7

I was wondering if there was any argument that allowed me to use wget and "call" a page, but without downloading the page.

The problem is that when you call wget on a page, it downloads it to the folder wget.exe resides in, but I don't want to download a file every time I use it.

Improve this question

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
9

Use the --spider option.

--spider

When invoked with this option, Wget will behave as a Web spider,
which means that it will not download the pages, just check that
they are there. You can use it to check your bookmarks, e.g. with:

            wget --spider --force-html -i bookmarks.html
Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    Excellent, exactly what I was looking for
    – Andreas Grech
    Jul 21, 2009 at 8:07
  • 2
    Beware that --spider may perform a HEAD request instead of a GET request, which means the URL may react differently.
    – bzlm
    Oct 10, 2009 at 10:22
1

GNU Wget is a free software package for retrieving files using HTTP, HTTPS and FTP. If you are not actually interested in retrieving files, you may be better off using a tool like cURL, which may have more fine-tuned support for what you want to do. (Using the --spider switch in Wget, for example, is an experimental hack according to the documentation.)

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.