How to Force wget to Use IPv4 Only?

When downloading files via the command line, you may encounter networking issues where a server prefers IPv6, but your local network or ISP doesn’t properly support it. This can cause the wget command to hang, time out, or fail entirely. This article provides a quick overview of how to force wget to connect using only IPv4 protocols, covering the temporary command-line flag, a permanent configuration fix, and troubleshooting steps to ensure a smooth download process.

The Quick Command Line Solution

The fastest way to force wget to use IPv4 for a single download is to use the -4 flag (or its long-form equivalent, --inet4-only). This tells the utility to completely ignore any IPv6 addresses associated with the domain name.

wget -4 https://example.com/file.zip

Alternatively, you can use the long-form version of the command:

wget --inet4-only https://example.com/file.zip

Using this flag resolves the common issue where wget gets stuck on the “Connecting to…” stage because it is trying to route traffic through an unconfigured IPv6 tunnel.

Making the IPv4 Preference Permanent

If you find yourself constantly adding the -4 flag because your network environment lacks stable IPv6 routing, you can make this behavior the default by modifying your wget configuration file (.wgetrc).

Step 1: Open or Create the Configuration File

Open the wget configuration file in your home directory using a text editor like nano:

nano ~/.wgetrc

Step 2: Add the Prefer Family Directive

Add the following line to the file, which instructs wget to always prefer or restrict connections to IPv4 addresses:

prefer_family = IPv4

Step 3: Save and Exit

Save the file and exit the editor. From this point forward, running a standard wget command will automatically favor IPv4 connections without requiring you to manually type the flag every time.

Verification and Troubleshooting

To verify that your command is working as intended, look at the terminal output immediately after initiating the download.

• Successful IPv4 connection: The terminal will display a resolving message followed by a standard dotted-quad IP address (e.g., Connecting to example.com (example.com)|192.0.2.1|:443... connected.).
• IPv6 connection (unwanted): If you see a hexadecimal address containing colons (e.g., 2001:db8::1), the restriction was not applied correctly.

If wget still fails after forcing IPv4, the issue likely stems from a broader local network misconfiguration, a DNS resolution failure, or the remote server being temporarily offline rather than an IP protocol mismatch.