Download PDFs etc. and send them to your Kindle from the command line.

kcurl.sh

#!/bin/env bash
##############################################################################
# kcurl: Download one or more files and send them to the Kindle.
# Version 1.1, Tammy Cravit, tammy@tammycravit.com, 10/14/2010
#
# Requires that cURL and mutt be installed. The "home Wi-Fi" detection code
# only works on MacOS X 10.x (probably with x > 4), but I welcome patches.
#
# To use this script, you'll need to configure the Kindle e-mail name and
# home Wi-Fi SSID below.
##############################################################################

# CONFIGURE THESE OR THE SCRIPT WILL FAIL

KINDLE_EMAIL_NAME="configure_this"    # The part before the @kindle.com
HOME_WIFI_SSID="my_wifi_ssid"         # The name of your home Wi-Fi network

echo "************************************************************************"
echo "* kcurl: Download one or more files and send them to the Kindle.       *"
echo "* Version 1.1, Tammy Cravit, tammy@tammycravit.com, 10/14/2010         *"
echo "************************************************************************"
echo ""

#=============================================================================
# Make sure we were given at least one URL to process.
#=============================================================================

if [ "$1" = "" ]
then
    echo "Usage: `basename $0` <file> [file ...]"
    echo "       Download PDF files and send them to the Kindle."
    echo ""
    exit 254
fi

#=============================================================================
# If we're running on a Mac, try to detect if we're on our home Wi-Fi.
# Configure your home SSID(s) as appropriate in the case statement.
# If anyone wants to extend this code to other platforms besides the Mac,
# I welcome patches.
#=============================================================================

sys_type=`uname -s`
if [ "$sys_type" = "Darwin" ]
then
    wifi_ssid="`airport -I | grep 'SSID' | grep -v 'BSSID' | cut -d":" -f2 | cut -d" " -f2`"
    if [ "${wifi_ssid}" = "${HOME_WIFI_SSID}" ]
    then
        echo "- Detected known Wi-Fi, so Kindle is probably on Wi-Fi too."
        echo "  Using free.kindle.com address"
        KINDLE_EMAIL="${KINDLE_EMAIL_NAME}@free.kindle.com"
    else
        echo "- Detected unknown Wi-Fi, so Kindle is probably not on Wi-Fi."
        echo "  Using (non-free) kindle.com address"
        KINDLE_EMAIL="${KINDLE_EMAIL_NAME}@kindle.com"
    fi
else
    echo "- Wi-Fi detection not enabled on ${sys_type} systems."
    echo "  Using the free kindle.com address and hoping for the best."
    KINDLE_EMAIL="${KINDLE_EMAIL_NAME}@free.kindle.com"
fi
echo ""

#=============================================================================
# Download the files and e-mail them.
#=============================================================================

for url in $*
do
    file_name=`basename "${url}"`
    echo -n "Downloading ${url} to Kindle..."
    curl -s -O "${url}"
    if [ "$?" -ne "0" ]
    then
        echo "FAILED!"
    else
        mutt -s "${url}" -a "${file_name}" -- "${KINDLE_EMAIL}" < /dev/null
        if [ "$?" -ne "0" ]
        then
            echo "downloaded but could not be e-mailed."
        else
            rm "${file_name}"
            echo "done."
        fi
fi
done
exit 0