I am trying to download a file from a website (ex. http://www.example.com/package.zip) using a Windows batch file. I am getting an error code when I write the function below:
xcopy /E /Y "http://www.example.com/package.zip" The batch file doesn't seem to like the "/" after the http. Are there any ways to escape those characters so it doesn't assume they are function parameters?
With PowerShell 2.0 (Windows 7 preinstalled) you can use:
(New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadFile('http://www.example.com/package.zip', 'package.zip') Starting with PowerShell 3.0 (Windows 8 preinstalled) you can use Invoke-WebRequest:
Invoke-WebRequest http://www.example.com/package.zip -OutFile package.zip From a batch file they are called:
powershell -Command "(New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadFile('http://www.example.com/package.zip', 'package.zip')" powershell -Command "Invoke-WebRequest http://www.example.com/package.zip -OutFile package.zip" (PowerShell 2.0 is available for installation on XP, 3.0 for Windows 7)
.bat and .ps1 files can really screw up your stuff.There's a standard Windows component which can achieve what you're trying to do: BITS. It has been included in Windows since XP and 2000 SP3.
Run:
bitsadmin.exe /transfer "JobName" http://download.url/here.exe C:\destination\here.exe The job name is simply the display name for the download job - set it to something that describes what you're doing.
bitsadmin is not available in Windows XP Home Edition.
This might be a little off topic, but you can pretty easily download a file using Powershell. Powershell comes with modern versions of Windows so you don't have to install any extra stuff on the computer. I learned how to do it by reading this page:
http://teusje.wordpress.com/2011/02/19/download-file-with-powershell/
The code was:
$webclient = New-Object System.Net.WebClient $url = "http://www.example.com/file.txt" $file = "$pwd\file.txt" $webclient.DownloadFile($url,$file) 
System in System.Net.WebClientLast I checked, there isn't a command line command to connect to a URL from the MS command line. Try wget for Windows:
http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/wget.htm
or URL2File:
http://www.chami.com/free/url2file_wincon.html
In Linux, you can use "wget".
Alternatively, you can try VBScript. They are like command line programs, but they are scripts interpreted by the wscript.exe scripts host. Here is an example of downloading a file using VBS:
https://serverfault.com/questions/29707/download-file-from-vbscript
Some people are saying it's not possible of downloading files with a batch script without using any JScript or VBScript, etc... But they are definitely wrong!
Here is a simple method that seems to work pretty well for downloading files in your batch scripts. It should be working on almost any file's URL. It is even possible to use a proxy server if you need it.
For downloading files, we can use BITSADMIN.EXE from the Windows system. There is no need for downloading/installing anything or using any JScript or VBScript, etc. Bitsadmin.exe is present on most Windows versions, probably from XP to Windows 11.
Enjoy!
USAGE:
You can use the BITSADMIN command directly, like this:
bitsadmin /transfer mydownloadjob /download /priority FOREGROUND "http://example.com/File.zip" "C:\Downloads\File.zip"
Proxy Server:
For connecting using a proxy, use this command before downloading.
bitsadmin /setproxysettings mydownloadjob OVERRIDE "proxy-server.com:8080"
Click this LINK if you want more info about BITSadmin.exe
TROUBLESHOOTING:
If you get this error: "Unable to connect to BITS - 0x80070422"
Make sure the Windows service "Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS)" is enabled and try again. (Normally it should be enabled by default.)
One of your files is not downloading?
I noticed on very rare occasions that some files are refusing to download but I'm not too sure what is causing this. Bitsadmin is using its own User-Agent so it's possible that some servers are blocking it. ("User-Agent: Microsoft BITS/7.5") You should be able to use a custom User-Agent by using the command below but I didn't really had time to test it. If you have some information about why some files are refusing to download please leave a comment!
Command for using a custom User-Agent (Is it working?):
"bitsadmin /setcustomheaders mydownloadjob User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; rv:124.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/124.0"
CUSTOM FUNCTIONS
Call :DOWNLOAD_FILE "URL"
Call :DOWNLOAD_PROXY_ON "SERVER:PORT"
Call :DOWNLOAD_PROXY_OFF
I made these 3 functions for simplifying the bitsadmin commands. It's easier to use and remember. It can be particularly useful if you are using it multiple times in your scripts.
