Ways to Download Data

How do I get an account on an NCAR computer?

Click here for information on how to request computing resources at NCAR.

Can I use Wget to download data files?

You can use Wget to download data files, but you must be a registered data user and you will need to authenticate first to obtain the necessary cookies to include in your Wget command. Please use Wget responsibly and do not use the "-b" (or "--background") option on the Wget command line as this can flood our system and degrade service for other users.

To authenticate with Wget, use the following command:wget --save-cookies cookie_file_name --post-data="email=your_email_address&passwd=your_password&action=login" https://rda.ucar.edu/cgi-bin/login
Then for each file you want to download, use the following command:wget --load-cookies cookie_file_name URL_of_data_file
NOTES: Please do not authenticate for every single file that you download - this can cause problems for our authentication server. The authentication cookies are valid for approximately 5 days. Wget versions prior to 1.9 do not support --post-data, so you will need to use this form to authenticate.

Can I use cURL to download data files?

You can use cURL to download data files, but you must be a registered data user and you will need to authenticate first to obtain the necessary cookies to include in your cURL command. Please use cURL responsibly and don't run multiple commands in the background as this can flood our system and degrade service for other users.

To authenticate with cURL, use the following command:curl -c cookie_file_name -d "email=your_email_address&passwd=your_password&action=login" https://rda.ucar.edu/cgi-bin/login
Then for each file you want to download, use the following command:curl -b cookie_file_name URL_of_data_file
NOTE: You do not need to authenticate for every single file that you download. The authentication cookies are valid for approximately 5 days.

Can I use a download manager to download data files?

You can use a download manager to download data files, but you must be a registered data user and your download manager will need to be able to authenticate you.

PLEASE NOTE: All users are limited to 10 concurrent download streams. Please configure your download manager for this limit. If your download manager floods our system with requests for data, your IP address may be blocked.

NCAR Users: How do I download an HPSS file to an NCAR computer?

Read about the hsi command here. For further assistance with retrieving data files from within the NCAR system, please contact the CISL Consulting Services Group. Include in the subject line something like "moving files between NCAR computers".

NCAR Users: How do I use SSH to move data from an NCAR computer to my non-NCAR computer?

For assistance moving data to a non-NCAR computer, please contact the CISL Consulting Services Group, and include in the subject line something like "moving files to a non-NCAR computer".