Hello, how are you? This time we’re going to talk about Wget. It is a tool created by the GNU Project. Its main purpose is to get content and files from different web servers. Besides, it supports downloads via FTP, SFTP, HTTP, and HTTPS. Its features include recursive download, conversion of links for offline viewing of local HTML, and support for proxies. It is a widely known program in Linux environments, since its appearance in 1996. However, it can also be ported to Windows, where its use is not well known. For that reason, we will see how to install and use Wget in Windows 10.
Installing Wget in Windows 10
Wget is a free tool and relatively simple to install in a Linux environment. Just type the appropriate commands to each distribution, and you’re done. However, when it comes to Windows, the situation changes. There are many installers and options that end up with installation errors. However, we’ve got this version that works properly. Go to this link and download version 1.11.4-1
Next, we proceed to run the installer. Just double click and the wizard will start, press next to continue:
Then accept the license terms, and click Next to continue the installation.
Select the folder where the program will be installed. Click next to continue the installation.
Next, select the components to install. To ensure proper operation, check both boxes and press Next to continue the installation.
Next, you can create direct access to the application and its respective location
You can install additional icons. Click Next to continue
Verify the installation options and press Install to finish the process.
Once the installation is finished, we will see the following screen.
Using Wget in Windows 10
Please note that Wget does not have a graphical interface, so you will have to use it through command in the CMD. To check that the program is actually installed, please go to the installation directory. Depending on the installation options selected, it should be as follows:
C:\Program Files (x86)\GnuWin32\bin
What we need to do is open a command prompt. With this intention, press the Win+R combination and type CMD
Once there, use the CD command to navigate to the file location mentioned above. Then type Wget to use the program.
Add environment variable
We have correctly installed Wget. However, to be able to use it we always have to navigate to the installation folder of the program. This is cumbersome, so if we want to use Wget from any directory, we need to add an environment variable. With this in mind, please follow this path: Control Panel>System and Security>System>Advanced system settings
On the next screen, choose Environment Variables
Next, we are going to create a new environment variable. With that intention, please select Path and press Edit.
On the next screen first select New, then Browse. You must select the address where the program is installed.
Press ok in each of the open windows, and we can run Wget every time we open a Command Prompt. It doesn’t matter which directory we’re in. Let’s test the Wget command, downloading its executable for windows 10. With this intention, we enter this command in the CMD
wget https://sourceforge.net/projects/gnuwin32/files/wget/1.11.4-1/wget-1.11.4-1-setup.exe/download
Using Wget in Windows Subsystem for Linux
We have already seen how to use bash in windows 10. Through WSL we can also use Wget natively. To do this, we’ll open ubuntu and run the following command:
sudo apt-get install wget
Enter your password, and wait while the program is installed. Now we are ready to use wget in Windows 10.
Finally, we have seen how to install Wget in Windows 10. We can do it natively or using the Windows Subsystem for Linux. Both methods are valid for using this powerful download tool. Not only will we have access to files, but also to complete pages so that they can run offline. All right, that’s it for now, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. We are here to serve! until next time!