PLEASE NOTE...
Before using these functions, you will first need to copy them from CUSTOM_FUNCTIONS.CMD to the end of your script. There is also a complete example: DOWNLOAD-EXAMPLE.CMD
:DOWNLOAD_FILE "URL"
The main function, will download files from URL.
:DOWNLOAD_PROXY_ON "SERVER:PORT"
(Optional) You can use this function if you need to use a proxy server.
Calling the :DOWNLOAD_PROXY_OFF function will disable the proxy server.
EXAMPLE:
CALL :DOWNLOAD_PROXY_ON "proxy-server.com:8080"
CALL :DOWNLOAD_FILE "http://example.com/File.zip" "C:\Downloads\File.zip"
CALL :DOWNLOAD_PROXY_OFF
CUSTOM_FUNCTIONS.CMD
:DOWNLOAD_FILE rem THIS IS YOUR MAIN FUNCTION FOR DOWNLOADING FILES: bitsadmin /transfer mydownloadjob /download /priority FOREGROUND %1 %2 GOTO :EOF :DOWNLOAD_PROXY_ON rem THIS FUNCTION IS FOR USING A PROXY SERVER: bitsadmin /setproxysettings mydownloadjob OVERRIDE %1 GOTO :EOF :DOWNLOAD_PROXY_OFF rem THIS FUNCTION DISABLES THE PROXY SERVER: bitsadmin /setproxysettings mydownloadjob NO_PROXY GOTO :EOF DOWNLOAD-EXAMPLE.CMD
@ECHO OFF SETLOCAL rem FOR DOWNLOADING FILES, THIS SCRIPT IS USING THE "BITSADMIN.EXE" SYSTEM FILE. rem IT IS PRESENT ON MOST WINDOWS VERSION, PROBABLY FROM WINDOWS XP TO WINDOWS 11. :SETUP rem URL (5MB TEST FILE): SET "FILE_URL=http://ipv4.download.thinkbroadband.com/5MB.zip" rem SAVE IN CUSTOM LOCATION: rem SET "SAVING_TO=C:\Folder\5MB.zip" rem SAVE IN THE CURRENT DIRECTORY SET "SAVING_TO=5MB.zip" SET "SAVING_TO=%~dp0%SAVING_TO%" :MAIN ECHO. ECHO DOWNLOAD SCRIPT EXAMPLE ECHO. ECHO FILE URL: "%FILE_URL%" ECHO SAVING TO: "%SAVING_TO%" ECHO. rem UNCOMENT AND MODIFY THE NEXT LINE IF YOU WANT TO USE A PROXY SERVER: rem CALL :DOWNLOAD_PROXY_ON "PROXY-SERVER.COM:8080" rem THE MAIN DOWNLOAD COMMAND: CALL :DOWNLOAD_FILE "%FILE_URL%" "%SAVING_TO%" rem THIS WILL DISABLE THE PROXY SERVER IF YOU WERE USING ONE: rem CALL :DOWNLOAD_PROXY_OFF :RESULT ECHO. IF EXIST "%SAVING_TO%" ECHO YOUR FILE HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY DOWNLOADED. IF NOT EXIST "%SAVING_TO%" ECHO ERROR, YOUR FILE COULDN'T BE DOWNLOADED. ECHO. :EXIT_SCRIPT PAUSE EXIT /B rem FUNCTIONS SECTION :DOWNLOAD_FILE rem THIS IS YOUR MAIN FUNCTION FOR DOWNLOADING FILES: bitsadmin /transfer mydownloadjob /download /priority FOREGROUND %1 %2 GOTO :EOF :DOWNLOAD_PROXY_ON rem THIS FUNCTION IS FOR USING A PROXY SERVER: bitsadmin /setproxysettings mydownloadjob OVERRIDE %1 GOTO :EOF :DOWNLOAD_PROXY_OFF rem THIS FUNCTION DISABLES THE PROXY SERVER: bitsadmin /setproxysettings mydownloadjob NO_PROXY GOTO :EOF 
' Create an HTTP object myURL = "http://www.google.com" Set objHTTP = CreateObject( "WinHttp.WinHttpRequest.5.1" ) ' Download the specified URL objHTTP.Open "GET", myURL, False objHTTP.Send intStatus = objHTTP.Status If intStatus = 200 Then WScript.Echo " " & intStatus & " A OK " +myURL Else WScript.Echo "OOPS" +myURL End If then
C:\>cscript geturl.vbs Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.7 Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. 200 A OK http://www.google.com or just double click it to test in windows
AFAIK, Windows doesn't have a built-in commandline tool to download a file. But you can do it from a VBScript, and you can generate the VBScript file from batch using echo and output redirection:
@echo off rem Windows has no built-in wget or curl, so generate a VBS script to do it: rem ------------------------------------------------------------------------- set DLOAD_SCRIPT=download.vbs echo Option Explicit > %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo Dim args, http, fileSystem, adoStream, url, target, status >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo. >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo Set args = Wscript.Arguments >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo Set http = CreateObject("WinHttp.WinHttpRequest.5.1") >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo url = args(0) >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo target = args(1) >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo WScript.Echo "Getting '" ^& target ^& "' from '" ^& url ^& "'..." >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo. >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo http.Open "GET", url, False >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo http.Send >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo status = http.Status >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo. >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo If status ^<^> 200 Then >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo WScript.Echo "FAILED to download: HTTP Status " ^& status >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo WScript.Quit 1 >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo End If >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo. >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo Set adoStream = CreateObject("ADODB.Stream") >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo adoStream.Open >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo adoStream.Type = 1 >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo adoStream.Write http.ResponseBody >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo adoStream.Position = 0 >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo. >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo Set fileSystem = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo If fileSystem.FileExists(target) Then fileSystem.DeleteFile target >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo adoStream.SaveToFile target >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo adoStream.Close >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% echo. >> %DLOAD_SCRIPT% rem ------------------------------------------------------------------------- cscript //Nologo %DLOAD_SCRIPT% http://example.com targetPathAndFile.html More explanation here
With the build 17063 of windows 10 the CURL utility was added. To download a file you can use:
curl "https://download.sysinternals.com/files/PSTools.zip" --output pstools.zip It can be easier to use bitsadmin with a macro:
set "download=bitsadmin /transfer myDownloadJob /download /priority normal" %download% "https://download.sysinternals.com/files/PSTools.zip" %cd%\pstools.zip For backward compatibility you can use winhttpjs.bat (with this you can perform also POST,DELETE and the others http methods):
call winhhtpjs.bat "https://example.com/files/some.zip" -saveTo "c:\somezip.zip" Download Wget from here http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gnuwin32/wget-1.11.4-1-setup.exe
Then install it.
Then make some .bat file and put this into it
@echo off for /F "tokens=2,3,4 delims=/ " %%i in ('date/t') do set y=%%k for /F "tokens=2,3,4 delims=/ " %%i in ('date/t') do set d=%%k%%i%%j for /F "tokens=5-8 delims=:. " %%i in ('echo.^| time ^| find "current" ') do set t=%%i%%j set t=%t%_ if "%t:~3,1%"=="_" set t=0%t% set t=%t:~0,4% set "theFilename=%d%%t%" echo %theFilename% cd "C:\Program Files\GnuWin32\bin" wget.exe --output-document C:\backup\file_%theFilename%.zip http://someurl/file.zip Adjust the URL and the file path in the script
You cannot use xcopy over http. Try downloading wget for windows. That may do the trick. It is a command line utility for non-interactive download of files through http. You can get it at http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/wget.htm
If bitsadmin isn't your cup of tea, you can use this PowerShell command:
Start-BitsTransfer -Source http://www.foo.com/package.zip -Destination C:\somedir\package.zip 
Use Bat To Exe Converter
Create a batch file and put something like the code below into it
%extd% /download http://www.examplesite.com/file.zip file.zip or
%extd% /download http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4619088/windows-batch-file-file-download-from-a-url thistopic.html and convert it to exe.
Instead of wget you can also use aria2 to download the file from a particular URL.
See the following link which will explain more about aria2:
There's a utility (resides with CMD) on Windows which can be run from CMD (if you have write access):
set url=https://www.nsa.org/content/hl-images/2017/02/09/NSA.jpg set file=file.jpg certutil -urlcache -split -f %url% %file% echo Done. Built in Windows application. No need for external downloads.
