@end iftex
@c This should really be auto-generated!
-@set VERSION 1.7-dev
-@set UPDATED Jan 2001
+@set VERSION 1.8-dev
+@set UPDATED November 2001
@dircategory Net Utilities
@dircategory World Wide Web
This manual documents version @value{VERSION} of GNU Wget, the freely
available utility for network download.
-Copyright @copyright{} 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+Copyright @copyright{} 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001 Free Software
+Foundation, Inc.
@menu
* Overview:: Features of Wget.
Without @samp{-c}, the previous example would just download the remote
file to @file{ls-lR.Z.1}, leaving the truncated @file{ls-lR.Z} file
-alone.
+alone.
+
+Beginning with Wget 1.7, if you use @samp{-c} on a non-empty file, and
+it turns out that the server does not support continued downloading,
+Wget will refuse to start the download from scratch, which would
+effectively ruin existing contents. If you really want the download to
+start from scratch, remove the file.
-If you use @samp{-c} on a file which is now smaller on the server than
-locally (presumably because it was changed on the server since your last
-download attempt), the file will be re-downloaded from scratch.
-Unfortunately this also happens if the local file is the same length as
-the server file---this will be fixed in a future version of Wget, but in
-the meantime you can use @samp{--timestamping} to prevent this on files
-for which the server gives timestamps (e.g. static files but not CGI
-output or @sc{http} directory listings).
+Also beginning with Wget 1.7, if you use @samp{-c} on a file which is of
+equal size as the one on the server, Wget will refuse to download the
+file and print an explanatory message. The same happens when the file
+is smaller on the server than locally (presumably because it was changed
+on the server since your last download attempt)---because ``continuing''
+is not meaningful, no download occurs.
On the other side of the coin, while using @samp{-c}, any file that's
bigger on the server than locally will be considered an incomplete
-download and only @code{(length(server) - length(local))} bytes will
-be downloaded and tacked onto the end of the local file. This behavior
-can be desirable in certain cases---for instance, you can use @samp{wget
--c} to download just the new portion that's been appended to a data
+download and only @code{(length(remote) - length(local))} bytes will be
+downloaded and tacked onto the end of the local file. This behavior can
+be desirable in certain cases---for instance, you can use @samp{wget -c}
+to download just the new portion that's been appended to a data
collection or log file.
However, if the file is bigger on the server because it's been
Note that @samp{-c} only works with @sc{ftp} servers and with @sc{http}
servers that support the @code{Range} header.
+@cindex progress indicator
@cindex dot style
-@cindex retrieval tracing style
-@item --dot-style=@var{style}
-Set the retrieval style to @var{style}. Wget traces the retrieval of
-each document by printing dots on the screen, each dot representing a
-fixed amount of retrieved data. Any number of dots may be separated in
-a @dfn{cluster}, to make counting easier. This option allows you to
-choose one of the pre-defined styles, determining the number of bytes
-represented by a dot, the number of dots in a cluster, and the number of
-dots on the line.
-
-With the @code{default} style each dot represents 1K, there are ten dots
-in a cluster and 50 dots in a line. The @code{binary} style has a more
-``computer''-like orientation---8K dots, 16-dots clusters and 48 dots
-per line (which makes for 384K lines). The @code{mega} style is
-suitable for downloading very large files---each dot represents 64K
-retrieved, there are eight dots in a cluster, and 48 dots on each line
-(so each line contains 3M). The @code{micro} style is exactly the
-reverse; it is suitable for downloading small files, with 128-byte dots,
-8 dots per cluster, and 48 dots (6K) per line.
+@item --progress=@var{type}
+Select the type of the progress indicator you wish to use. Legal
+indicators are ``dot'' and ``bar''.
+
+The ``dot'' indicator is used by default. It traces the retrieval by
+printing dots on the screen, each dot representing a fixed amount of
+downloaded data.
+
+When using the dotted retrieval, you may also set the @dfn{style} by
+specifying the type as @samp{dot:@var{style}}. Different styles assign
+different meaning to one dot. With the @code{default} style each dot
+represents 1K, there are ten dots in a cluster and 50 dots in a line.
+The @code{binary} style has a more ``computer''-like orientation---8K
+dots, 16-dots clusters and 48 dots per line (which makes for 384K
+lines). The @code{mega} style is suitable for downloading very large
+files---each dot represents 64K retrieved, there are eight dots in a
+cluster, and 48 dots on each line (so each line contains 3M).
