Wget​ ​Windows​ ​Guide

This​ ​guide​ ​will​ ​walk​ ​you​ ​through​ ​the​ ​steps​ ​for​ ​installing​ ​and​ ​using​ ​wget​ ​on​ ​Windows.

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Quick​ ​Jump:
Getting​ ​Started
Installing
Usage
-​ ​The​ ​wget​ ​help​ ​and​ ​man​ ​page
-​ ​Download​ ​a​ ​single​ ​file
-​ ​Download​ ​a​ ​folder
-​ ​Other​ ​flags​ ​worth​ ​noting
Getting​ ​Started
Wget​ ​is​ ​a​ ​command​ ​line​ ​program,​ ​this​ ​means​ ​that​ ​you​ ​use​ ​it​ ​by​ ​interacting​ ​with​ ​the
command​ ​line.​ ​The​ ​command​ ​prompt​ ​on​ ​Windows​ ​machines​ ​is​ ​called​ ​ ​CMD​ ​.

There​ ​are​ ​two​ ​ways​ ​to​ ​get​ ​to​ ​the​ ​windows​ ​command​ ​prompt.​ ​The​ ​first​ ​is​ ​just​ ​by
searching​ ​ ​cmd​ ​ ​and​ ​hitting​ ​enter.​ ​The​ ​second​ ​is​ ​by​ ​hitting​ ​the​ ​ ​Windows​ ​+​ ​r​ ​ ​keys​ ​and
typing​ ​in​ ​ ​cmd.exe​ ​ ​and​ ​hitting​ ​enter.

When​ ​you​ ​have​ ​​c

​md​
​​​​open​ ​it'll​ ​normally​ ​look​ ​like​ ​this:

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Installing
Now,​ ​we​ ​will​ ​be​ ​installing​ ​wget.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​have​ ​a​ ​64​ ​Bit​ ​system​ ​download​ ​this​ ​file​​ ​and​ ​if​ ​your
system​ ​is​ ​32​ ​Bit​ ​download​ ​this​ ​file​.

If​ ​you​ ​downloaded​ ​ ​wget64.exe​ ​ ​ ​I​ ​would​ ​suggest​ ​renaming​ ​the​ ​file​ ​to​ ​ ​wget.exe​
​ ​.​ ​This
makes​ ​it​ ​easier​ ​to​ ​use​ ​later​ ​on.

After​ ​you​ ​have​ ​downloaded​ ​the​ ​file,​ ​we​ ​need​ ​to​ ​place​ ​the​ ​file​ ​in​ ​our​ ​path.​ ​Navigate​ ​to    
​​
C:\Program​​ Files​​​​in​ ​Windows​ ​Explorer.

Next​ ​create​ ​a​ ​folder​ ​called​ ​​​

Binaries​​
.​ ​Do​ ​this​ ​by​ ​right​ ​clicking​ ​on​ ​the​ ​blank​ ​half​ ​and
and​ ​going​ ​to​ ​ ​New​ ​>​ ​Folder

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The​ ​folder​ ​will​ ​pop​ ​up​ ​and​ ​name​ ​it​ ​​​
Binaries​.​

Next,​ ​you​ ​will​ ​need​ ​to​ ​move​ ​the​ ​​​

wget.exe​​​​file​ ​you​ ​downloaded​ ​into​ ​the​ ​​​
Binaries 
folder.

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Finally,​ ​we​ ​need​ ​to​ ​add​ ​the​ ​file​ ​to​ ​our​ ​path.​ ​You'll​ ​need​ ​to​ ​have​ ​the​ ​command​ ​prompt
open​ ​for​ ​this​ ​step.

When​ ​you​ ​have​ ​the​ ​command​ ​prompt​ ​open,​ ​you'll​ ​need​ ​to​ ​enter​ ​this
​​
set​​ "PATH=%PATH%;C:\Program​​ Files/Binaries"​​ ​ ​press​ ​enter​ ​when​ ​inputted.​ ​If​ ​it
was​ ​successful,​ ​it​ ​shouldn't​ ​say​ ​anything​ ​back.

NOTE:​ ​This​ ​will​ ​only​ ​set​ ​the​ ​path​ ​temporarily,​ ​to​ ​set​ ​it​ ​permanently,​ ​follow​ ​this​.

