Wget is a simple command-line tool used to download files and web pages from the internet. It works directly from the terminal and supports HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP downloads. You can use it to easily download files, resume interrupted downloads, save content with custom names, and perform other useful tasks.
Features of Wget:
- Download files from a URL.
- Resume interrupted downloads.
- Download multiple URLs from a file.
- Limit download speed.
- Set download timeouts.
- Download entire websites.
- Check whether a file is available without downloading it.
- Use HTTP headers and custom User-Agent.
- Download files over HTTPS and FTP.
Wget Installation Commands
Below are the commands to install Wget according to your terminal system.
For Termux, Update Termux packages.
pkg update && pkg upgrade -y
Install Wget.
pkg install wget -y
On Debian/Ubuntu-based Linux systems, install Wget with:
sudo apt install wget
Wget is now installed and ready to use.
Wget Usage Commands
After installing Wget, you can use different commands to download files, control downloads, and work with websites from the terminal.
Download a file.
wget https://example.com/file.zip
Download a file and save it with a custom name.
wget -O myfile.zip https://example.com/file.zip
Download a file and save it to a specific directory.
wget -P ~/Downloads https://example.com/file.zip
Resume a partially downloaded file.
wget -c https://example.com/file.zip
Download multiple URLs from a file.
Create a file containing the URLs:
nano urls.txt
Then run:
wget -i urls.txt
Limit the download speed.
wget --limit-rate=500k https://example.com/file.zip
Set the number of download retries.
wget -t 5 https://example.com/file.zip
Set a connection timeout.
wget -T 30 https://example.com/file.zip
Run Wget quietly without showing normal output.
wget -q https://example.com/file.zip
Show detailed download information.
wget -v https://example.com/file.zip
Save Wget output to a log file.
wget -o download.log https://example.com/file.zip
Append output to an existing log file.
wget -a download.log https://example.com/file.zip
Check the server response without downloading the file.
wget -S --spider https://example.com/file.zip
The --spider option checks the URL without saving the file.
Check the installed Wget version.
wget --version
Display the help menu.
wget --help
Download Websites with Wget
Wget can also download web pages and their required files.
Download a webpage.
wget https://example.com
Download a website recursively.
wget -r https://example.com
Download a webpage with its required images and other page files.
wget -p https://example.com
Download a website and convert links for offline use.
wget -r -k https://example.com
Mirror a website.
wget -m https://example.com
Set the maximum recursion depth.
wget -r -l 2 https://example.com
Avoid going to the parent directory.
wget -r -np https://example.com/downloads/
Save downloaded files into a specific directory.
wget -P ~/website https://example.com/file.zip
Download only specific file types.
wget -r -A pdf https://example.com
Reject specific file types.
wget -r -R jpg,png https://example.com
HTTP Options
Wget also provides options for sending custom HTTP information when downloading resources.
Set a custom User-Agent.
wget -U "Mozilla/5.0" https://example.com
Send a custom HTTP header.
wget --header="Accept-Language: en-US" https://example.com
Send POST data.
wget --post-data="name=John&age=25" https://example.com/form
Save HTTP response headers with the downloaded file.
wget --save-headers https://example.com
Disable cookies.
wget --no-cookies https://example.com
Load cookies from a file.
wget --load-cookies cookies.txt https://example.com
Save cookies to a file.
wget --save-cookies cookies.txt https://example.com
HTTPS Options
Wget supports HTTPS downloads and provides options for controlling certificate verification.
Download only through HTTPS links.
wget --https-only https://example.com/file.zip
For testing with a server that has an invalid or self-signed certificate, you can disable certificate checking:
wget --no-check-certificate https://example.com/file.zip
Use --no-check-certificate only when you understand the security risk, because it disables normal certificate verification.
FTP Downloads
Wget can also download files from FTP servers.
Download an FTP file.
wget ftp://example.com/file.zip
Use an FTP username.
wget --ftp-user=username ftp://example.com/file.zip
Ask for the FTP password.
wget --ask-password ftp://example.com/file.zip
Useful Wget Commands
Download a file without creating extra directories.
wget -nd https://example.com/files/file.zip
Do not overwrite an existing file.
wget -nc https://example.com/file.zip
Wait between multiple downloads.
wget -w 5 -i urls.txt
Use IPv4 only.
wget -4 https://example.com/file.zip
Use IPv6 only.
wget -6 https://example.com/file.zip
Set a download quota.
wget -Q 50M -i urls.txt
Run Wget in the background.
wget -b https://example.com/file.zip
Use a proxy.
wget -e use_proxy=yes -e http_proxy=http://127.0.0.1:8080 https://example.com
Show the current help information.
wget -h
Wget has many more options, but these commands cover the most useful features for beginners. You can combine options when you need more control over a download.
Wget Overview
Wget is a useful terminal tool for downloading files and web pages. It supports many options for managing downloads, saving files, resuming interrupted downloads, and working with multiple URLs. You can start with simple download commands and explore other options when needed.
