How to send/receive files via Bluetooth using commands/Terminal?

I have installed Bluetooth dongle software and with the help of commands (using a terminal), I want to send and receive files from a smartphone.

How can I pair my devices and send files over Bluetooth using Terminal?

3 Answers

Send files:

bluetooth-sendto --device=12:34:56:78:9A:BC filename

To know your device name (12:34:56:78:9A:BC), you can issue this command:

hcitool scan

Receive files:

Haven't found it yet, but will let you know if it can be done using terminal

edit:

it looks like it can't be done through terminal. Blueman seems to do the trick but it's in GUI

I tested this with Ubuntu Bionic Beaver (18.04) and Android Lollipop.

Ubuntu. Install the needed packages:
```
sudo apt install bluez bluez-tools
```
bluez-tools come with the following tools: bt-adapter bt-agent bt-device bt-network
Ubuntu. Turn on the visibility:
```
bt-adapter --set Discoverable 1
```
Smartphone. Scan for remote devices to ID your Ubuntu machine.
Ubuntu. Prep for managing incoming requests interactively with:
```
bt-agent
```
Pair devices:
1. Smartphone. Initiate pairing request;
2. Ubuntu. Accept the request from the bt-agent screen.
Ubuntu. Send files to smartphone with:
```
bt-obex -p [remote_mac] [file]
```
where [remote_mac] is the mac address of the smartphone. For example:
```
bt-obex -p F0:6B:CA:A2:C4:69 ~/book.pdf
```
Receive files from your smartphone:
1. Ubuntu First create a Bluetooth file (obex) server:
```
bt-obex -s [path]
```
  [path] is where to download files. For example:
```
bt-obex -s ~/Downloads
```
2. Smartphone. Send the file;
3. Ubuntu. Accept the request from the bt-agent screen.

This works on my computer:

bluedevil-sendfile -u /org/bluez/hci0/dev_<address with underscores instead of colons> -f <file_with_absolute_path>

For example:

bluedevil-sendfile -u /org/bluez/hci0/dev_00_FF_00_FF_00_FF -f /home/tux/test.pdf