aria2

View documentation for the updated command

$ tldr aria2c

aria2c [OPTIONS] [URI | MAGNET | TORRENT_FILE]...

-d, --dir=DIR
    Set download directory. Default: current directory.

-o, --out=FILE
    Set output filename. If not specified, aria2 will use the filename from the server or torrent file.

-c, --continue
    Continue partially downloaded file. Use this option to resume a previously interrupted download.

-s, --split=N
    Split a file into N segments and download them concurrently. Increase N to improve download speed (up to a point). Default: 5.

-x, --max-connections-per-server=N
    Set the maximum number of connections to one server for each download. Default: 1.

--http-user=USER
    Set HTTP user. Used for authentication.

--http-passwd=PASS
    Set HTTP password. Used for authentication.

--enable-http-keep-alive
    Enable HTTP Keep-Alive. Reuses TCP connections to reduce overhead.

--max-concurrent-downloads=N
    Set the maximum number of downloads aria2 can do at the same time. Default: 5.

--bt-stop-timeout=SECS
    Set the amount of time to wait before stopping BitTorrent downloads. Default: 300 seconds.

-i, --input-file=FILE
    Download URIs found in FILE.

aria2 is a lightweight multi-protocol and multi-source command-line download utility. It supports HTTP/HTTPS, FTP, SFTP, Metalink, BitTorrent, and Metalink/HTTP protocols. aria2 can download files from multiple sources/protocols and tries to utilize your maximum download bandwidth. It features segmented downloading, allowing you to download parts of a file from different sources simultaneously, speeding up the overall download process. It can also be used to download files using BitTorrent, including magnet links and torrent files. aria2 also supports advanced features like Metalink, which allows for verification of file integrity after download. Due to its command-line nature, aria2 is well-suited for scripting and automation.

aria2 can be quite resource intensive when downloading from many sources simultaneously. Adjust the `--split` and `--max-connections-per-server` options to optimize performance for your system and network.

aria2 can also be configured using a configuration file. This is useful for setting global options that you don't want to specify on the command line every time. The configuration file is typically located at `~/.aria2/aria2.conf`. See the aria2 documentation for details on the configuration file format.

aria2 can be controlled remotely using JSON-RPC. This allows you to integrate aria2 into other applications and manage downloads programmatically.

aria2 was created by Tatsuhiro Tsujikawa and has been under active development. It is a popular alternative to other download managers because of its lightweight footprint, speed, and multi-protocol support. Over time, it has gained a strong following in the open-source community and is used extensively in automated download workflows.

wget(1), curl(1)