If​ ​you​ ​have​ ​followed​ ​these​ ​instructions​ ​correctly,​ ​when​ ​you​ ​type​ ​ ​wget​ ​ ​and​ ​hit​ ​enter​ ​in
the​ ​command​ ​prompt​ ​it​ ​will​ ​tell​ ​you​ ​ ​wget:​ ​missing​ ​URL​ ​ ​this​ ​means​ ​everything​ ​is
working​ ​properly!

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NOTE:​​ ​If​ ​you​ ​forgot​ ​to​ ​rename​ ​​​ wget64.exe​​​​to​ ​​​
wget.exe​​​​you​ ​will​ ​have​ ​to​ ​use
​​
wget64​​​​instead​ ​of​ ​ ​ ​
wget​​ ​ ​at​ ​the​ ​command​ ​prompt.

NOTE:​​ ​If​ ​you​ ​do​ ​not​ ​have​ ​administrator​ ​access​ ​you​ ​can​ ​use​ ​a​ ​different​ ​folder​ ​from
​​
C:\Program​​ Files​​​​just​ ​make​ ​sure​ ​that​ ​you​ ​also​ ​change​ ​this​ ​in​ ​the​ ​path​ ​section.

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Using​ ​wget
This​ ​section​ ​will​ ​explain​ ​how​ ​to​ ​use​ ​wget​ ​when​ ​it's​ ​installed

The​ ​wget​ ​help​ ​and​ ​man​ ​page

If​ ​you​ ​are​ ​having​ ​an​ ​issue​ ​or​ ​want​ ​to​ ​find​ ​out​ ​how​ ​to​ ​do​ ​something​ ​new,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​almost
always​ ​find​ ​this​ ​info​ ​in​ ​the​ ​wget​ ​man​ ​page.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​want​ ​to​ ​view​ ​basic​ ​help​ ​about​ ​wget
from​ ​the​ ​command​ ​line​ ​you​ ​can​ ​enter​ ​ ​wget​ ​-h​ ​.​ ​This​ ​will​ ​give​ ​you​ ​a​ ​list​ ​of​ ​available​ ​flags
to​ ​use​ ​and​ ​their​ ​arguments.​ ​Additionally,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​find​ ​the​ ​wget​ ​man​ ​page
[here](https://linux.die.net/man/1/wget),​ ​this​ ​is​ ​a​ ​detailed​ ​guide​ ​and​ ​can​ ​be​ ​a​ ​bit​ ​easier​ ​to
read​ ​than​ ​just​ ​ ​wget​ ​-h​ ​.

Download​ ​a​ ​single​ ​file

If​ ​you​ ​want​ ​to​ ​download​ ​a​ ​single​ ​files​ ​with​ ​wget,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​typically​ ​very​ ​easy.​ ​At​ ​the
command​ ​line,​ ​enter​ ​​​ wget​​ '<your​​ url​​ here>'​.​​ ​This​ ​will​ ​begin​ ​your​ ​download​ ​and
show​ ​you​ ​a​ ​progress​ ​bar​ ​based​ ​on​ ​how​ ​complete​ ​the​ ​download​ ​is.

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Wget​ ​will​ ​download​ ​files​ ​to​ ​the​ ​folder​ ​you​ ​are​ ​running​ ​the​ ​command​ ​from.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​want
wget​ ​to​ ​download​ ​to​ ​another​ ​folder​ ​there​ ​are​ ​two​ ​ways​ ​to​ ​do​ ​this

The​ ​first​ ​is​ ​by​ ​navigating​ ​there​ ​from​ ​the​ ​command​ ​prompt.​ ​To​ ​do​ ​this​ ​enter
​​cd​​ <path​​ you​​ want​​to​​ go​​ to>​.​​ ​The​ ​ ​ ​
cd​​ ​ ​command​ ​stands​ ​for​ ​change​ ​directory​.​ ​It
is​ ​also​ ​worth​ ​noting​ ​that​ ​
​ ​cd​​
..​​ ​ ​will​ ​change​ ​to​ ​the​ ​parent​ ​folder.

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The​ ​second​ ​way​ ​it​ ​to​ ​tell​ ​wget.​ ​Do​ ​this​ ​by​ ​using​ ​the​ ​​​
--directory-prefix=<PATH> 
flag.

