How to Install Wget on Mac and Windows Laptop (2025 Guide)

If you work with servers, web development, or data downloads, chances are you’ve heard of wget. It’s a powerful command-line tool that allows you to download files from the internet, mirror websites, and automate file retrieval with ease.

As a web hosting company, we recommend wget for developers, system administrators, and anyone who needs fast, reliable file downloads without relying on a browser. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to install wget on Mac and Windows laptops in 2025.

Why Install Wget?

• Automate file downloads.
• Resume interrupted downloads.
• Download entire websites for offline use.
• Integrate with scripts for server management.
• Faster and more reliable than browsers.

How to Install Wget on Mac (MacBook, iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro)

Step 1: Install Homebrew (if not installed)

Homebrew is the most popular package manager for macOS. Open your Terminal and run:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Add Homebrew to your shell environment:

echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.zprofile
eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

Step 2: Install wget

Once Homebrew is installed, simply run:

brew install wget

Step 3: Verify wget Installation

Check the installed version:

wget --version

If you see a version number, congratulations — wget is now installed on your Mac.

How to Install Wget on Windows (Windows 10 & Windows 11)

Unlike Linux or macOS, Windows does not come with wget pre-installed. Here are the easiest methods:

Method 1: Install wget via Chocolatey

Install Chocolatey (Windows package manager). Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force; `
[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = `
[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072; `
iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))

2. Install wget:

choco install wget -y

3. Verify installation:

wget --version

Method 2: Use Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

If you use WSL (Ubuntu, Debian, etc.), you can install wget just like on Linux:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install wget -y

Common wget Usage Examples

Download a file:

wget https://example.com/file.zip

Resume an interrupted download:

wget -c https://example.com/file.zip

Mirror an entire website:

wget -m https://example.com

Final Thoughts

Installing wget on both Mac and Windows laptops is simple and highly useful for web developers, system administrators, and IT professionals. Whether you’re managing a server, downloading backups, or automating tasks, wget is a must-have tool in 2025.

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