wget command
Download files from the web via HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP protocols.
Overview
wget is a non-interactive command-line utility for downloading files from the web. It supports HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP protocols, and can work in the background, resume interrupted downloads, and follow links within websites. It's particularly useful for batch downloading, mirroring websites, or retrieving files in scripts.
Options
-O, --output-document=FILE
Write documents to FILE instead of creating files based on remote names.
$ wget -O latest-linux.iso https://example.com/downloads/linux.iso
--2025-05-05 10:15:32-- https://example.com/downloads/linux.iso
Resolving example.com... 93.184.216.34
Connecting to example.com|93.184.216.34|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 1073741824 (1.0G) [application/octet-stream]
Saving to: 'latest-linux.iso'
latest-linux.iso 100%[===================>] 1.00G 5.25MB/s in 3m 15s
2025-05-05 10:18:47 (5.25 MB/s) - 'latest-linux.iso' saved [1073741824/1073741824]
-c, --continue
Resume getting a partially-downloaded file.
$ wget -c https://example.com/large-file.zip
--2025-05-05 10:20:12-- https://example.com/large-file.zip
Resolving example.com... 93.184.216.34
Connecting to example.com|93.184.216.34|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 206 Partial Content
Length: 104857600 (100M), 52428800 (50M) remaining [application/zip]
Saving to: 'large-file.zip'
large-file.zip 50%[======> ] 50.00M 3.15MB/s in 16s
2025-05-05 10:20:28 (3.15 MB/s) - 'large-file.zip' saved [104857600/104857600]
-b, --background
Go to background immediately after startup.
$ wget -b https://example.com/huge-archive.tar.gz
Continuing in background, pid 1234.
Output will be written to 'wget-log'.
-r, --recursive
Turn on recursive retrieving (download entire website directories).
$ wget -r -np https://example.com/docs/
--2025-05-05 10:25:45-- https://example.com/docs/
Resolving example.com... 93.184.216.34
Connecting to example.com|93.184.216.34|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 8192 (8.0K) [text/html]
Saving to: 'example.com/docs/index.html'
example.com/docs/index.html 100%[===================>] 8.00K --.-KB/s in 0.1s
2025-05-05 10:25:46 (80.0 KB/s) - 'example.com/docs/index.html' saved [8192/8192]
... [more files downloaded] ...
-np, --no-parent
Do not ascend to the parent directory when retrieving recursively.
$ wget -r -np https://example.com/docs/
-m, --mirror
Turn on options suitable for mirroring: recursive, time-stamping, infinite recursion depth, and preserve FTP directory listings.
$ wget -m https://example.com/blog/
--2025-05-05 10:30:12-- https://example.com/blog/
Resolving example.com... 93.184.216.34
Connecting to example.com|93.184.216.34|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 16384 (16K) [text/html]
Saving to: 'example.com/blog/index.html'
example.com/blog/index.html 100%[===================>] 16.00K --.-KB/s in 0.1s
2025-05-05 10:30:13 (160.0 KB/s) - 'example.com/blog/index.html' saved [16384/16384]
... [more files downloaded] ...
-q, --quiet
Quiet mode (no output).
$ wget -q https://example.com/file.txt
-P, --directory-prefix=PREFIX
Save files to PREFIX/...
$ wget -P downloads/ https://example.com/file.txt
--2025-05-05 10:35:22-- https://example.com/file.txt
Resolving example.com... 93.184.216.34
Connecting to example.com|93.184.216.34|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 1024 (1.0K) [text/plain]
Saving to: 'downloads/file.txt'
downloads/file.txt 100%[===================>] 1.00K --.-KB/s in 0.1s
2025-05-05 10:35:23 (10.0 KB/s) - 'downloads/file.txt' saved [1024/1024]
--limit-rate=RATE
Limit download rate to RATE (e.g., 200k for 200 KB/s).
$ wget --limit-rate=200k https://example.com/large-file.zip
--2025-05-05 10:40:15-- https://example.com/large-file.zip
Resolving example.com... 93.184.216.34
Connecting to example.com|93.184.216.34|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 104857600 (100M) [application/zip]
Saving to: 'large-file.zip'
large-file.zip 100%[===================>] 100.00M 200KB/s in 8m 20s
2025-05-05 10:48:35 (200 KB/s) - 'large-file.zip' saved [104857600/104857600]
Usage Examples
Downloading a file with a progress bar
$ wget https://example.com/file.txt
--2025-05-05 10:50:12-- https://example.com/file.txt
Resolving example.com... 93.184.216.34
Connecting to example.com|93.184.216.34|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 1024 (1.0K) [text/plain]
Saving to: 'file.txt'
file.txt 100%[===================>] 1.00K --.-KB/s in 0.1s
2025-05-05 10:50:13 (10.0 KB/s) - 'file.txt' saved [1024/1024]
Mirroring a website with depth limit
$ wget -m -k -p -l 2 https://example.com/
This command mirrors the website, converts links for offline viewing (-k), downloads necessary page requisites (-p), and limits the recursion depth to 2 levels (-l 2).
Downloading files from a password-protected site
$ wget --user=username --password=password https://example.com/protected/file.pdf
Downloading multiple files listed in a text file
$ cat urls.txt
https://example.com/file1.txt
https://example.com/file2.txt
https://example.com/file3.txt
$ wget -i urls.txt
Tips:
Resume Interrupted Downloads
If your download gets interrupted, use wget -c URL to resume from where it left off instead of starting over.
Download in the Background
For large downloads, use wget -b URL to run wget in the background. Output will be written to wget-log in the current directory.
Limit Bandwidth Usage
Use --limit-rate=RATE (e.g., --limit-rate=200k) to avoid consuming all available bandwidth, especially useful on shared connections.
Mirror a Website for Offline Viewing
Use wget -m -k -p website-url to create a complete offline copy with working links. The -k option converts links for local viewing.
Use a Different User Agent
Some websites block wget. Use --user-agent="Mozilla/5.0" to identify as a browser instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How do I download a file and save it with a different name?
A. Use wget -O filename URL to save the downloaded file with a custom name.
Q2. How can I download files from a password-protected site?
A. Use wget --user=username --password=password URL to provide authentication credentials.
Q3. How do I download an entire website?
A. Use wget -m -k -p website-url to mirror the site with proper link conversion for offline viewing.
Q4. How can I limit the download speed?
A. Use wget --limit-rate=RATE URL (e.g., --limit-rate=200k for 200 KB/s).
Q5. How do I resume a partially downloaded file?
A. Use wget -c URL to continue downloading from where it was interrupted.
References
https://www.gnu.org/software/wget/manual/wget.html
Revisions
- 2025/05/05 First revision