fileup 📤
🎄🎁 Advent of Open Source – Day 19/24: A tiny command-line tool for effortless file sharing, used for over 7 years.
(See my intro post)
Sometimes the best tools are the ones you build for yourself and keep using for years. Today’s project is fileup, a tiny command-line utility that’s been making my life easier for 7 years - because sharing files shouldn’t require leaving the terminal!
📖 Origin Story
Back in 2017, I found myself repeatedly going through the same tedious process: needing to share a file, opening a browser, navigating to a file sharing service, waiting for uploads, and copying URLs. As someone who lives in the terminal, this felt inefficient. I wanted something as simple as fu filename that would handle everything and put the URL in my clipboard. Seven years and countless file shares later, it’s still one of my most-used tools.
🔧 Technical Highlights
- Supports both FTP and SCP uploads
- Smart URL generation:
- Jupyter notebooks → nbviewer links
- Images → markdown-formatted links
- Regular files → direct URLs
- Automatic file expiration and cleanup
- Zero dependencies - uses only Python standard library
- Clipboard integration (macOS)
- Simple INI configuration
- Works as both a standalone script or installed package
📊 Impact
This is one of those tools where GitHub stars (currently 0!) don’t tell the whole story:
- Used almost daily for 7 years
- Shared thousands of files
- Saved countless minutes of browser interactions
- Proves that utility trumps popularity in open source
💡 Lessons Learned
- Longevity comes from solving a real, persistent need
- A tool doesn’t need to be revolutionary to be useful
- Zero dependencies mean zero maintenance headaches
- Sometimes the impact of a tool isn’t measured in stars
- Simple tools that remove friction are worth maintaining
Want to share files from your terminal? Check out fileup on GitHub!
#OpenSource #Python #DevTools #CommandLine #Programming
