Knowledge Base

How do I download large zip files from CodeGuard?

Updated on June 29, 2026

Overview

By the end of this article you will know how to reliably download large CodeGuard backup zip files that may fail in a web browser. It explains why downloads over 1 GB can break, then walks through the Wget and cURL command-line tools, including how to copy the full download web address (Uniform Resource Locator, or URL) needed for each command.

With CodeGuard, you can always download a full copy of your website backup at any time. Of course, if you do not need your entire backup, you can use our Selective Download feature to retrieve only the content you need - whether that be a single file or a set of files and directories.

Downloading Zip Files:

While we do compress these archives as much as possible for the zip format, their size can vary depending on the content included in your website backup. When file sizes exceed 1GB, we have experienced intermittent issues with modern browsers that can lead to incomplete file downloads. This does not mean that your backups within CodeGuard are in any way incomplete or incorrect. It simply means that there was a network issue that prevented this large backup from being successfully transferred from our Amazon S3 storage location to your computer. Reattempting the transfer may yield a successful download, but there are other tools available that are better suited for this kind of operation.

For that reason, we suggest using alternate methods for downloading large zip archives. Specifically, the cURL and Wget utilities are time-tested download programs which are available on all major platforms. Instructions for obtaining and using these tools to download your CodeGuard archives can be found below.

Wget

To download a CodeGuard zip file using Wget, do the following:

Copy the download link from the CodeGuard application or CodeGuard notification email.

Open a terminal or command prompt session.

Execute the command below substituting “backup.zip” with the desired name of your downloaded file and the URL in quotes with the link you copied in step 1.

wget -O backup.zip "https://cg-zips.s3.amazonaws.com/backup.zip?AWSAccessKeyId=AAAGF&Expires=98765&Signature=AjxuqO"

Note: Be sure to include the quotes around the URL in your command. Otherwise, it may be interpreted as an invalid URL.

cURL

To download a CodeGuard zip file using cURL, do the following:

Copy the download link from the CodeGuard application or CodeGuard notification email.

Open a terminal or command prompt session.

Execute the command below substituting “backup.zip” with the desired name of your downloaded file and the URL in quotes with the link you copied in step 1.

curl -o backup.zip "https://cg-zips.s3.amazonaws.com/backup.zip?AWSAccessKeyId=AAAGF&Expires=98765&Signature=AjxuqO"

Note: Be sure to include the quotes around the URL in your command. Otherwise, it may be interpreted as an invalid URL.

cURL and Wget Download Instructions

Windows
Wget - http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/wget.htm
cURL - http://curl.haxx.se/download.html

MacOS
Wget - Available with Xcode Command Line Tools (http://osxdaily.com/2014/02/12/install-command-line-tools-mac-os-x/) or the Homebrew package manager (http://brew.sh/)
cURL - Included in base installation.

Linux
Both wget and cURL are available from your package manager.

How to copy the download link

To properly copy the download link, right-click the link in the "Restore" tab and click "Copy link address". The full link is much longer than the shortened placeholder shown in the Wget and cURL command examples earlier in this article.
Right-clicking the backup link in the Restore tab and choosing Copy link address.