file
curl https://transfer.sh/66nb8/hello.txt -o hello.txt

Encrypt your files before transfer:

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# Encrypt files with password using gpg
cat /tmp/hello.txt|gpg -ac -o-|curl -X PUT --upload-file "-" https://transfer.sh/test.txt

# Download and decrypt
curl https://transfer.sh/1lDau/test.txt|gpg -o- > /tmp/hello.txt

There are a ton more examples on the site, which I recommend looking at.

My transfer script

I wrote a bash script that hides the usage of curl for uploading/download and gpg for encryption/decryption to make for a more user friendly experience. It currently supports 0x0.st and transfer.sh. The features are as follows:

  • Upload files
  • Upload directories (archives them as they are being uploaded)
  • Download files
  • Encrypt files as they are being uploaded
  • Decrypt files as they are being downloaded
  • Decrypt files after they are downloaded
  • Log urls to ~/.transfer_history
  • Provide default password with pass

It defaults to uploading to transfer.sh. The script is available on my Github: https://github.com/jrodal98/transfer

Examples

  • Upload a file or directory: transfer <FILE|DIRECTORY>
  • Automatically encrypt a file or directory using a default password while uploading: transfer -e <FILE|DIRECTORY>
  • Automatically encrypt a file or directory using a provided password while uploading: transfer -e -p <PASSWORD> <FILE|DIRECTORY>
  • Download a file: transfer <URL>
  • Automatically decrypt a file using a default password while downloading: transfer -d <URL>
  • Automatically decrypt a file using a provided password while downloading: transfer -d -p <password> <URL>
  • Decrypt file with default password: transfer -d <FILE>
  • Decrypt file with a provided password transfer -d -p <password> <FILE>
  • Do all of the above but upload to https://0x0.st instead: transfer -s 0x0.st <everything else>
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