+
+Specifying @samp{--progress=bar} will draw a nice ASCII progress bar
+graphics (a.k.a ``thermometer'' display) to indicate retrieval. If the
+output is not a TTY, this option will be ignored, and Wget will revert
+to the dot indicator. If you want to force the bar indicator, use
+@samp{--progress=bar:force}.
@item -N
@itemx --timestamping
Note that this option is turned on by default in the global
@file{wgetrc} file.
+@cindex wait, random
+@cindex random wait
+@itemx --random-wait
+Some web sites may perform log analysis to identify retrieval programs
+such as Wget by looking for statistically significant similarities in
+the time between requests. This option causes the time between requests
+to vary between 0 and 2 * @var{wait} seconds, where @var{wait} was
+specified using the @samp{-w} or @samp{--wait} options, in order to mask
+Wget's presence from such analysis.
+
+A recent article in a publication devoted to development on a popular
+consumer platform provided code to perform this analysis on the fly.
+Its author suggested blocking at the class C address level to ensure
+automated retrieval programs were blocked despite changing DHCP-supplied
+addresses.
+
+The @samp{--random-wait} option was inspired by this ill-advised
+recommendation to block many unrelated users from a web site due to the
+actions of one.
+
@cindex proxy
@item -Y on/off
@itemx --proxy=on/off
Caching is allowed by default.
+@cindex cookies
+@item --cookies=on/off
+When set to off, disable the use of cookies. Cookies are a mechanism
+for maintaining server-side state. The server sends the client a cookie
+using the @code{Set-Cookie} header, and the client responds with the
+same cookie upon further requests. Since cookies allow the server
+owners to keep track of visitors and for sites to exchange this
+information, some consider them a breach of privacy. The default is to
+use cookies; however, @emph{storing} cookies is not on by default.
+
+@cindex loading cookies
+@cindex cookies, loading
+@item --load-cookies @var{file}
+Load cookies from @var{file} before the first HTTP retrieval. The
+format of @var{file} is one used by Netscape and Mozilla, at least their
+Unix version.
+
+@cindex saving cookies
+@cindex cookies, saving
+@item --save-cookies @var{file}
+Save cookies from @var{file} at the end of session. Cookies whose
+expiry time is not specified, or those that have already expired, are
+not saved.
+
@cindex Content-Length, ignore
@cindex ignore length
@item --ignore-length
@section FTP Options
@table @samp
-@cindex symbolic links, retrieving
-@item --retr-symlinks
-Usually, when retrieving @sc{ftp} directories recursively and a symbolic
-link is encountered, the linked-to file is not downloaded. Instead, a
-matching symbolic link is created on the local filesystem. The
-pointed-to file will not be downloaded unless this recursive retrieval
-would have encountered it separately and downloaded it anyway.
-
-When @samp{--retr-symlinks} is specified, however, symbolic links are
-traversed and the pointed-to files are retrieved. At this time, this
-option does not cause Wget to traverse symlinks to directories and
-recurse through them, but in the future it should be enhanced to do
-this.
-
-Note that when retrieving a file (not a directory) because it was
-specified on the commandline, rather than because it was recursed to,
-this option has no effect. Symbolic links are always traversed in this
-case.
+@cindex .listing files, removing
+@item -nr
+@itemx --dont-remove-listing
+Don't remove the temporary @file{.listing} files generated by @sc{ftp}
+retrievals. Normally, these files contain the raw directory listings
+received from @sc{ftp} servers. Not removing them can be useful for
+debugging purposes, or when you want to be able to easily check on the
+contents of remote server directories (e.g. to verify that a mirror
+you're running is complete).
+
+Note that even though Wget writes to a known filename for this file,
+this is not a security hole in the scenario of a user making
+@file{.listing} a symbolic link to @file{/etc/passwd} or something and
+asking @code{root} to run Wget in his or her directory. Depending on
+the options used, either Wget will refuse to write to @file{.listing},
+making the globbing/recursion/time-stamping operation fail, or the
+symbolic link will be deleted and replaced with the actual
+@file{.listing} file, or the listing will be written to a
+@file{.listing.@var{number}} file.
+
+Even though this situation isn't a problem, though, @code{root} should
+never run Wget in a non-trusted user's directory. A user could do
+something as simple as linking @file{index.html} to @file{/etc/passwd}
+and asking @code{root} to run Wget with @samp{-N} or @samp{-r} so the file
+will be overwritten.
@cindex globbing, toggle
@item -g on/off
Use the @dfn{passive} @sc{ftp} retrieval scheme, in which the client
initiates the data connection. This is sometimes required for @sc{ftp}
to work behind firewalls.
