cURL vs Wget: Key Differences and Best Uses

You can create a custom Python web scraper for images , text, and all other website data, but it requires extensive knowledge, time, and money. Most users want something more accessible. The two most immediate command-line tools, especially for Linux users, are cURL and Wget.

All you need to do is enter a few simple lines in the command prompt, and the script will download files. With a bit of tweaking, there are also possibilities to integrate API automation tools and to avoid getting blocked by using proxies.

What Is cURL?

cURL (short for Client for URL) is an open-source command line tool for transferring data from a computer to a server and vice versa. It provides a library (libcurl) and uses a variety of network protocols, such as FTP, FTPS, HTTP, HTTPS, IMAP, and over twenty others.

Initially created in the ‘90s to automate currency exchange rate retrieval, it’s still widely used to transfer all sorts of data. Various devices, from routers and mobile phones to television sets and cars, use it to communicate with a remote server, for example, send POST requests .

Learning cURL is easy because many actions can be completed even with a single cURL command. cURL is also accessible as it has no graphical user interface and is pre-installed on many operating systems.

It’s a tool for anyone to add client-side file transfer capabilities to their scripts, automation tools, APIs, and other software.

What Is Wget?

Wget (or GNU Wget) is a command-line utility used to download files from a remote server on the internet. It’s non-interactive, which means it can work in the background while the user is not logged on, and can easily be called with a simple Wget command from scripts and terminals.

Other tools, such as web browsers, require constant user presence, which is inefficient when downloading lots of files. That’s why Wget is most used for retrieving large files and mirroring an entire website or FTP server using HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP protocols.

Wget supports recursively downloading files, which means it can follow links on web pages to retrieve all the directory structures. While it doesn’t come pre-installed in Windows or macOS and requires an additional tool, called Wput, to upload files, it’s a great tool to download files recursively.

cURL vs Wget: Features and Differences

Can cURL Replace Wget?

cURL can replace Wget, but it depends on several factors whether it should. We can highlight at least two cases where it can be a suitable replacement and two where it cannot.

• Device support

Some devices, most notably those running on Windows 10 and later, have cURL pre-installed so you can start downloading files right away. In such cases, using Wget requires additional setup, which might be more complicated.

• Protocols

The target website or FTP server might also require a specific protocol to retrieve files more efficiently or at all. cURL is a better alternative in such instances since it supports well over 20 protocols, whereas Wget only works with HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP.

• Recursive downloads

cURL cannot replace Wget when you need to download lots of files or mirror an entire website by following links. cURL simply doesn’t have recursive downloading functionality, which Wget excels at.

• Ease of use

Beginners might find it difficult to replace cURL with Wget as it has a steep learning curve. This is due to cURL supporting more protocols and focusing on data transfer. One Wget command can often start downloading files in bulk right away.

Which Tool Is Better for Handling FTP?

Working with FTP servers involves not just downloading files but uploading them as well. cURL can achieve it natively, while Wget will require you to install an additional FTP client called Wput.

The syntax of commands is similar to Wget, but simply using cURL will not require you to install any additional software. cURL allows file uploading with a dedicated command -T (or –upload-file).

It also supports more advanced commands, such as uploading multiple files at once, appending, and managing authentication, ports, or headings. Without Wput, Wget does not support any of these functions.

When it comes to downloading, Wget is generally considered to be simpler to use. It can also save time when you need whole directories, thanks to recursive downloading. cURL might be a more time-consuming option in such cases.

Overall, Wget is better when you don’t need to upload files or install an additional tool for it. cURL is advantageous when you need to quickly access the FTP server for retrieval or uploading under many different protocols, including FTPS or SFTP.

How Do You Download a File Using cURL and Wget?

You can access a website’s HTML code with cURL by using the GET request command , which only requires you to enter curl followed by the website’s URL. The cURL command for downloading a website page as a local file requires adding the output (-O) parameter.

curl -O [URL]

curl -O https://iproyal.com/blog

With this cURL command, you can download files using the same name as the last part of the URL (its file name). Our example command will download the blog page with the name blog. If you want to specify the file name and type, you can use a command with the non-capitalized letter o.

curl -o [file name] [URL]

curl -o best_proxies.html https://iproyal.com

Scraping websites with cURL involves more nuance, especially when you need to set a user agent and use cURL proxies to avoid detection. Yet, these basic commands are enough to compare cURL and Wget.

The Wget command for downloading files has a similar syntax that only requires you to write wget followed by a URL. You can also set the name and type of the file by adding -O and specifying it before the URL.

wget -O [file name][URL]

wget -O Best_Blog.html https://iproyal.com/blog/

Perhaps the most important advantage of Wget over cURL is the ability to download files recursively. **You can do it by adding the command –recursive (can be shortened as -r) and following the same basic syntax.

Wget will download not only the root page you provide, but also other resources linked to it. The default maximum depth is set to five, but it can be overridden by changing the parameter ‐l (or –level=NUMBER).

wget -O Best_Proxy_Blog.html ‐l=6 -r https://iproyal.com/blog/

By default, Wget excludes the pages under robots.txt. It can be changed by using the command -e robots=off. Be aware that not following robots.txt or sending too many requests because of great depth might lead to web servers blocking your IP address. It’s best to set a proxy for Wget to avoid these issues.

Conclusion

Both cURL and Wget are powerful tools with relatively easy syntax for basic tasks. Which one is better depends on your use case. Generally, cURL is better when uploading files and working with many different protocols. Wget, on the other hand, is most frequently used to download files from websites recursively.