GNU Wget has released version 2.2.1, introducing several new features and bug fixes to this popular command-line utility for retrieving files over the Internet using protocols such as HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and FTPS.
One of the notable enhancements in this version is the new --show-progress option, which aims to improve backwards compatibility with earlier versions of Wget. Users can now also prevent file truncation when downloading by using the --no-clobber option. Additionally, Wget 2.2.1 allows users to utilize the local system timestamp with the introduction of the --no-use-server-timestamps argument.
The release addresses improvements in the messaging for URLs that aren’t being followed and adds support for using the ‘no_’ prefix in configuration options. Furthermore, it introduces support for the libnghttp2 library to facilitate HTTP/2 testing and adjusts the exit status to 8 when a 403 response code is encountered.
Significant bug fixes have been made, including addressing a remote buffer overflow issue in the get_local_filename_real() function, a redirect/mirror regression, and several other vulnerabilities affecting file downloads and configuration settings.
Improvements to the overall codebase, documentation, and CI/testing processes were also integrated into this version. Users interested in compiling GNU Wget 2.2.1 can download it from the official website, or they can wait for it to be available in their distro’s stable software repositories.
Wget’s robust features include support for HTTP proxies and cookies, persistent HTTP connections, background operations, and compatibility with most UNIX-like operating systems, making it a versatile tool for file retrieval tasks.