+
+@cindex symbolic links, retrieving
+@item --retr-symlinks
+Usually, when retrieving @sc{ftp} directories recursively and a symbolic
+link is encountered, the linked-to file is not downloaded. Instead, a
+matching symbolic link is created on the local filesystem. The
+pointed-to file will not be downloaded unless this recursive retrieval
+would have encountered it separately and downloaded it anyway.
+
+When @samp{--retr-symlinks} is specified, however, symbolic links are
+traversed and the pointed-to files are retrieved. At this time, this
+option does not cause Wget to traverse symlinks to directories and
+recurse through them, but in the future it should be enhanced to do
+this.
+
+Note that when retrieving a file (not a directory) because it was
+specified on the commandline, rather than because it was recursed to,
+this option has no effect. Symbolic links are always traversed in this
+case.
@end table
@node Recursive Retrieval Options, Recursive Accept/Reject Options, FTP Options, Invoking
@cindex link conversion
@item -k
@itemx --convert-links
-Convert the non-relative links to relative ones locally. Only the
-references to the documents actually downloaded will be converted; the
-rest will be left unchanged.
+After the download is complete, convert the links in the document to
+make them suitable for local viewing. This affects not only the visible
+hyperlinks, but any part of the document that links to external content,
+such as embedded images, links to style sheets, hyperlinks to non-HTML
+content, etc.
+
+Each link will be changed in one of the two ways:
+
+@itemize @bullet
+@item
+The links to files that have been downloaded by Wget will be changed to
+refer to the file they point to as a relative link.
+
+Example: if the downloaded file @file{/foo/doc.html} links to
+@file{/bar/img.gif}, also downloaded, then the link in @file{doc.html}
+will be modified to point to @samp{../bar/img.gif}. This kind of
+transformation works reliably for arbitrary combinations of directories.
+
+@item
+The links to files that have not been downloaded by Wget will be changed
+to include host name and absolute path of the location they point to.
+
+Example: if the downloaded file @file{/foo/doc.html} links to
+@file{/bar/img.gif} (or to @file{../bar/img.gif}), then the link in
+@file{doc.html} will be modified to point to
+@file{http://@var{hostname}/bar/img.gif}.
+@end itemize
+
+Because of this, local browsing works reliably: if a linked file was
+downloaded, the link will refer to its local name; if it was not
+downloaded, the link will refer to its full Internet address rather than
+presenting a broken link. The fact that the former links are converted
+to relative links ensures that you can move the downloaded hierarchy to
+another directory.
Note that only at the end of the download can Wget know which links have
-been downloaded. Because of that, much of the work done by @samp{-k}
-will be performed at the end of the downloads.
+been downloaded. Because of that, the work done by @samp{-k} will be
+performed at the end of all the downloads.
@cindex backing up converted files
@item -K
directory listings. It is currently equivalent to
@samp{-r -N -l inf -nr}.
-@item -nr
-@itemx --dont-remove-listing
-Don't remove the temporary @file{.listing} files generated by @sc{ftp}
-retrievals. Normally, these files contain the raw directory listings
-received from @sc{ftp} servers. Not removing them can be useful to
-access the full remote file list when running a mirror, or for debugging
-purposes.
-
@cindex page requisites
@cindex required images, downloading
@item -p
For instance, say document @file{1.html} contains an @code{<IMG>} tag
referencing @file{1.gif} and an @code{<A>} tag pointing to external
-document @file{2.html}. Say that @file{2.html} is the same but that its
+document @file{2.html}. Say that @file{2.html} is similar but that its
image is @file{2.gif} and it links to @file{3.html}. Say this
continues up to some arbitrarily high number.
this is not the case, because @samp{-l 0} is equivalent to
@samp{-l inf}---that is, infinite recursion. To download a single HTML
page (or a handful of them, all specified on the commandline or in a
-@samp{-i} @sc{url} input file) and its requisites, simply leave off
-@samp{-p} and @samp{-l}:
+@samp{-i} @sc{url} input file) and its (or their) requisites, simply leave off
+@samp{-r} and @samp{-l}:
@example
wget -p http://@var{site}/1.html
wget -E -H -k -K -nh -p http://@var{site}/@var{document}
@end example
+In one case you'll need to add a couple more options. If @var{document}
+is a @code{<FRAMESET>} page, the "one more hop" that @samp{-p} gives you
+won't be enough---you'll get the @code{<FRAME>} pages that are
+referenced, but you won't get @emph{their} requisites. Therefore, in
+this case you'll need to add @samp{-r -l1} to the commandline. The
+@samp{-r -l1} will recurse from the @code{<FRAMESET>} page to to the
+@code{<FRAME>} pages, and the @samp{-p} will get their requisites. If
+you're already using a recursion level of 1 or more, you'll need to up
+it by one. In the future, @samp{-p} may be made smarter so that it'll
+do "two more hops" in the case of a @code{<FRAMESET>} page.
