Resume interrupted downloads with wget -c
Continue a partially downloaded file from where the connection dropped — essential for large ISOs over flaky Wi-Fi.
Run `wget -c <url>` in the same directory as the partial file to continue from the byte it stopped at.
01Command
Command
$ wget -c https://example.com/ubuntu-24.04-live-server.iso02What it does
Without `-c`, a dropped connection means re-downloading a multi-gigabyte ISO from scratch; with it, wget sends a Range header and appends the remainder to the existing partial file. This also works in scripts and loops — `wget -c` is the standard idiom for retry-until-complete downloads. If the server doesn't support ranges, wget falls back to a full download rather than corrupting the file.
03Risk
!Warning: If the remote file has changed since the partial download, resuming will splice mismatched data together — delete the partial file when you know the source was updated.
04Undo
✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.
05Sources
- wget(1) — -c/--continue optionEvidence: Documents -c as continuing retrieval of a partially-downloaded file from where it left off.
Last verified: 2026-09-17 · Category: Network