GNU Wget

GNU Wget is a super handy command line tool that you can use right from the OS X Terminal app. It helps you download files using protocols like HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP. By default, when you use GNU Wget, it saves the files to whatever folder you're currently in on your command line.

Installing GNU Wget Made Easy

You usually get GNU Wget as a source code archive. This means you'll need to configure, build, and install it yourself. But don't worry! The awesome folks at Softpedia have put together everything for you in a neat installer package. You just have to follow the on-screen instructions, and you're all set!

How to Use GNU Wget

The next step? Just fire up your Terminal app and call the wget command with the download link. For example, type: wget http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/wget/wget-1.16.tar.gz. Simple as that!

Customizing Your Downloads

If you're curious about what options you have, just type wget -h. This will show you all the cool customization features along with how to use them.

Supported Protocols and Features

GNU Wget supports popular internet protocols like HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP. It can handle persistent HTTP connections and even work with HTTP proxies or cookies.

No Supervision Needed!

Once you hit enter on that download command, GNU Wget takes over! You don't need to supervise anything while it's working its magic. Plus, if you're mirroring directories, it checks date stamps to see if a file needs downloading again.

The Power of Resuming Downloads

This tool also lets you transfer data easily using Terminal commands—just trigger it with your source URL and let GNU Wget do its thing! And if your downloads get interrupted? No problem! It can pick up right where it left off. This feature is especially helpful when dealing with large archives.