+
To finish off this topic, it's worth knowing that Wget's idea of an
external document link is any URL specified in an @code{<A>} tag, an
@code{<AREA>} tag, or a @code{<LINK>} tag other than @code{<LINK
@cindex ftp time-stamping
In theory, @sc{ftp} time-stamping works much the same as @sc{http}, only
-@sc{ftp} has no headers---time-stamps must be received from the
-directory listings.
+@sc{ftp} has no headers---time-stamps must be ferreted out of directory
+listings.
If an @sc{ftp} download is recursive or uses globbing, Wget will use the
@sc{ftp} @code{LIST} command to get a file listing for the directory
Enable/disable host-prefixed file names. @samp{-nH} disables it.
@item continue = on/off
-Enable/disable continuation of the retrieval---the same as @samp{-c}
-(which enables it).
+If set to on, force continuation of preexistent partially retrieved
+files. See @samp{-c} before setting it.
@item background = on/off
Enable/disable going to background---the same as @samp{-b} (which
@item convert links = on/off
Convert non-relative links locally. The same as @samp{-k}.
+@item cookies = on/off
+When set to off, disallow cookies. See the @samp{--cookies} option.
+
+@item load_cookies = @var{file}
+Load cookies from @var{file}. See @samp{--load-cookies}.
+
+@item save_cookies = @var{file}
+Save cookies to @var{file}. See @samp{--save-cookies}.
+
@item cut_dirs = @var{n}
Ignore @var{n} remote directory components.
@item dot_spacing = @var{n}
Specify the number of dots in a single cluster (10 by default).
-@item dot_style = @var{string}
-Specify the dot retrieval @dfn{style}, as with @samp{--dot-style}.
-
@item exclude_directories = @var{string}
Specify a comma-separated list of directories you wish to exclude from
download---the same as @samp{-X} (@pxref{Directory-Based Limits}).
Same as @samp{--exclude-domains} (@pxref{Domain Acceptance}).
@item follow_ftp = on/off
-Follow @sc{ftp} links from @sc{html} documents---the same as @samp{-f}.
+Follow @sc{ftp} links from @sc{html} documents---the same as
+@samp{--follow-ftp}.
@item follow_tags = @var{string}
Only follow certain HTML tags when doing a recursive retrieval, just like
Set your @sc{ftp} password to @var{password}. Without this setting, the
password defaults to @samp{username@@hostname.domainname}.
+@item progress = @var{string}
+Set the type of the progress indicator. Legal types are ``dot'' and
+``bar''.
+
@item proxy_user = @var{string}
Set proxy authentication user name to @var{string}, like @samp{--proxy-user}.
Wait up to @var{n} seconds between retries of failed retrievals
only---the same as @samp{--waitretry}. Note that this is turned on by
default in the global @file{wgetrc}.
+
+@item randomwait = on/off
+Turn random between-request wait times on or off. The same as
+@samp{--random-wait}.
@end table
@node Sample Wgetrc, , Wgetrc Commands, Startup File
connections.
@item ftp_proxy
-This variable should contain the @sc{url} of the proxy for @sc{http}
+This variable should contain the @sc{url} of the proxy for @sc{ftp}
connections. It is quite common that @sc{http_proxy} and @sc{ftp_proxy}
are set to the same @sc{url}.
You may specify your username and password either through the proxy
@sc{url} or through the command-line options. Assuming that the
-company's proxy is located at @samp{proxy.srce.hr} at port 8001, a proxy
-@sc{url} location containing authorization data might look like this:
+company's proxy is located at @samp{proxy.company.com} at port 8001, a
+proxy @sc{url} location containing authorization data might look like
+this:
@example
http://hniksic:mypassword@@proxy.company.com:8001/
@cindex mailing list
@cindex list
-Wget has its own mailing list at @email{wget@@sunsite.auc.dk}, thanks
+Wget has its own mailing list at @email{wget@@sunsite.dk}, thanks
to Karsten Thygesen. The mailing list is for discussion of Wget
features and web, reporting Wget bugs (those that you think may be of
interest to the public) and mailing announcements. You are welcome to
subscribe. The more people on the list, the better!
-To subscribe, send mail to @email{wget-subscribe@@sunsite.auc.dk}.
