wget command

wget - The non-interactive network downloader.

The wget command in Linux is a powerful tool used to download files from the web via HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP. It’s non-interactive, making it ideal for scripts or downloading files directly in the terminal.

Usage: wget [OPTION]... [URL]...

• URL: The web address of the file to download.
• OPTION: Flags to modify behavior (e.g., output file, retries).

Common Options

Option	Description
-O	Specify output filename
-P	Specify output directory
-c	Resume a partial download
-i	Download from a list of URLs
--limit-rate	Limit download speed (e.g., 200k)
-r	Recursive download
-l	Limit recursive depth
-b	Run in background
-q	Quiet mode (no output)

Examples

• Basic Download

  Download a file from a URL to the current directory.

  wget https://example.com/file.txt
  • Downloads file.txt to your current directory.
  • Shows a progress bar with speed and size.

• Specifying Output File

  Use -O (uppercase) to save the file with a specific name.

  wget -O myfile.txt https://example.com/file.txt
  • Saves as myfile.txt instead of the default name.

• Downloading to a Directory

  Use -P to specify a directory for the downloaded file.

  wget -P /home/user/downloads https://example.com/file.txt
  • Saves file.txt to /home/user/downloads.

• Resuming Downloads

  Use -c to resume a partially downloaded file.

  wget -c https://example.com/largefile.zip
  • Continues downloading largefile.zip if interrupted (e.g., by Ctrl+C).

• Downloading Multiple Files

  Pass multiple URLs or use a file with URLs via -i.

  Example (Multiple URLs):

  wget https://example.com/file1.txt https://example.com/file2.txt

  Example (From File):

  Create urls.txt:

  https://example.com/file1.txt
  https://example.com/file2.txt

  Then:

  wget -i urls.txt
  • Downloads all listed files.

• Limiting Download Speed

  Use --limit-rate to cap bandwidth usage.

  wget --limit-rate=200k https://example.com/largefile.zip
  • Limits speed to 200 KB/s (k = KB, m = MB).

• Recursive Download

  Use -r to download a website or directory recursively.

  wget -r https://example.com/docs/
  • Downloads docs/ and its contents (e.g., HTML, images).
  • Use -l to limit depth:

    wget -r -l 2 https://example.com/docs/
    • Goes 2 levels deep.

• Background Download

  Use -b to run wget in the background.

  wget -b https://example.com/largefile.zip
  • Output goes to wget-log; check progress with tail -f wget-log.

To get help related to the wget command use --help option

For more details, check the manual with man wget