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wget Cheatsheet

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wget is a non-interactive network downloader. It supports HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP. Great for downloading files, mirroring websites, and recursive downloads.

Basic Usage

  • wget <url> - Download file
  • wget -O filename <url> - Save with custom name
  • wget -P /path/ <url> - Save to directory

Download Options

  • -O filename - Output filename
  • -P prefix - Directory prefix
  • -c - Continue partial download
  • -N - Timestamping (only newer)
  • -nc - No clobber (skip existing)
  • -b - Background download
  • -q - Quiet mode
  • -v - Verbose

Recursive Downloads

  • -r - Recursive download
  • -l depth - Recursion depth (default 5)
  • -k - Convert links for local viewing
  • -p - Download page requisites
  • -E - Save HTML as .html
  • -np - No parent (don't go up)
  • -nH - No host directories
  • --cut-dirs=N - Ignore N directories

Filtering

  • -A ext - Accept extensions (jpg,png)
  • -R ext - Reject extensions
  • -I list - Include directories
  • -X list - Exclude directories
  • --accept-regex - Accept regex pattern
  • --reject-regex - Reject regex pattern

HTTP Options

  • --header="Header: Value" - Custom header
  • -U agent - User agent
  • --referer=url - Set referer
  • --post-data="data" - POST data
  • --post-file=file - POST from file
  • --method=METHOD - HTTP method

Authentication

  • --user=user - Username
  • --password=pass - Password
  • --ask-password - Prompt for password
  • --http-user=user - HTTP auth user
  • --http-password=pass - HTTP auth pass

Cookies

  • --save-cookies file - Save cookies
  • --load-cookies file - Load cookies
  • --keep-session-cookies - Keep session cookies

SSL/TLS

  • --no-check-certificate - Ignore SSL errors
  • --ca-certificate=file - CA cert file
  • --certificate=file - Client cert
  • --private-key=file - Private key

Proxy

  • -e use_proxy=yes - Enable proxy
  • -e http_proxy=url - HTTP proxy
  • -e https_proxy=url - HTTPS proxy
  • --no-proxy - Disable proxy

Speed & Limits

  • --limit-rate=rate - Limit download speed
  • -w seconds - Wait between requests
  • --random-wait - Random wait (0.5-1.5x)
  • -t tries - Retry count (0=infinite)
  • -T timeout - Timeout seconds
  • --dns-timeout - DNS timeout

Common Examples

Simple Download

wget https://example.com/file.zip

Download single file.

Resume Download

wget -c https://example.com/large-file.iso

Continue interrupted download.

Download to Directory

wget -P ~/Downloads https://example.com/file.zip

Save to specific directory.

Mirror Website

wget -m -k -p -E -np https://example.com

Create offline mirror of site.

Download All Images

wget -r -A jpg,jpeg,png,gif -np https://example.com/images/

Download only images recursively.

Background Download

wget -b https://example.com/large-file.iso

Download in background.

Rate Limited

wget --limit-rate=200k https://example.com/file.zip

Limit to 200KB/s.

With Authentication

wget --user=admin --password=secret https://example.com/protected/

Download with credentials.

From File List

wget -i urls.txt

Download URLs from file.

Spider Mode

wget --spider https://example.com/file.zip

Check if file exists (no download).

Ignore Robots

wget -e robots=off -r https://example.com

Ignore robots.txt.

Custom User Agent

wget -U "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0)" https://example.com

Spoof browser user agent.

Mirror Options Explained

wget -m -k -p -E -np https://example.com
  • -m (--mirror) - Mirror mode (-r -N -l inf --no-remove-listing)
  • -k (--convert-links) - Convert for local viewing
  • -p (--page-requisites) - Get images, CSS, JS
  • -E (--adjust-extension) - Save as .html
  • -np (--no-parent) - Don't go to parent directory

wget vs curl

  • wget - Better for downloads, recursive, mirroring
  • curl - Better for API calls, more protocols, more flexible

Tips

  • Use -c to resume interrupted downloads
  • Use -b for large files (runs in background)
  • Use --limit-rate to be polite to servers
  • Use -np to stay within target directory
  • Use --random-wait to avoid being blocked
  • Check wget log with tail -f wget-log
  • Great for scripting and automation
  • Be respectful when mirroring sites

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