Extract text from Unix-to-Unix encoded files (UU)
To convert UU encoded files to another format, you need WinRAR or other Encoded software.
To convert other file formats to the "Uuencoded Archive" file type, you need software like WinRAR or a similar tool.
A .uu file is a plain text file that contains encoded binary data. It uses the Uuencode (Unix-to-Unix encode) algorithm to safely transmit binary files - like PDFs, images, or compressed archives - over text-only network protocols such as early email systems and Usenet.
To access the actual data inside a .uu file, it must be decoded. Desktop users typically rely on archive utilities like WinRAR or WinZip, while Unix/Linux systems handle them via the native uudecode command-line utility.
The main disadvantage of the .uu format is that it is obsolete and inefficient. Uuencoding adds approximately 35% overhead to the original file size. Furthermore, modern operating systems, web browsers, and document viewers cannot read the format natively. A user double-clicking a .uu file will usually encounter an error, as the OS lacks an assigned default application for it.
You cannot directly 'convert' a .uu file in the traditional sense; instead, you decode it to retrieve the original target format. The underlying payload could be anything, though it is frequently a PDF, RAR, ZIP, or MP4.
Because this file format is an old, text-based envelope, standard online media converters fail to process it. If our analysis detects a supported embedded format, viewing or extracting the actual file remains possible without installing legacy software.
Convert.Guru analyzes your UU file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted TXT, JAR, B64, XX and FEF files.
If you want to convert UU file to BASE64, HEX, BIN, ENC, CRYPT, AES, DES, RSA, PGP, GPG, ASC or KEY, you can use WinRAR or similar software from the "Binary to Text Encoding" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert CER, BIN, PEM, DER, KEY, P7S, PFX, ENC, P12, BASE64, P7B or HEX files to UU, try WinRAR or another comparable tool in the "Binary to Text Encoding" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our UU converter.