The Windows 10 Powershell command prompt has a cmdlet named Invoke-WebRequest, this allows a user to download a link using Powershell. This will download a web link with a very fast transfer rate. Making this a very good way to retrieve a web link. Below is an example downloading a link from kernel.org. I am using the wget alias as it is easier to remember.
wget https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/editors/uemacs/em-4.0.15-lt.tar.gz -OutFile Desktop\uemacs.tar.gz |
This will download the linked file from kernel.org with a fast transfer rate.
Windows PowerShell Copyright (C) 2014 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. PS C:\Users\Homer> wget https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/editors/uemacs/em-4.0.15-lt.tar.gz -OutFile Desktop\uemacs.tar.gz PS C:\Users\Homer> cd .\Desktop PS C:\Users\Homer\Desktop> dir Directory: C:\Users\Homer\Desktop Mode LastWriteTime Length Name ---- ------------- ------ ---- -a---- 27/10/2014 12:54 PM 209681 uemacs.tar.gz |
This is a great way to get a file from a website using Powershell. I am using Powershell 5.0 on Windows 10 build 9860 and it works a treat.
Yet another example. Not specifying an output filename.
PS C:\Users\Corporal Kerry> wget securitronlinux.com/linux/maps/debian2.jpg StatusCode : 200 StatusDescription : OK Content : {255, 216, 255, 224...} RawContent : HTTP/1.1 200 OK Connection: keep-alive CF-Cache-Status: MISS Expect-CT: max-age=604800, report-uri="https://report-uri.cloudflare.com/cdn-cgi/beacon/expect-ct" CF-RAY: 47014628cca865b1-SYD Accept... Headers : {[Connection, keep-alive], [CF-Cache-Status, MISS], [Expect-CT, max-age=604800, report-uri="https://report-uri.cloudflare.com/cdn-cgi/beacon/expect-ct"], [CF-RAY, 47014628cca865b1-SYD]...} RawContentLength : 224494 |
So, the average windows user can download files as easily as a Linux user, with the command line. This is very useful in a Powershell script, or just an alternative to using Firefox to visit a site just to download one single file. This shows the power of the new Powershell scripting on Windows. Rivalling Linux for scripting ability.