How to download a file from a URL on a Mac

You can save a file from a direct link in the browser, with curl in Terminal (built into every Mac, unlike wget), or with a download manager. We tested each command on macOS 27.

The Lynx team Checked 5 min read

The short version

  • Browser: Option-click the link in Safari, or Control-click › Download Linked File.
  • Terminal: cd ~/Downloads && curl -L -O -C - "URL"
  • wget missing? macOS doesn’t ship it. Use curl, or brew install wget.

In Safari or Chrome

Paste the link in the address bar and press Return. If it’s a file the browser can’t show (a .zip, .dmg or .iso), it downloads. If the browser opens it instead (a PDF, an image, a video, a text file), save it:

  • Safari: on the page with the link, Option-click it, or Control-click › Download Linked File. Already open? File › Save As (Command-S).
  • Chrome and Edge: Control-click the link › Save Link As…. Already open? Command-S.

Browsers download over one connection, so a dropped connection can cost you a big download. If that happens, see network error when downloading.

In Terminal with curl

curl comes with every Mac. Open Terminal (Applications › Utilities), go to the folder you want the file in, and give curl the link:

cd ~/Downloads
curl -L -O -C - --retry 10 "https://example.com/big-file.zip"

Put the link in quotes. Links with ? or & break otherwise. What the options do:

OptionWhat it does
-OSave with the file’s own name, in the current folder
-o name.zipSave under a name you choose
-LFollow redirects (most download links redirect at least once)
-C -Continue a stopped download from what’s on disk
--retry 10Try again after a temporary failure
-#Show a simple progress bar

We tested the resume on macOS 27 (3 October 2026): a 100 MB test file stopped after 3 seconds, at 3.1 MB. Running the same line again continued from there and finished at exactly 104,857,600 bytes. To check a file against the checksum a site publishes: shasum -a 256 big-file.zip.

Several links? Put one per line in a text file and run xargs -n 1 curl -L -O -C - < links.txt, or see how to download many files at once.

“command not found: wget”

On a new Mac, wget answers zsh: command not found: wget (checked on macOS 27). macOS includes curl but not wget. You have two options:

  • Use curl: curl -L -O URL does what wget URL does; add -C - for wget’s -c.
  • Install wget with Homebrew: brew install wget.

Every wget command and its curl twin: wget on a Mac.

Where downloads go on a Mac

Safari, Chrome and most apps save to Downloads in your home folder. Open it in Finder with Option-Command-L, or from the sidebar or the Dock. To change it: Safari › Settings › General › File download location; Chrome › Settings › Downloads. curl saves into the folder Terminal is in. Run pwd to see which one. Lost a file? See where downloads go on a Mac.

With a download manager

A download manager takes a link without any commands: paste it and the download starts. Lynx, our download manager for Mac, splits the file across up to 32 connections, resumes after a drop and remembers the folder you use for each kind of file. Paste several links to download them as a batch.

Questions

How do I download a file from a URL in Mac Terminal?
Use curl, which comes with macOS: cd ~/Downloads, then curl -L -O "https://example.com/file.zip". -L follows redirects and -O keeps the file’s own name. Add -C - to continue a download that stopped.
Why does my Mac say “command not found: wget”?
macOS doesn’t include wget. Use curl instead (curl -L -O URL does what wget URL does), or install wget with Homebrew: brew install wget.
Where do downloads go on a Mac?
To the Downloads folder in your home folder, unless you changed it: in Finder press Option-Command-L, or click Downloads in the sidebar. Safari’s setting is in Settings › General › File download location; Chrome’s in Settings › Downloads. Terminal saves in whatever folder you’re in.
How do I download a link instead of opening it in Safari?
Option-click the link, or Control-click it and choose Download Linked File. Safari then saves it to your download folder instead of showing it.
Can curl resume a download?
Yes, with -C -: run the same command again and curl continues from the part already on disk. It works when the server supports sending part of a file, which most download servers do.

Sources

Checked on October 3, 2026. If something here is out of date, tell us.

  1. curl: manual page: -O, -o, -L, --continue-at, --retry
  2. Homebrew: wget: brew install wget
  3. Apple Support: Download items from the web using Safari on Mac
  4. Apple Support: Keyboard shortcuts and gestures in Safari on Mac: Option-click a link to download the file
  5. Apple Support: Change General settings in Safari on Mac: File download location
  6. Google Chrome Help: Download a file: download location

More guides

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Guide · Big downloads How to download large files on a Mac Check space and drive format, keep the Mac awake, resume in Safari or Chrome, and verify the file with a checksum. Guide · Big downloads Downloads slow on your Mac? How to make them faster Measure your line with networkQuality, fix what’s on your side, and learn when more connections help. Guide · Big downloads Download time calculator Enter a file size and connection speed to get the download time. Mbps vs MB/s explained, with a table of common sizes.