+To subscribe, send mail to @email{wget-subscribe@@sunsite.dk}.
the magic word @samp{subscribe} in the subject line. Unsubscribe by
-mailing to @email{wget-unsubscribe@@sunsite.auc.dk}.
+mailing to @email{wget-unsubscribe@@sunsite.dk}.
The mailing list is archived at @url{http://fly.srk.fer.hr/archive/wget}.
Alternative archive is available at
people stuck with Windows. Note that the Windows port is
@strong{neither tested nor maintained} by me---all questions and
problems should be reported to Wget mailing list at
-@email{wget@@sunsite.auc.dk} where the maintainers will look at them.
+@email{wget@@sunsite.dk} where the maintainers will look at them.
@node Signals, , Portability, Various
@section Signals
Dieter Baron,
Roger Beeman and the Gurus at Cisco,
Dan Berger,
+Paul Bludov,
Mark Boyns,
John Burden,
Wanderlei Cavassin,
Aleksandar Erkalovic,
@end ifinfo
Andy Eskilsson,
+Christian Fraenkel,
Masashi Fujita,
Howard Gayle,
Marcel Gerrits,
Gregor Hoffleit,
Erik Magnus Hulthen,
Richard Huveneers,
+Jonas Jensen,
Simon Josefsson,
@iftex
Mario Juri@'{c},
@ifinfo
Mario Juric,
@end ifinfo
+@iftex
+Hack Kampbj@o rn,
+@end iftex
+@ifinfo
+Hack Kampbjorn,
+@end ifinfo
Const Kaplinsky,
@iftex
Goran Kezunovi@'{c},
Goran Kezunovic,
@end ifinfo
Robert Kleine,
+KOJIMA Haime,
Fila Kolodny,
Alexander Kourakos,
Martin Kraemer,
@end ifinfo
Hrvoje Lacko,
Daniel S. Lewart,
+@iftex
+Nicol@'{a}s Lichtmeier,
+@end iftex
+@ifinfo
+Nicolas Lichtmeier,
+@end ifinfo
Dave Love,
Alexander V. Lukyanov,
Jordan Mendelson,
Lin Zhe Min,
+Tim Mooney,
Simon Munton,
Charlie Negyesi,
R. K. Owen,
Jan Prikryl,
@end ifinfo
Marin Purgar,
+@iftex
+Csaba R@'{a}duly,
+@end iftex
+@ifinfo
+Csaba Raduly,
+@end ifinfo
Keith Refson,
Tyler Riddle,
Tobias Ringstrom,
Tage Stabell-Kulo,
Sven Sternberger,
Markus Strasser,
+John Summerfield,
Szakacsits Szabolcs,
Mike Thomas,
+Philipp Thomas,
Russell Vincent,
Charles G Waldman,
Douglas E. Wegscheid,
@cindex copying
@cindex GPL
@cindex GFDL
-
-Wget is @dfn{free software}, where ``free'' refers to liberty, not
-price. As the GNU people like to say, think of ``free speech'' rather
-than ``free beer''. The exact legal distribution terms follow below,
-but in short, you have the right (freedom) to run and change Wget and
-distribute it to other people, and even---if you want---charge money for
-any of these things. The sole restriction is that you have to grant
-your recipients the same rights.
-
-This method of licensing software is also known as @dfn{open-source},
-because it requires that the recipients always receive a program's
-source code along with the program.
-
-More specifically:
+@cindex free software
+
+GNU Wget is licensed under the GNU GPL, which makes it @dfn{free
+software}.
+
+Please note that ``free'' in ``free software'' refers to liberty, not
+price. As some GNU project advocates like to point out, think of ``free
+speech'' rather than ``free beer''. The exact and legally binding
+distribution terms are spelled out below; in short, you have the right
+(freedom) to run and change Wget and distribute it to other people, and
+even---if you want---charge money for doing either. The important
+restriction is that you have to grant your recipients the same rights
+and impose the same restrictions.
+
+This method of licensing software is also known as @dfn{open source}
+because, among other things, it makes sure that all recipients will
+receive the source code along with the program, and be able to improve
+it. The GNU project prefers the term ``free software'' for reasons
+outlined at
+@url{http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html}.
+
+The exact license terms are defined by this paragraph and the GNU
+General Public License it refers to:
@quotation
-This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+GNU Wget is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
option) any later version.
-This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
-WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
-General Public License for more details.
+GNU Wget is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License
+for more details.
-You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+A copy of the GNU General Public License is included as part of this
+manual; if you did not receive it, write to the Free Software
Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
@end quotation
projects / wget / blobdiff