axel

Download file with multiple connections

$ axel [https://example.com/file.zip]

$ axel -n [16] [https://example.com/file.zip]

$ axel -o [output.zip] [https://example.com/file.zip]

$ axel -q [https://example.com/file.zip]

$ axel -s [1024000] [https://example.com/file.zip]

axel [options] url

axel is a lightweight download accelerator that opens multiple HTTP/FTP connections to the same file. By downloading different parts of the file simultaneously, it can significantly speed up downloads compared to single-connection tools.
The tool is particularly effective for large files on servers that don't rate-limit individual connections.

-n num

Number of connections (default: 4)

Output filename

Maximum speed in bytes per second

Show more detailed progress

Quiet mode

Add HTTP header

Set user agent

Maximum redirects to follow

No proxy

/etc/axelrc

System-wide configuration file.

Per-user configuration file for default settings like number of connections and speed limits.

- Multiple simultaneous connections
- Resume interrupted downloads
- Speed limiting
- FTP and HTTP support
- Progress indicators
- Proxy support

Some servers block multiple connections. May be considered aggressive by some sites. Not all servers support range requests. Can waste bandwidth if connection limit is too high. Less feature-rich than aria2.

axel was created by Wilmer van der Gaast around 2001 as a lightweight alternative to download managers, focusing on speed through parallel connections.

wget(1), curl(1), aria2(1)