How to download a file into a directory using curl or wget?

When using curl or wget to download files to a specified directory, first verify that these tools are installed on your system. If installed, follow these steps to download files using these tools.

Using curl to Download Files

curl is a powerful tool for transferring data from servers, supporting various protocols including HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP. To download a file to a specific directory using curl, use the -o or -O option.

Example:

Suppose you want to download an image and save it to the /downloads directory with the filename image.jpg:

bash
curl -o /downloads/image.jpg https://example.com/image.jpg

Here, specify the full path to save the file using the -o option. To have curl use the last part of the URL as the filename, use -O (capital O), and first change to the target directory using cd:

bash
cd /downloads
curl -O https://example.com/image.jpg

Using wget to Download Files

wget is another popular command-line tool for downloading files, supporting HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP protocols. Similar to curl, wget can easily download files to a specified directory.

Example:

If you want to download the same image.jpg file and save it to the /downloads directory:

bash
wget -P /downloads https://example.com/image.jpg

The -P option lets you specify the directory for saving the downloaded file. Alternatively, you can first change to the target directory and then execute the download:

bash
cd /downloads
wget https://example.com/image.jpg

Summary

• With curl, specify the full filename including the path using -o, or use -O to download to the current directory.
• With wget, specify the download directory using -P, or directly use wget in the target directory.

These tools are both highly effective for downloading files, and you can choose which one to use based on your needs and preferences.