Download​ ​a​ ​folder

Sometimes,​ ​there​ ​are​ ​lots​ ​of​ ​files​ ​in​ ​a​ ​folder​ ​you​ ​would​ ​like​ ​to​ ​download.​ ​Wget​ ​makes
doing​ ​this​ ​easy.​ ​Passing​ ​the​ ​​​ -m​​​​or​ ​mirror​ ​flag​ ​to​ ​wget​ ​will​ ​tell​ ​it​ ​to​ ​recurse​ ​into​ ​folder
and​ ​download​ ​all​ ​the​ ​files​ ​on​ ​each​ ​flag.​ ​When​ ​you​ ​use​ ​the​ ​ ​ ​
-m​​​​flag​ ​it​ ​is​ ​also​ ​suggested
to​ ​use​ ​the​ ​
​ ​
-np​​​​flag​ ​or​ ​no​ ​parent​.​ ​This​ ​prevents​ ​wget​ ​from​ ​downloading​ ​the​ ​entire​ ​site
and​ ​going​ ​up​ ​folders.​ ​Wget​ ​will​ ​also​ ​download​ ​all​ ​the​ ​ ​index.html​ ​ ​files,​ ​the​ ​way​ ​to
prevent​ ​this​ ​is​ ​by​ ​using​ ​ ​ ​
-R​​ 'index.html*'​​ ,​ ​
​ ​
-R​​ ​ ​means​ ​reject​.​ ​Another​ ​very​ ​helpful
flag​ ​to​ ​include​ ​is​ ​the​ ​
​ ​
-c​​​​flag,​ ​or​ ​continue​,​ ​this​ ​will​ ​resume​ ​downloads​ ​that​ ​got
interrupted​ ​when​ ​downloading.

We​ ​end​ ​up​ ​with​ ​the​ ​basic​ ​command

​​
wget​​
-m​​
-np​​
-c​​
-R​​
'index.html*'​​
'<your​​
url>' 

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Other​ ​flags​ ​worth​ ​noting

These​ ​additional​ ​flags​ ​may​ ​help​ ​you​ ​also.

● ​​
-U​​​​-​ ​user​ ​agent​ ​This​ ​will​ ​set​ ​the​ ​user​ ​agent​ ​that​ ​is​ ​used​ ​when​ ​downloading,
some​ ​sites​ ​block​ ​things​ ​like​ ​wget​ ​and​ ​this​ ​will​ ​usually​ ​work​ ​to​ ​work​ ​around​ ​that​ ​by
setting​ ​them​ ​to​ ​a​ ​user​ ​agent​ ​of​ ​a​ ​valid​ ​browser.
● ​​ --no-check-certificate​​ ​ ​-​ ​Don't​ ​validate​ ​certificates​ ​If​ ​wget​ ​spits​ ​out
certificate​ ​issues,​ ​this​ ​flag​ ​will​ ​tell​ ​wget​ ​to​ ​ignore​ ​them​ ​and​ ​download​ ​anway
● ​ ​-O​ ​ ​-​ ​output​ ​Tell​ ​wget​ ​where​ ​to​ ​download​ ​a​ ​specific​ ​file,​ ​this​ ​is​ ​helpful​ ​if​ ​you​ ​want
to​ ​name​ ​the​ ​file​ ​something​ ​other​ ​than​ ​what​ ​it​ ​is​ ​on​ ​the​ ​site​ ​you're​ ​using.
● ​ ​-q​ ​ ​-​ ​quiet​ ​Download​ ​files​ ​without​ ​showing​ ​the​ ​output​ ​from​ ​the​ ​command
● ​​ -e​​ robots=off​​ ​ ​-​ ​disable​ ​robots.txt​ ​This​ ​command​ ​disables​ ​checking​ ​the
robots.txt​ ​ ​file.​ ​ ​Robots.txt​ ​ ​is​ ​used​ ​to​ ​tell​ ​crawlers​ ​what​ ​not​ ​to​ ​download,​ ​by
default​ ​wget​ ​will​ ​obey​ ​this​ ​and​ ​may​ ​leave​ ​files​ ​not​ ​downloaded.​ ​More​ ​about
​​ robots.txt​​ ​ ​can​ ​be​ ​found​ ​here​.

NOTE:​​ ​Stopping​ ​Wget​ ​If​ ​you​ ​would​ ​like​ ​to​ ​stop​ ​a​ ​currently​ ​running​ ​command​ ​hit​ ​the
Control​ ​+​ ​C​ ​ ​keys.