How to download a folder containing multiple files on an FTP server to a desktop?

Question

I want to download a folder which contains hundreds of files that are hosted on an ftp server to my Windows 7 desktop. I've never used FTP before, so I am not sure where to start.

Navigate to FTP site, Page menu->View in Explorer, Copy files to desktop. Or get a real client like [Filezilla](http://filezilla-project.org/). — Chris S, Jul 19 '11 at 17:42

score 53 · Answer 1 · edited Jul 02 '12 at 17:13

53

Open an Explorer window. Click on the Start menu, then select My Computer.
Type the ftp url in the the address bar. For example:
```
ftp://mirror.anl.gov/pub/ubuntu
```
If a login is necessary, a dialog box will appear.
A listing of all directories and files of the server will appear.
Copy the files just as you would with a normal folder.

edited Jul 02 '12 at 17:13

evan.bovie

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answered Jul 02 '12 at 10:32

upendra

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_If a login is necessary, a dialog box will appear._ - this didn't happen for me. Instead, I needed to do `ftp://username:password@ftp.example.com/dir1/dir2/` – Dave Salomon Feb 26 '15 at 10:31

score 29 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 19 '11 at 17:32

29

FTP protocol doesn't support directory download. Most FTP clients (AFAIK, not including standard command line tools "ftp") allow to download directories by getting their listing recursively and downloading files one by one automatically.

There is a plenty of different clients. For instance, filezilla - free and open source.

answered Jul 19 '11 at 17:32

HUB

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you can also use the mget command if you are limited to command line and there is no directory structure – Zypher Jul 19 '11 at 18:34
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If you come here from Google, make sure to read the answer below, which notes that even the built-in Explorer can do this, without having to install an additional tool. – FvD Jun 09 '15 at 05:47

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 23 '13 at 02:31

1

Map network drive your FTP location - explained here then you can open it using explorer. Copy your folder as usual -- Thiru

answered Jul 23 '13 at 02:31

Thirumalai Parthasarathy

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 25 '18 at 10:03

1)In case of Ubuntu go files folder (App) 2)at bottom there is option called 'connect to server' 3)paste your server address 4)pop-up box asked for password 5)select anonymous 6)after connection you can directly access all folders as same as another storage device

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 31 '18 at 15:31

0

If you are using Windows 10 you can simply do that by accessing the FTP through the windows explorer.

answered Dec 31 '18 at 15:31

BoRRis

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score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Jul 23 '21 at 19:23

0

in terminal, type the following command to download files in the whole directory: wget -nH -m --ftp-user=your_username --ftp-password=your_password ftp://your_ftp_host/*

answered Jul 23 '21 at 19:23

Shion Shan

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score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Aug 09 '11 at 18:19

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If you archive (zip) the directory, you can get the archive and unzip it locally.

answered Aug 09 '11 at 18:19

lmno

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score -2 · Answer 8 · answered Dec 06 '13 at 21:25

-2

I use WinHTTrack website copier or Offline browser, which download files from site.

answered Dec 06 '13 at 21:25

T.Todua

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Isn't WinHTTrack used to copy websites? I personally suggest using a client such as filezilla considering there are lots of files to grab via FTP. https://wiki.filezilla-project.org/Using and https://wiki.filezilla-project.org/Download – Richie086 Dec 06 '13 at 23:01

How to download a folder containing multiple files on an FTP server to a desktop?

8 Answers8