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wget

Non-interactive network file downloader

TLDR

Download a file
$ wget [https://example.com/file]
Download with custom output name
$ wget -O [filename] [url]
Download to specific directory
$ wget -P [directory] [url]
Continue a partial download
$ wget -c [url]
Download in background
$ wget -b [url]
Download recursively (mirror a website)
$ wget -r [url]
Download with authentication
$ wget --user=[username] --password=[password] [url]
Limit download speed
$ wget --limit-rate=[200k] [url]
Download from a list of URLs
$ wget -i [urls.txt]

SYNOPSIS

wget [options] [url...]

DESCRIPTION

wget is a non-interactive network downloader supporting HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP. It can download files, follow links, and mirror entire websites while handling interruptions and retrying failed transfers.For simple downloads, wget automatically names the output file from the URL. Use -O to specify a different name or -O - to output to stdout.Recursive downloading with -r follows links and downloads connected pages. Combine with -l to limit depth, -k to convert links for offline browsing, and -p to get page resources.Wget handles redirects, cookies, and authentication automatically. It's scriptable and works well for automated downloads and cron jobs.

PARAMETERS

-O file

Write to specified file
-P prefix
Save to specified directory
-c, --continue
Resume partial download
-b, --background
Go to background after starting
-q, --quiet
Quiet mode (no output)
-r, --recursive
Recursive download
-l depth, --level=depth
Maximum recursion depth (0 = infinite)
-k, --convert-links
Convert links for local viewing
-p, --page-requisites
Download all page requirements (images, CSS, etc.)
-m, --mirror
Mirror mode (-r -N -l inf --no-remove-listing)
-i file, --input-file=file
Read URLs from file
--limit-rate=rate
Limit download speed
--user=user, --password=pass
HTTP/FTP authentication
-U agent, --user-agent=agent
Set User-Agent header
--no-check-certificate
Don't validate SSL certificates
--header=string
Send additional HTTP header

INSTALL

sudo apt install wget
sudo pacman -S wget
sudo apk add wget
sudo zypper install wget
brew install wget
nix profile install nixpkgs#wget

CAVEATS

Recursive downloading can consume significant bandwidth and storage. Always use -l to limit depth when mirroring, and respect robots.txt (wget does by default).--no-check-certificate bypasses SSL verification—use only when necessary and understand the security implications.Some sites block wget by User-Agent. Use -U to set a browser-like User-Agent string if needed.For complex downloads with multiple retries and bandwidth control, consider creating a .wgetrc configuration file.

SEE ALSO

curl(1), aria2c(1), httrack(1), lftp(1)