aria2

Downloading files from various sources is a very common activity to all users and the tools used for this purpose are quite diverse as well. Those who are not satisfied with the performance of their web browsers, particularly with the built-in downloader, can try a standalone utility that is dedicated to this task.

Depending on the type of file or protocol used for transferring data, there are several categories of applications that can handle one or more of them, some even trying to get any file, no matter the extension or the method. One such program is aria2.

Ready to run out of the box, without having to be installed or configured in any way, this software solution is a bit special because it doesn't have a graphical interface and can be run only via command-line.

The great thing about this particular tool is that users will be able to transfer data through several connections at once and via multiple protocols. Thus, aria2 is compliant with HTTP and HTTPS, FTP, as well as BitTorrent and Metalink standards.

More so, when downloading one or more files at once, the application will try to utilize the bandwidth to the fullest, in order to provide the best speed available and decrease the waiting time until the download is complete.

The command-line usage is rather simple, provided that the appropriate commands and parameters are used. In this respect, it is worth taking a closer look at the built-in help system, which details the options and their usage.