wget -q and -nv: Control Output Verbosity
wget -q runs silently while -nv prints only errors and a one-line summary per file.
The default progress bar floods CI logs with carriage returns. -q and -nv give you clean, greppable output.
What it does
wget -q (--quiet) turns off all output. wget -nv (--no-verbose) is the middle ground: it drops the progress bar and most chatter but still prints error messages and a single line noting what was saved. --show-progress can re-add a progress bar to otherwise quiet output.
Common usage
wget -q https://example.com/file.bin
wget -nv https://example.com/file.bin
# quiet download but keep a progress bar
wget -q --show-progress https://example.com/large.isoOptions
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
| -q / --quiet | Suppress all output |
| -nv / --no-verbose | Print only errors and a one-line summary |
| -v / --verbose | Full output (the default) |
| --show-progress | Force a progress bar even when quiet |
In CI
Prefer -nv over -q in pipelines: you lose the noisy progress bar but keep error lines and the saved-file summary, which you want when a job fails. Reserve -q for cases where you parse stdout from -O - and need it clean.
Common errors in CI
A silent failure under -q is the usual trap: wget downloaded nothing but the log shows nothing either. Check the exit status explicitly, or use -nv so errors like ERROR 404: Not Found still surface. The progress bar showing thousands of lines means default verbose output on a non-TTY; switch to -nv.