Axel – A Command-Line File Download Accelerator for Linux

If you're a Linux user who often downloads files from web, you might be familiar with slow download speeds that come with it. Fortunately, there's a tool called Axel that can help you accelerate your file downloads from command line. In this article, we'll discuss what Axel is, how it works, and how you can use it to speed up your downloads.

What is Axel?

Axel is a command-line tool that is used to accelerate file downloads in Linux. It is a lightweight and fast download accelerator that splits a single file into multiple parts and downloads them simultaneously. This approach enables Axel to achieve faster download speeds than other download managers.

How Does Axel Work?

Axel works by dividing a file into several parts and downloading them simultaneously. By default, it splits a file into three parts, but you can change number of parts according to your preferences. Once download begins, Axel opens multiple connections to server to download different parts of file. As a result, download speed is significantly increased.

Axel also has ability to resume broken downloads, which means that if a download is interrupted, Axel can pick up where it left off without having to start from scratch. This feature is useful if you have a slow or unreliable internet connection.

Installing Axel

Axel is available in most Linux distributions' repositories, which means that you can install it using your distribution's package manager. For example, if you're using Ubuntu, you can install Axel by running following command in terminal −

sudo apt-get install axel

Once installation is complete, you can start using Axel to download files from command line.

Using Axel

Using Axel is straightforward. To download a file, simply open terminal and type following command −

axel <file URL>

Replace <file URL> with URL of file you want to download. For example, if you want to download Ubuntu ISO file, you can run following command −

axel https://releases.ubuntu.com/20.04.3/ubuntu-20.04.3-desktop-amd64.iso

Axel will start downloading file, and you'll see progress in terminal. By default, Axel splits file into three parts, but you can change this by using -n option. For example, if you want to split file into six parts, you can run following command −

axel -n 6 https://releases.ubuntu.com/20.04.3/ubuntu-20.04.3-desktop-amd64.iso

You can also use Axel to resume broken downloads. If a download is interrupted, you can simply run same command again, and Axel will resume download from where it left off. For example, if you were downloading Ubuntu ISO file and download was interrupted, you can resume download by running following command −

axel https://releases.ubuntu.com/20.04.3/ubuntu-20.04.3-desktop-amd64.iso

Axel will resume download from where it left off, and you'll see progress in terminal.

Axel Options

Axel comes with several options that you can use to customize your downloads. Here are some of most useful options −

-n − Specifies number of connections to server. By default, Axel uses three connections, but you can increase or decrease this number according to your preferences.

-o − Specifies output file name. By default, Axel saves downloaded file with same name as URL, but you can change this by using -o option followed by file name. For example, if you want to save file as ubuntu.iso, you can run following command −

axel -o ubuntu.iso https://releases.ubuntu.com/20.04.3/ubuntu-20.04.3-desktop-amd64.iso

-s − Specifies download speed limit in bytes per second. This option is useful if you want to limit download speed to avoid overwhelming your internet connection. For example, if you want to limit download speed to 1 MB/s, you can run following command −

axel -s 1000000 https://releases.ubuntu.com/20.04.3/ubuntu-20.04.3-desktop-amd64.iso

-k − Specifies maximum number of retries in case of a download error. By default, Axel retries a download three times, but you can increase or decrease this number according to your preferences.

Axel is also useful for users with unstable internet connections as it can resume downloads from where they left off in case of any interruptions. This means that you won't have to start download process all over again if your internet connection drops or if you accidentally close terminal window.

Another advantage of Axel is that it is a lightweight tool that doesn't consume many system resources. This makes it a great option for users with older hardware or those who want to run other applications alongside Axel without affecting system performance.

Axel is also customizable. Users can modify number of connections, set download speed limits, and specify output file names to suit their specific needs. Additionally, Axel can be used with other tools such as wget, cURL, and aria2 for more advanced download requirements.

Overall, Axel is a great tool for users who prefer command-line interface and need a fast and efficient way to download files on their Linux systems. It is easy to install, easy to use, and customizable to meet your specific needs. If you haven't tried Axel yet, give it a go and see how it can improve your download speeds and experience on Linux.

Conclusion

Axel is a powerful and efficient download accelerator for Linux users who download files frequently. It allows you to accelerate your downloads by splitting files into multiple parts and downloading them simultaneously. Axel also has ability to resume broken downloads, which means that you don't have to start from scratch if a download is interrupted.

Using Axel is easy, and it comes with several options that you can use to customize your downloads. By default, Axel splits files into three parts, but you can increase or decrease this number according to your preferences. You can also use -s option to limit download speed and -k option to set maximum number of retries.

If you're looking for a fast and efficient way to download files from command line in Linux, Axel is definitely worth trying. With its ability to accelerate downloads and resume broken downloads, it's a tool that every Linux user should have in their toolbox.