Linux-cliHow-ToBeginner · 3 min read

How to Use wget Command in Linux: Basic Syntax and Examples

The wget command in Linux downloads files from the internet using a URL. You run it by typing wget [options] URL in the terminal, which saves the file to your current folder.

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Syntax

The basic syntax of wget is simple and looks like this:

wget [options] URL

Here, URL is the web address of the file you want to download. [options] are extra commands you can add to change how wget works, like saving the file with a different name or downloading multiple files.

bash

wget [options] URL

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Example

This example shows how to download a file from the internet using wget. It downloads the file and saves it in your current folder with the same name as on the server.

bash

wget https://example.com/sample.txt

Output

--2024-06-01 12:00:00-- https://example.com/sample.txt Resolving example.com (example.com)... 93.184.216.34 Connecting to example.com (example.com)|93.184.216.34|:443... connected. HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK Length: 1256 (1.2K) [text/plain] Saving to: ‘sample.txt’ sample.txt 100%[===================>] 1.23K --.-KB/s in 0s 2024-06-01 12:00:01 (12.3 MB/s) - ‘sample.txt’ saved [1256/1256]

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Common Pitfalls

Some common mistakes when using wget include:

Not having internet connection or wrong URL causes download failure.
Running wget without permissions to write in the folder will fail.
For large files, not using options like -c to continue interrupted downloads can waste time.

Here is a wrong and right way to continue a download:

bash

# Wrong way: restart download from beginning
wget https://example.com/largefile.zip

# Right way: continue interrupted download
wget -c https://example.com/largefile.zip

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Quick Reference

Option	Description
-O filename	Save download as 'filename' instead of original name
-c	Continue a partially downloaded file
-q	Quiet mode, no output
-r	Download files recursively from a website
--limit-rate=amount	Limit download speed (e.g., 100k, 1m)

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Key Takeaways

Use wget URL to download files simply from the terminal.

Add -c to continue interrupted downloads without starting over.

Use -O filename to save the file with a custom name.

Check your internet connection and folder permissions if downloads fail.

Explore options like -r for recursive downloads and --limit-rate to control speed.