# Pget

> Parallel file download and optional tar extraction using the pget CLI (single URL or multifile manifest). Use when you need high‑throughput downloads from HTTP(S)/S3/GCS, want to split a large file into chunks for speed, or want to download and extract a .tar/.tar.gz in one step.

- Skill: `kbarbel640-del/pget` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add kbarbel640-del/pget`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/kbarbel640-del/pget/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: kbarbel640-del (https://skillmd.com/u/kbarbel640-del)
- Updated: 2026-09-08
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/kbarbel640-del/pget

---


# Pget

## Overview
Use pget for fast, parallel downloads and optional in‑memory tar extraction. Prefer it over curl/wget for large files or batch downloads.

## Quick start
- **Single file**: `pget <url> <dest>`
- **Extract tar after download**: `pget <url> <dest> -x`
- **Multi-file manifest**: `pget multifile <manifest-path>` (or `-` for stdin)

## Tasks

### 1) Download a single large file quickly
1. Choose destination path.
2. Run:
   ```bash
   pget <url> <dest>
   ```
3. Tune if needed:
   - `--concurrency <n>` to change chunk parallelism
   - `--chunk-size 125M` (or other size)
   - `--retries <n>`
   - `--force` to overwrite

### 2) Download and extract a tar archive
Use when the URL points to a `.tar`, `.tar.gz`, or similar.
```bash
pget <url> <dest> -x
```
This extracts in‑memory without writing the tar to disk first.

### 3) Download many files with a manifest
1. Create a manifest with `URL` + space + `DEST` per line.
2. Run:
   ```bash
   pget multifile /path/to/manifest.txt
   # or
   cat manifest.txt | pget multifile -
   ```
3. Tune:
   - `--max-concurrent-files <n>`
   - `--max-conn-per-host <n>`

## Notes & pitfalls
- Use `--force` if the destination exists and you need overwrite.
- `--connect-timeout` accepts duration (e.g., `10s`).
- `--log-level debug` or `--verbose` for troubleshooting.

## References
- Load `references/pget.md` for full option list and examples.