Wget is a computer program efficient at retrieving data from web servers using FTP, HTTP, or HTTPS protocols to deliver downloadable files. The program was initially made for Unix-like systems and later ported to Windows. Wget is prevalent among web scrapers because of its ease of use, speed, and compatibility with multiple file types and programming languages.
Wget With Proxies for Web Scraping
It’s possible to pair wget with proxies to streamline retrieving data from web pages. To start using wget with proxies, you must first set up an http_proxy environment variable. When scraping a website that requires authentication, you’ll have to set up http_proxy_user and an http_proxy_pass variable.
Wget is great for making automated scrapers that can crawl through websites to collect data, including images, URLs, and HTML web pages. Wget thrives in four main areas: non-interactiveness, portability, reliability, and recursive download.
Non-Interactiveness
Wget runs on a command line interface, so it doesn’t need user interaction. It has no graphical interface and can use HTTP and proxy authentication. That means you don’t have to stay logged in when the files are downloading. In addition, you don’t have to manually restart the download when the process fails due to slow internet conditions or technical glitches.
Wget logs its process into a different file folder, so you can log off after the file downloading process initiates. The wget command works on its own to download relevant files from the target website pages. This results in more time and resource efficiency for the program and the user. For all of these reasons, you can maximize your data scraping with wget through a proxy.
Portability
Wget may not be a standalone script, but it doesn’t rely entirely on third-party libraries’ resources. It’s designed in the C programming language and requires a BSD-like interface and C compiler to download files from given sets of web pages. Also, you can port wget to different operating systems outside its UNIX environment.
You can also run wget on a terminal to download a page’s specific scripts or a webpage’s source code. The program can handle multiple concurrent connections when paired with proxies. For smoother and more efficient simultaneous downloading of files, you should install the sslwrap package or configure your browser to use HTTP proxies instead of direct connections.
Reliability and Robustness
One of the best features of wget for web scraping is its robustness and reliability when using connections with varied levels of stability. Most file download programs disrupt or terminate the file downloading process when the internet slows down. That requires restarting the whole process manually, which is time-consuming and resource-intensive.
As a non-interactive program, the wget command can efficiently navigate unstable and slow internet connections. For instance, if your internet connection becomes irregular when the program is in the middle of a file download, the wget proxy or command will automatically pause the process. Once your internet returns to normal, the program will restore the downloading process from where it stopped. That saves you time and resources and keeps you from repeating the same operation multiple times.
Recursive Downloads
Competent web scraping specialists recommend using wget with proxies because of its ability to download web pages recursively. The program can download content on a specific HTML page. For example, when an HTML page has a chain of links with several layers, the wget command downloads them down to the last item on the page.
Even in the case of pages with unlimited chain links, the command lets you set a unique endpoint. In simple terms, wget works similarly to a web crawler, downloading multiple files on an HTML page in a single download session.
Conclusion
Wget is one of the most efficient command programs designed to make data extraction much more efficient and cost-effective. Its remarkable features include download statistics, proxy support, and a built-in resume function. It’s free software with no graphical interface. The program is compatible with other tools, such as proxies. You can pair it with cURL to speed up complex and demanding web scraping tasks. All said and done, wget has many benefits as a web scraping script and can efficiently retrieve different kinds of data for varied everyday applications.