How to Use the wget Command in Python

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Lakshay Kapoor Feb 02, 2024
Python Python Wget
  1. Install the wget Module in Python
  2. Download File with wget in Python
How to Use the wget Command in Python

wget is a renowned URL network downloader that operates seamlessly in the background, facilitating the direct downloading of files from the primary server. In Python, this task is efficiently executed using the wget module. This article provides an in-depth exploration of utilizing the wget module in Python, enriched with detailed examples and explanations to enhance your understanding and application of this tool.

Install the wget Module in Python

In Python’s wget module, the file’s final destination is not necessary to open in the background to download a particular file. The URL and a definite path of the file have to be mentioned to download a specific file.

To download the wget module, run the following command.

pip install wget

Download File with wget in Python

The wget module simplifies the file downloading process, allowing users to download any file with a single line of code. Below is a detailed example demonstrating the use of the wget module to download a file from a website.

Let us have an example to see the use of the download method of the wget module to download a file from a website. We have to download a database file known as main_database.csv, which is in the form of a CSV file from a website called www.randomdatabase.com.

import wget

site_url = "https://sample-videos.com/csv/Sample-Spreadsheet-10-rows.csv"
file_name = wget.download(site_url)
print(file_name)

Note that the URL and the file’s proper path are stored in a separate variable, and that variable is the argument of the download method of the wget module.

Below is the step by step explanation of the above code.

  • Begin by importing the wget module into your Python script.
    import wget
  • Specify the File URL: Assign the URL of the file you intend to download to a variable. Ensure the URL is enclosed in quotation marks.
    site_url = "https://sample-videos.com/csv/Sample-Spreadsheet-10-rows.csv"
  • Download the File: Utilize the download method of the wget module, passing the URL variable as an argument. The method will download the file and return the file name.
    file_name = wget.download(site_url)

  • print(file_name)
Author: Lakshay Kapoor
Lakshay Kapoor avatar Lakshay Kapoor avatar

Lakshay Kapoor is a final year B.Tech Computer Science student at Amity University Noida. He is familiar with programming languages and their real-world applications (Python/R/C++). Deeply interested in the area of Data Sciences and Machine Learning.

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