Tested on Win 10
BATCH may not be able to do this, but you can use JScript or VBScript if you don't want to use tools that are not installed by default with Windows.
The first example on this page downloads a binary file in VBScript: http://www.robvanderwoude.com/vbstech_internet_download.php
This SO answer downloads a file using JScript (IMO, the better language): Windows Script Host (jscript): how do i download a binary file?
Your batch script can then just call out to a JScript or VBScript that downloads the file.
This should work i did the following for a game server project. It will download the zip and extract it to what ever directory you specify.
Save as name.bat or name.cmd
@echo off set downloadurl=http://media.steampowered.com/installer/steamcmd.zip set downloadpath=C:\steamcmd\steamcmd.zip set directory=C:\steamcmd\ %WINDIR%\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -Command "& {Import-Module BitsTransfer;Start-BitsTransfer '%downloadurl%' '%downloadpath%';$shell = new-object -com shell.application;$zip = $shell.NameSpace('%downloadpath%');foreach($item in $zip.items()){$shell.Namespace('%directory%').copyhere($item);};remove-item '%downloadpath%';}" echo download complete and extracted to the directory. pause Original : https://github.com/C0nw0nk/SteamCMD-AutoUpdate-Any-Gameserver/blob/master/steam.cmd
I found this VB script:
Works like a charm. Configured as a function with a very simple function call:
SaveWebBinary "http://server/file1.ext1", "C:/file2.ext2" Originally from: http://www.ericphelps.com/scripting/samples/BinaryDownload/index.htm
Here is the full code for redundancy:
Function SaveWebBinary(strUrl, strFile) 'As Boolean Const adTypeBinary = 1 Const adSaveCreateOverWrite = 2 Const ForWriting = 2 Dim web, varByteArray, strData, strBuffer, lngCounter, ado On Error Resume Next 'Download the file with any available object Err.Clear Set web = Nothing Set web = CreateObject("WinHttp.WinHttpRequest.5.1") If web Is Nothing Then Set web = CreateObject("WinHttp.WinHttpRequest") If web Is Nothing Then Set web = CreateObject("MSXML2.ServerXMLHTTP") If web Is Nothing Then Set web = CreateObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP") web.Open "GET", strURL, False web.Send If Err.Number <> 0 Then SaveWebBinary = False Set web = Nothing Exit Function End If If web.Status <> "200" Then SaveWebBinary = False Set web = Nothing Exit Function End If varByteArray = web.ResponseBody Set web = Nothing 'Now save the file with any available method On Error Resume Next Set ado = Nothing Set ado = CreateObject("ADODB.Stream") If ado Is Nothing Then Set fs = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") Set ts = fs.OpenTextFile(strFile, ForWriting, True) strData = "" strBuffer = "" For lngCounter = 0 to UBound(varByteArray) ts.Write Chr(255 And Ascb(Midb(varByteArray,lngCounter + 1, 1))) Next ts.Close Else ado.Type = adTypeBinary ado.Open ado.Write varByteArray ado.SaveToFile strFile, adSaveCreateOverWrite ado.Close End If SaveWebBinary = True End Function This question has very good answer in here. My code is purely based on that answer with some modifications.
Save below snippet as wget.bat and put it in your system path (e.g. Put it in a directory and add this directory to system path.)
You can use it in your cli as follows:
wget url/to/file [?custom_name]
where url_to_file is compulsory and custom_name is optional
The file url and saved filenames are displayed in ansi colored text. If that is causing problem for you, then check this github project.
@echo OFF setLocal EnableDelayedExpansion set Url=%1 set Url=!Url:http://=! set Url=!Url:/=,! set Url=!Url:%%20=?! set Url=!Url: =?! call :LOOP !Url! set FileName=%2 if "%2"=="" set FileName=!FN! echo. echo.Downloading: [1;33m%1[0m to [1;33m\!FileName
C:\wget\wget.exe -q -O nul "http://www.google.com/shedule.me" use ftp:
(ftp *yourewebsite.com*-a) cd *directory* get *filename.doc* close Change everything in asterisks to fit your situation.
