How to download large files from Linux server using command line

Step 1 : Login to the server using the SSH login details. You can use softwares are putty or Terminal to access your server from SSH.

Step 2 : Since we are using 'Zip' for this example, the server must have Zip installed. To Install zip (incase you do not have it), type the following command

sudo apt-get install zip
Step 3 : Compress the file or folder you want to download. In order to zip the file, type the following command

For file :

zip filename.zip original_file (do not forget to add file extension)
where “filename” is the name of the zip file which will be created and original_file is the name of the original file



For folder :

zip -r example.zip folder_name
where “example” is the name of zip file which will be created after the command and “folder_name” is the name of folder which you want to zip

Step 4 : Now download the file using the following command

wget Path.to.the.zip.file
This command will store the file in the same directory where you run wget. If you want to store the downloaded file somewhere else, you may use -P option. The command for it :

wget -P /path/to/directory link.to.file
If you have downloaded zipped file then follow the following steps in order to get the original files
Step 5 : Install unzip (if you do not have) on your local machine. In order to install the unzip, type the following command

sudo apt-get install unzip
Step 6 : Navigate to the directory where the file is downloaded via command line

cd /path/to/directory
Step 7 : Type the following command

unzip example.zip
where “example.zip” is the file name of zipped file.