bash - "invalid or incomplete multibyte or wide character" when executing script by cron

Question

I've got a bash script sending an e-mail using mailx. Mailbox configuration is in .mailrc. I'm running it as a root:

linux:~ # ./lprojekt.sh
Resolving host smtp.gmail.com . . . done.
Connecting to 173.194.70.109 . . . connected.
220 mx.google.com ESMTP n20sm30980415wiw.5
>>> EHLO linux.site
250-mx.google.com at your service, [95.49.133.188]
250-SIZE 35882577
250-8BITMIME
250-STARTTLS
250 ENHANCEDSTATUSCODES
>>> STARTTLS
220 2.0.0 Ready to start TLS
>>> EHLO linux.site
250-mx.google.com at your service, [95.49.133.188]
250-SIZE 35882577
250-8BITMIME
250-AUTH LOGIN PLAIN XOAUTH
250 ENHANCEDSTATUSCODES
>>> AUTH LOGIN
334 VXNlcm5hbWU6
>>> bG1mYnlkYjlAZ21haWwuY29t
334 UGFzc3dvcmQ6
>>> cHJvamVrdDEyMz==
235 2.7.0 Accepted
>>> MAIL FROM: <[email protected]>
250 2.1.0 OK n20sm30980415wiw.5
>>> RCPT TO: <[email protected]>
250 2.1.5 OK n20sm30980415wiw.5
>>> DATA
354  Go ahead n20sm30980415wiw.5
>>> .
250 2.0.0 OK 1335692819 n20sm30980415wiw.5
>>> QUIT
221 2.0.0 closing connection n20sm30980415wiw.5

As you can see, it runs correctly.

However, there's a problem when I try to run this script using cron.

Here's my /etc/crontab content:

SHELL=/bin/bash
PATH=/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/lib/news/bin
MAILTO=root
HOME=/root
#
# check scripts in cron.hourly, cron.daily, cron.weekly, and cron.monthly
#
-*/15 * * * *   root  test -x /usr/lib/cron/run-crons && /usr/lib/cron/run-crons >/dev/null

* * * * * root /root/lprojekt.sh >> /root/Desktop/log.txt

Each minute (it's just for debug now), root user get a mail:

Message 40:
From [email protected]  Sun Apr 29 13:50:01 2012
X-Original-To: root
Delivered-To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Cron <root@linux> /root/lprojekt.sh >> /root/Desktop/log.txt
X-Cron-Env: <SHELL=/bin/bash>
X-Cron-Env: <PATH=/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/lib/news/bin>
X-Cron-Env: <MAILTO=root>
X-Cron-Env: <HOME=/root>
X-Cron-Env: <LOGNAME=root>
X-Cron-Env: <USER=root>
Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2012 13:50:01 +0200 (CEST)

Invalid or incomplete multibyte or wide character
. . . message not sent.

What's the reason of this problem? How to resolve it? Thanks in advance for help.

Solution

Since feature requests to mark a comment as an answer remain declined, I copy the above solution here.

Are you sure it's LC_TYPE and not LC_CTYPE? The latter should be the correct spelling. What's the other values of the locale variable, POSIX or pl_PL.UTF-8? You can set environment variables directly in the crontab file, just like you do with SHELL etc. Try setting LC_CTYPE and/or LC_ALL and/or LANG to pl_PL.UTF-8. Or perhaps find and remove non-ASCII characters from your script and the data files it uses. – n.m.

You're right, there are LC_CTYPE instead of LC_TYPE. Other variables are POSIX. I've added to script this line: export LC_CTYPE=pl_PL.UTF-8 and it works. Thank you very much for help! – Daniel Gadawski

Comments

[n. m.]

Insert an invocation of the locale command to your script, compare the output when run from the terminal and from cron.

[Daniel Gadawski]

One line of the locale output is different: cron: LC_TYPE="POSIX" manual execute: LC_TYPE=pl_PL.UTF-8 How to set LC_TYPE for cron?

[n. m.]

Are you sure it's LC_TYPE and not LC_CTYPE? The latter should be the correct spelling. What's the other values of the locale variable, POSIX or pl_PL.UTF-8? You can set environment variables directly in the crontab file, just like you do with SHELL etc. Try setting LC_CTYPE and/or LC_ALL and/or LANG to pl_PL.UTF-8. Or perhaps find and remove non-ASCII characters from your script and the data files it uses.

[Daniel Gadawski]

You're right, there are LC_CTYPE instead of LC_TYPE. Other variables are POSIX. I've added to script this line: export LC_CTYPE=pl_PL.UTF-8 and it works. Thank you very much for help!