Download a single file
Example Usage:
wget http://example.com/file.txt
What it does:
Downloads the file located at the specified URL and saves it in the current directory with the original filename.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
http://example.com/file.txt: The URL of the file to be downloaded.
Save a file with a custom name
Example Usage:
wget -O custom_name.txt http://example.com/actual_file.txt
What it does:
Downloads the file from the specified URL and saves it under the custom name provided.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
-O: Specifies the output filename for the downloaded file.custom_name.txt: The desired filename for the saved file.http://example.com/actual_file.txt: The URL of the file to be downloaded.
Recursively download a website
Example Usage:
wget -r http://example.com
What it does:
Downloads an entire website, including all linked pages, recursively, and saves them locally.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
-r: Enables recursive downloading, which means it will traverse and download all pages linked to the target URL.http://example.com: The URL of the website to be downloaded.
Download multiple files from a list
Example Usage:
wget -i file_list.txt
What it does:
Downloads all files listed in the file_list.txt text file, one by one.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
-i: Reads the list of URLs from the specified input file.file_list.txt: A text file containing the URLs of the files to be downloaded.
Check if a file exists without downloading it
Example Usage:
wget --spider http://example.com/file.txt
What it does:
Verifies whether the file at the URL exists and is accessible, without initiating a download.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
--spider: Simulates checking the URL (like a "spider" bot) without downloading the file.
Download in the background
Example Usage:
wget -b http://example.com/large_file.zip
What it does:
Downloads the file in the background, allowing the user to continue using the terminal.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
-b: Runs wget in the background. Output is logged to a file.
Limit download speed
Example Usage:
wget --limit-rate=100k http://example.com/large_file.zip
What it does:
Restricts the download speed to the specified value (e.g., 100 kilobytes per second).
Command-line Arguments Explained:
--limit-rate=100k: Limits the download speed to 100 kilobytes per second.
Resume an interrupted download
Example Usage:
wget -c http://example.com/partial_file.zip
What it does:
Resumes a partially downloaded file from the last point of interruption.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
-c: Enables resuming of an interrupted download.
Download only if the file is newer
Example Usage:
wget -N http://example.com/updated_file.txt
What it does:
Downloads the file only if it is newer than the local version, or if the local file does not exist.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
-N: Enables time-stamping, checking if the remote file is newer than the local copy.
Download with authentication
Example Usage:
wget --user=username --password=secret http://example.com/protected_file.txt
What it does:
Downloads a file that requires HTTP authentication credentials.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
--user: Specifies the username for authentication.--password: Specifies the password for authentication.
Use a specific user agent
Example Usage:
wget --user-agent="Mozilla/5.0" http://example.com
What it does:
Sets a custom user agent string to mimic a browser or bypass restrictions based on user agent detection.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
--user-agent: Defines the user agent string sent in the HTTP request header.
Download a file with a timeout
Example Usage:
wget --timeout=30 http://example.com/really_slow_file.zip
What it does:
Sets a timeout for the connection, terminating the download if no response is received within the specified seconds.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
--timeout=30: Specifies the connection timeout in seconds (e.g., 30 seconds).
Mirror a website (recursively and retain directory structure)
Example Usage:
wget --mirror http://example.com
What it does:
Mirrors the website, including all subpages and maintaining the original directory structure.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
--mirror: A shortcut for -r --no-parent --convert-links, which recursively downloads and preserves the site's structure.
Download from a secure (HTTPS) site without certificate verification
Example Usage:
wget --no-check-certificate https://example.com/secured_file.txt
What it does:
Downloads a file from an HTTPS site without verifying the SSL certificate, useful for self-signed certificates.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
--no-check-certificate: Skips SSL certificate verification.
Download multiple files with a single command
Example Usage:
wget http://example.com/file1.txt http://example.com/file2.txt
What it does:
Downloads multiple files by specifying their URLs in a single command.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
http://example.com/file1.txt http://example.com/file2.txt: URLs of the files to be downloaded sequentially.
Output to a specific directory
Example Usage:
wget -P /path/to/dir http://example.com/file.txt
What it does:
Saves the downloaded file to the specified directory instead of the current working directory.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
-P: Specifies the directory where the file should be saved.
Example Usage:
wget --header="Authorization: Bearer token" http://example.com/api/data
What it does:
Attaches a custom HTTP header (e.g., for authentication) to the download request.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
--header="Authorization: Bearer token": Adds the specified HTTP header to the request.
Specify the proxy server
Example Usage:
wget --proxy=on http://example.com/file.txt
What it does:
Uses the specified proxy server for the download, with proxy settings read from environment variables or the default configuration.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
--proxy=on: Enables the use of a proxy server. Proxies are typically set via environment variables like HTTP_PROXY or HTTPS_PROXY.
Download files with a retry limit
Example Usage:
wget --tries=5 http://example.com/retry_file.txt
What it does:
Retries the download up to the specified number of times if it fails.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
--tries=5: Sets the maximum number of retry attempts for failed downloads.
Download files with a specific output document location
Example Usage:
wget --output-document=/path/to/save/file.txt http://example.com/remote_file.txt
What it does:
Saves the downloaded file to a specific location, overriding the default filename.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
--output-document: Specifies the exact path and filename for the saved file.
Download a file using the POST method
Example Usage:
wget --post-data="key=value" http://example.com/post_endpoint
What it does:
Sends a POST request with the given data to the specified URL.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
--post-data="key=value": Sends the specified data as the body of the POST request.
Skip parent directories during recursion
Example Usage:
wget -r --no-parent http://example.com
What it does:
Recursively downloads a website but restricts the process to the exact directory specified, not descending into parent directories.
Command-line Arguments Explained:
-r: Enables recursive downloading.--no-parent: Prevents wget from accessing parent directories of the specified URL.
